Whats going on, guys.
Sean Nalewanyj here, www.SeanNal.com-www.BodyTransformationtruth.com and in this video today I’m going to be
going over six of my favorite direct arm exercises for biceps and triceps.
Like I’d mention before it is true that a very high percentage of your arm growth
is just going to come as an automatic result of adding weight overtime to your compound
chest and back exercises but direct arm training is still important when it comes to optimizing
your upper arm gains and achieving as much muscle hypertrophy as possible.
I have covered each of these exercises in separate videos in the past, but I wanted
to make one video here just to condense it all down into one place and to quickly go
over the benefits and proper form for each one.
So the first exercise for biceps is going to be the standing single arm cable curl.
So to do this one you’ll stand facing away from a cable machine, grab onto a single handle
attached to the very bottom.
Take a small step forward and then perform a regular bicep curl from this position.
Now what’s great about this variation is the consistent tension that it gives you on
the biceps throughout the entire range of motion.
With most regular free weight curls you end up losing tension in the bottom position,
since the force of gravity is pulling the weight straight down toward the floor.
But with the single arm cable curl like you see here, the resistance is pulling your arm
both down and back at the same time and so your biceps have to be constantly working
both at the top and the bottom.
To maximize the stress on the biceps make sure to keep your elbows stationary and don’t
allow it to drift forward excessively as you curl the weight up and don’t let your elbow
flare out to the side either.
And also make sure to keep your wrist in a neutral or a slightly extended position, that’s
going to keep the stress off of your forearms and move more of it on to the biceps.
Switching over to the triceps now, the first exercise is going to be a triceps pushdown,
which I’m sure you’re all familiar with, but more specifically you’re going to perform
it using a rope attachment and instead of just pressing the ropes straight down you’re
also going to forcefully pull the rope apart at the bottom of each rep as well.
This is a great movement for targeting the lateral head of the triceps, which is that
outer portion that gives your triceps that pronounced horseshoe look.
So add that little twist to the bottom of each rep.
And you should feel a stronger contraction in the lateral head, which is usually an area
that a lot of lifters have trouble targeting.
It does take a bit of practice to get a good mind-muscle connection going to really get
the most out of this one, but play around with it just using some moderate weight until
you can really feel that lateral head being activated.
Switching back to biceps, the second exercise is going to be a supinating dumbbell curl.
The basic function of the biceps that pretty much everybody already knows is elbow flexion,
which is just curling your forearm towards your upper arm, but the biceps also have a
second function as well which is forearm supination.
Which means twisting your forearm until your palm is facing upward.
So to get the very most out of your biceps training I’d recommend including a supinating
dumbbell curl somewhere in your overall plan just like you see here, in order to target
that particular function.
This can be done seated or standing, and all you’re going to do is start with your hand
in a neutral position and then curl the weight up while twisting your forearm at the same
time so that at the top of the movement your palm is facing the ceiling.
And you can either curl both dumbbells at the same time or you can do it in an alternating
fashion.
One quick tip you can apply here as well is that instead of gripping the dumbbell right
in the middle you can actually choke up a bit and grip it more near the top of the handle
instead.
Because by having the dumbbell of center it’ll force your biceps to work even harder through
that supinating function.
The second triceps exercise is going to be a one-arm overhead cable extension.
Including some overhead work for triceps is usually a good idea because it allows you
to specifically target the long head of the triceps, which is an area that can end up
being slightly undertrained if it isn’t directly isolated.
This movement can also be done using a dumbbell but I prefer cables because it provides more
consistent tension and most lifters also find that cables put less stress on the elbows
as well.
So to do this you just grab on to a cable without using any attachments and stand facing
away from the machine.
And then from there just extend the cable upward with your elbow until your triceps
is fully contracted and then lower it back down until you feel a good comfortable stretch.
You don’t have to keep your elbow completely tucked in but don’t allow it to flare out
excessively either.
So the final exercise for biceps is going to be the seated incline dumbbell curl.
And I really like this one, because the position of the exercise lets you get a really good
stretch on your biceps at the bottom.
Since your arm is going to be slightly behind your body.
And if you do them using a proper form like you see here then you should feel your biceps
really firing up on those last few reps.
So all you need to do here is adjust an incline bench at roughly a forty-five degree angle
and hold a pair of dumbbells at your sides with your palms facing up.
And then without allowing your elbows to drift forward and without flexing your wrists curl
the dumbbells up until you feel a full contraction in your biceps, and then lower them back down
under control until you feel a good stretch at the bottom.
And the final exercise for triceps is going to be the cable pressback.
So most lifters know that the primary function of the triceps is to extend the elbow, but
another function that they perform as well is shoulder extension.
And so with the cable press back you’ll be combining both elbow extension and shoulder
extension together which will give you a really strong contraction in your triceps that you’ll
really feel have done properly almost like they’re cramping up on each rep.
So to do this exercise you’ll set a cable pulley as high up on the machine as you can,
and grab on right at the end of it without using any attachments at all.
Take about four or five steps back and hold the cable with your elbow pinned at your side.
And then from there extend your shoulder joint by moving your shoulder and upper arm a few
inches behind your body.
And then from there, press your cable down and behind your body until your triceps is
fully contracted.
So, there’s six highly effective biceps and triceps exercise for you to try out.
Make sure to apply the form tips that I gave here, see which ones work best for you and
leave a comment below to let me know what you think.
Thanks for watching, guys.
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Thanks again for watching, guys.
And I’ll talk to you again soon.