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Arm training ideas

This is an excerpt from Bodyweight Strength Training Anatomy-2nd Edition by Bret M Contreras.

CHAPTER 2
Arms

Many who are new to strength training focus first on arm training. Well-developed biceps and triceps are likely the most coveted muscles. This makes perfect sense. These are the least-covered-up major muscles of the body. Shirts, pants, shorts, and socks conceal most of the torso and legs, but usually the arms are right out in the open, in plain view for everyone to see.

You’d be hard-pressed to find muscles that are flexed more often across the world than the arms, because at any given point, thousands are likely striking the double biceps pose in front of their bathroom mirror. Although the biceps seem to get all the glory, the attractive appearance of the arms requires proper development of the triceps on the back of the arms as well.

Toned arms are an important aspect of a physical aesthetic too, even when muscle size isn’t the goal. Toned arms look stunning and healthy, adding value to the look of a sleeveless shirt or dress. Those who are insecure about the appearance of their triceps can firm the area by increasing muscle development through triceps-strengthening exercises.

Muscles of the Arms

To better understand how to best target the arm musculature, let’s first delve into basic anatomy. On the front of the upper arms, you have the elbow flexors. Elbow flexors move the wrist toward the shoulder by bending the arm. The primary elbow flexors are the biceps brachii, which are composed of two heads, a long head and a short head (figure 2.1). Other elbow flexors are the brachialis and brachioradialis. These muscles contribute to movement depending on how the elbow flexion exercise is performed. The biceps brachii is worked most with a supinated (palms up) grip, the brachioradialis with a neutral grip (palms facing each other), and the brachialis with a pronated (palms down) grip. This is because of the leverage of each muscle at various positions and ranges of motions.

The back of the upper arm is composed of the elbow extensors. Elbow extensors move the wrist away from the shoulder by straightening the arm to form a solid line from shoulder to wrist. The primary elbow extensors consist of the three individual heads of the triceps brachii—the long head, medial head, and lateral head (figure 2.2).

The arms are important in various athletic pursuits. The elbow extensors contract forcefully when you are swinging a bat or golf club, when stiff-arming or pushing an opponent forward in American football, when going for a spike in volleyball, or when throwing a ball overhead in baseball. These muscles are also heavily involved when throwing a chest pass in basketball or a jab or right cross in boxing or when heaving a shot put in track and field.

The elbow flexors transfer energy when you swing a racket in tennis or throw a hook in boxing. They’re relied on when you’re clinching or attempting or avoiding arm-bar submissions in mixed martial arts, when you’re tackling an opponent in American football, and when you’re pulling the body up in rock climbing. In addition, they’re involved in the sport of rowing and in carrying heavy objects out in front of the body in strongman events.

Exercising the Arms

The arms are worked heavily during upper-body exercises that involve two or more joints moving at a time. All types of pull-up and rowing motions will sufficiently work the elbow flexors, and all types of push-up and dipping motions will sufficiently work the elbow extensors. For this reason, every time you train your chest, shoulders, and back, you’ll be working your arms.

The involvement of the arm musculature during multijoint movements is important from a bodyweight training perspective. It’s easy to isolate the arm muscles when using free weights or cables. Simply grab a weighted implement and flex or extend the elbows. Things become more complicated, however, when trying to use your body as a barbell. It’s difficult to manipulate the body around the elbow joints. This isn’t to say that it’s not a good idea to try to target the arms with single-joint movements, but multijoint movements are the most productive in terms of total muscular output. I recommend performing single-joint elbow extension exercises to maximize the size of the long head of the triceps, as this head doesn’t get worked that hard during compound (multijoint) pressing exercises. I notice extra growth every time I focus on single-joint movements for biceps, too.

When performing arm exercises, concentrate on squeezing the intended muscles and don’t allow other muscles to do the job. Before heavy sets of elbow flexion exercises, Arnold Schwarzenegger used to envision his biceps growing as big as mountains. Focus on feeling the arm muscles contracting to create the desired movement. Bodybuilders call this a mind–muscle connection, and it takes time to sufficiently develop these neuromuscular pathways. Training for sport and functional purposes is more about training movements; training for physique and aesthetic purposes is more about training muscles. For this reason, think about arm training as contracting your muscles against resistance. This will help you put maximal stress on the intended muscles.

Although the forearms are indeed part of the arms, they will be worked during gripping movements, including pull-ups and rowing motions, especially while training the back musculature. (See chapter 6.)

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