Nothing beats wearing a sleeveless shirt to the gym and feeling proud of your ripped or well-toned arms. Free weight exercises allow you to do this.
You may already have a good overall physique, but your arms are just average. We have put together a 5-move workout to get your arms to the ultimate level. Keep scrolling.
3 Reasons Why you Should do Free Weight Exercises Regularly:
1. Keeps your blood flow up
Have you ever noticed those popping veins you sometimes see in bodybuilders or athletes? Those don’t come from regular old workouts. These guys train hard to get their results and typically set at least one day a week apart to target their arms and upper body. Blood is used to flowing to those arms to keep up with the high-demand muscles. That constant circulation is good for your body.
2. Bigger/Toned Arms (the obvious one)
You really see the difference when you “up the ante.” A lot of people that do body-weight exercises can achieve good goals, but when you want to set yourself apart and get a defined muscular look, it’s time to kick it up a notch with free-weights/dumbbells.
3. Better Overall Physique
When you focus on weighted arm exercises, you inadvertently burn fat you didn’t even know existed. Depending on the exercise, you typically hit your back muscles, obliques, and abs. Even if you already look slim, good arms can make the difference, and for guys out there, can really woo the ladies and keep them wanting more.
And now, the Free Weight Exercises:
#1 The Classic Bicep Curl
This is the most basic, yet effective exercise to develop the muscle fibers of the arm. It is the exercise that helps to give more tone and volume in each arm. Please note that the biceps curl is an exercise that helps in strengthening the shoulders, lats, biceps, forearms, and also the wrist. However, a lot of times it is done improperly, which limits the overall results you can see.
Steps
- Hold the dumbbells at your sides. Make sure that you have a firm grip and that your palms are forward.
- Relax your shoulders and then give a moderate shoulder squeeze, while holding your chest out.
- Flex your arms and bring the dumbbells in toward you. The most common mistake is when people let their elbows move behind them. Don’t let that be you. Your arms should be aligned with your sides.
- Slowly let your arms extend forward to their original position at your side. This is called “negative.” It is perhaps the most crucial part of the exercise. While you may get fewer reps in, this will make the difference in training your muscles faster. This slower movement will also help so that you are not rocking back and forth (which is a common mistake).
Repeat- Alternating arms
# of Reps: 10
# of sets 3 for each arm
Note: We won’t be giving specific weights as this all depends on your physical capabilities and goals.
#2 The Dumbbell Tate Press
The tate press is a very effective free weight exercise for improving the triceps, upper chest and shoulders. It targets at building the triceps in a unique to get you those Instagram-likes on demand. Note that, although you can do this exercise with one dumbbell at a time, this press is ideal for two dumbbells working simultaneously.
Steps
- Lie down on a bench with your feet firmly planted on the ground. Keep your abs tight
- Grab the dumbbells and bring your arms straight out in front of you. Make sure that your shoulders are comfortable and that your palms are facing your feet.
- In One motion, bring your dumbbells toward your chest and point your elbows out toward the side.
- Make sure that your forearms are doing the majority of the work.
- Breath out and extend your arms upwards squeezing every fiber in your triceps
# of Reps: 10
# of sets 3
#3 The Triceps Kick-backs
This is fundamental. With this free weight exercise, you can keep the triceps in a very strong and flexible condition. Ask anyone you know who lifts weights: You can’t ignore the triceps!
Steps
- Grab the dumbbell with your right arm
- Bring your left leg forward bending slightly at the knee. Make your right leg is straight behind you for a firm stance (you can rest your left hand on your thigh for added support)
- Lean your whole torso over without turning into the Hunchback of Notre Dame. And Keep everything as straight as possible.
- Bring the dumbbell up toward you until you form a 90-degree (right angle) with your upper arm aligned at your torso.
- Kick back your forearm slow and controlled until your forearm and arm form a 180-degree angle.
- Slowly move forearm back to the right-angle position. Avoid “full body rocking.” Try to keep the muscles that you are targeting as isolated as possible.
Repeat for the left arm (alternating leg position accordingly)
# of Reps: 10
# of sets 3 for each arm
#4 The Biceps Hammer Curl
The hammer biceps curl is different than the biceps curl in that it improves your extensor and forearm muscles and diversifies your arm’s strength-points. Although the hammer curl is very similar to the biceps curl, there are a few differences you should note in the steps.
Steps
- Hold the dumbbells at your sides with the same firm grip as the bicep curl. Face your palms inward. *** A good way to make sure you are properly aligned is to think that if this dumbbell were Darth-maul’s double-ended lightsaber, it should never cut you during this exercise.
- Relax your shoulders and then give a moderate shoulder squeeze, while holding your chest out.
- With nice control, flex your arms and bring the dumbbells in toward you. Again, don’t let your elbows move behind you
- Slowly let your arms extend forward to their original position at your side. Do not rock back and forth between movements.
Repeat- Alternating arms
# of Reps: 10
# of sets 3 for each arm
#5 The Spider Curl
This one of the strangest sounding, yet effective, exercises you can do to gain strength and muscle mass. You expand the range of motion of a normal bicep curl, and you incorporate different muscle fibers during execution.
This curl has proven to be one of the best ways to improve your arm to get it more robust. This exercise is kind of like the secret sauce, so share it sparingly.
Steps
- Grab your dumbbells and lay down with your chest flat on an inclined weight bench (or equivalent).
- Let your arms hang straight down with your palms facing in.
- With a tight grip on the dumbbells, pull your wrist toward your chest ***When at the top give a nice squeeze to those biceps
- Slowly let your arms extend forward to their original position. Feel the burn.
# of Reps: 10
# of sets 3 for each arm
Final thoughts
These are 5 of the best free weight exercises for arm muscles.
Always remember that consistency is key. It will give you more of an edge than anything discussed in this article.
If you need a good dumbbell set. check out this article: Click Here.
Check out our favorite ab workout to do with dumbells, too!
Go out there and get the arms you deserve!
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