The bench press is a go-to exercise when you’re looking to increase the size and strength of your chest, shoulders, and triceps. The stability of the bench and the fixed range of motion of the barbell allows you to use more weight. And moving more weight means building more size and strength.

If you’re looking for a standalone bench-focused workout to increase strength and muscle in your upper body, you have come to the right place. Let’s dive in below.

Best Bench Press Workout For Muscle and Strength

To gain absolute strength, you must focus on moving heavier weights, working around 85-90% of your one-repetition maximum. (1) The cluster set technique will give you all you can handle in this regard — performing multiple “mini-sets” of low repetitions with heavy weights to accumulate significant volume. This helps set the table for more muscle because a stronger muscle has the potential for more size. After the heavy work, two different supersets concentrate on exercises that efficiently increase your chest size and strength.

The Size and Strength Routine

Perform this workout once weekly as part of your upper/lower body split. To progress with the first exercise, start at three complete cluster sets, do four the next week, and then five. When you’re able to do five cluster sets, add weight. The other three bench exercises start at the lower end of the rep range and add one repetition each week. When you have reached the upper range, increase the weight by five to 10 pounds and start the process again.

Bench Press Cluster Set

The flat barbell bench press should be a staple in your routine and your go-to for more size and strength whenever you want to move the most weight. This benching variation focuses equally on your upper and lower chest for better overall muscle development.

How to Do it: Lay supine on the flat bench, arch your lower back slightly, and plant your feet on the floor. Pull your shoulder blades together to enhance stability and upper back strength. Grab the bar and squeeze your hands hard to flex your arm and grip muscles maximally before unracking the load. Lower the bar to your sternum/base of your chest. Press the weight up, keep your back tight and your shoulder blades pulled together.

Sets and Reps: 3-5 x (4×2) — Perform four mini-sets of two reps, repeated a total of three to five times.

Rest time: Rest 10 seconds between each mini-set. Rest three minutes after each full set.

Close-Grip Bench Press

The close-grip bench press has your hands set shoulder-width apart and shift the load to your triceps and inner chest. (2) You may not be able to lift as much weight, but you’ll be training your chest and triceps from a different angle for improved muscle development.

How to Do it: Set up as you would for the flat bench press, but position your hands inside shoulder-width with your elbows tucked into your body. Pull the bar out of the rack and get tight. Pull keep your elbows close to your ribs while lowering the bar to your chest. Once you have reached your desired depth, press back up until lockout.

Sets and Reps: 3-4 x 4-6

Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Seated Band Pull-Apart

After two pressing exercises, you’ll get a break with this simple pulling exercise to strengthen your upper back and keep up the health of your shoulders. This seated band pull-apart will increase your upper back engagement (because of the stability of being seated) without you leaving the bench.

How to Do it: Sit upright, holding a looped band at shoulder height with your hands shoulder-width apart. Pull the band apart, keeping your arms nearly straight. Keep your shoulders down and your chest up. Pull until your shoulder blades are together and your arms are extended to either side of your body. Return to the starting position and repeat.

Sets and Reps: 3 x 15-25

Rest time: Rest two minutes before repeating previous exercise.

Single-Arm Dumbbell Bench Press

This single-arm (unilateral) exercise won’t allow you to go as heavy as you could with the barbell bench press, but there is still a lot to like about this pressing variation. First, you’ll address any imbalances between sides of your body, leading to better muscle development and improved joint health. Second, you’ll have more freedom of movement, because the dumbbell bench press allows you to adjust your grip and arm angle to find a pressing path that is comfortable for your wrist, elbow, and shoulder joints.

How to Do it:  Place one dumbbell on your knee while sitting on a flat bench. Lean back and drive the dumbbell toward your shoulder using your knee, while pressing the dumbbell up. Lower the dumbbell, keeping your elbow at roughly 45-degrees from your body. Press the dumbbells up to lockout and repeat. 

Sets and Reps: 3-4 x 8-12 reps per arm.

Rest time: Rest 60 to 90 seconds before moving to the next exercise. 

Dumbbell Chest Flye

The dumbbell chest flye is as close to a chest isolation exercise as it gets. This exercise takes the triceps out of the movement and stretches the pecs for a more extensive range of motion, which gives you better muscle-building potential. (3)

How to do it: Lie supine on a flat bench with a dumbbell in each hand. Begin with both arms locked out above your chest. Create a slight bend in your elbows and keep this bend throughout the movement. Lower your arms out to your sides in line with your shoulders. When you feel a stretch in the pecs, reverse the motion and squeeze the chest muscles to return to the top position.

Sets and Reps: 3 x 8-15

Rest time: Rest 60-90 seconds before repeating the previous exercise.

Chest Anatomy

The chest is a large superficial fan-like muscle, and the two chest muscles are the pectoralis major and the pec minor. It has two attachment points — the clavicular head on the upper chest and the sternal head attachment on the mid-to-lower chest. The pec major is on your anterior (front) ribcage, while the pectoralis minor is a small muscle underneath the pec major.

The pec major’s clavicular head originates, as expected, on your clavicle’s (collarbone) anterior or front surface. The pec major’s sternal head originates at the sternum’s anterior surface. Both muscle heads insert on the humerus (upper arm) and are involved in most upper body movements. The two primary chest functions that the training above focuses on are:

• Shoulder flexion — Raising your arms up by pushing or lifting in front of your body.
• Horizontal adduction — Bringing your hands (and joints) together in front of your pecs, as you do during a chest flye, bench press, or push-up.

Besides creating a big and muscular chest, the pecs are the primary “hugging” muscle. Pec size and strength help tackle, grab, and fend off opponents in the sporting arena, as well as throw and swing harder and faster if you play sports like football, baseball, or tennis. 

How to Warm-Up for Your Bench Workout

Have you ever seen someone walk off the street under the barbell and start pressing away to their heart’s content? Don’t be that person, they’re asking for injuries and poor performance. Although not warming up may not a huge issue on rare occasions, over time, it may lead to a decrease in performance and increased injury risk.

It’s better to take the time to warm-up and get the blood moving through your working muscles, while get your shoulder and elbow joints ready for action.

Because your upper back and rotator cuffs are involved in the bench press, be sure to perform any upper back movement that is effective for engaging your scapula and rotators — face pulls with external rotation or band pull-parts.

After that, a few light ramp-up sets on the bench press (low rep, light weight sets getting progressively heavier), focusing hard on engaging your chest muscles, will have you ready to roll.

If you decide to take more time for a thorough warm-up, take this upper-body prep for a spin. There are a couple of upper back-focused exercises here because your lats and upper back stabilize your chest during benching. You’ll need to get your back ready for chest day to fully protect and prepare your shoulders and rotator cuff.

• Face Pull with External Rotation: Secure a resistance band to a stable object at eye-level. Take an overhand grip and step back until your arms are extended straight ahead. Drive your elbows back in line with your shoulders while pulling your hands to the top of your head. In the peak contraction, your thumbs should point behind you and your palms should be near your ears. Return to the arms-extended position. Perform two sets of 15 reps.
• Scapular Push-up: Begin in a push-up position, with your hands and toes on the ground and your body straight. Keep your arms stiff and locked as you pinch your shoulder blades together while reaching your chest toward the ground. Drive your hands “through the ground” as you extend your shoulder blades down and push your chest away from your hands. Perform two sets of 10 reps.
• Rear Delt Fly: Take a pair of light dumbbells in each hand, or stand in the middle of a light resistance band and hold each end. Bend forward at the waist, nearly parallel to the ground, and let your arms hang toward the ground with a slight bend in your arms. Drive your arms up in line with your shoulders. Don’t allow your arm angle to change throughout the exercise. Pause briefly before returning to the stretched position. Perform two sets of 12 reps.
• Spiderman With Rotation: Begin in a push-up position, with your hands and toes on the ground and your body straight. Step forward with your left leg, aiming to get your foot near the pinky of your left hand if mobility allows. Keep your right leg straight. Without bending your right arm, lift your left arm to the ceiling, turning your upper body to allow a full rotation. When your arm is perpendicular to the ground, feel a total-body stretch before returning to a push-up position. Alternate sides with each repetition. Perform two sets of five reps per side.
• Incline Plyo Push-up: Setup near a stable flat bench or box, in a push-up position with your hands on the bench, your toes on the ground, and your body straight. Lower your chest toward the bench and explosively drive upwards, letting your hands leave contact with the bench. Catch yourself with slightly bent arms and brace your core. Take a breath and reset quickly before performing the next repetition. Perform two sets of eight reps.

Happy Benching

There are many different ways to target your chest, shoulder, and triceps, but the bench press is the most popular and, potentially, the most effective tool. You can build muscle and strength by focusing on a handful of the most effective movements to complement the bench press. Always warm-up your chest and shoulders, and then attack the muscles using the in-depth, ultimate bench workout laid out above. Your Mondays will never be the same.

References

1. Schoenfeld, B. J., Grgic, J., Van Every, D. W., & Plotkin, D. L. (2021). Loading Recommendations for Muscle Strength, Hypertrophy, and Local Endurance: A Re-Examination of the Repetition Continuum. Sports (Basel, Switzerland), 9(2), 32. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports9020032
2. Lockie, Robert & Moreno, Matthew. (2017). The Close-Grip Bench Press. Strength and Conditioning Journal. 39. 1. 10.1519/SSC.0000000000000307.
3. Baroni, B. M., Pompermayer, M. G., Cini, A., Peruzzolo, A. S., Radaelli, R., Brusco, C. M., & Pinto, R. S. (2017). Full Range of Motion Induces Greater Muscle Damage Than Partial Range of Motion in Elbow Flexion Exercise With Free Weights. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 31(8), 2223–2230. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000001562

Featured Image: YAKOBCHUK VIACHESLAV / Shutterstock

The post The Ultimate Bench Press Workout to Increase Strength and Muscle appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

The American bodybuilder is already considered big for his previous division. Still, he’ll have to size up to ensure he isn’t dwarfed by the likes of 2020-21 Mr. Olympia Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay, who weighed nearly 340 pounds in his offseason.

Throughout his prep, Lunsford has been sharing highlights of his training. On Nov. 7, 2022, the Indiana native posted a video of himself training shoulders on his YouTube channel. The day the video was filmed wasn’t shared, but it can be seen in its entirety below.

During the offseason — which, for IFBB Pro League bodybuilders of the highest level, runs from the end of the Olympia until 16 weeks prior — rumors began circulating that Lunsford would opt-in to the Mr. Olympia if given the chance.

And then, in September 2022, Mr. Olympia and Lunsford announced on Instagram that he would receive an invite for the show. Another former 212 Olympia, Shaun Clarida (2020), is qualified for the Men’s Open division at the 2022 Olympia. Though, it’s not yet confirmed which division he’ll be competing in.

If Lunsford won the 2022 Mr. Olympia, he’d be the first man to win two Olympia titles in two different divisions.

Lunsford’s Shoulder Workout

Here’s Lunsford’s workout in full, followed by a breakdown of each movement he used.

Seated Lateral Raise Machine

Lunsford’s first exercise was the seated lateral raise machine to target the side delts. After his first set, he mentioned taking a few sets to get warmed up. 

“It takes me several sets to get my muscles livened up.”

Only two of his sets were shown in its entirety, and he performed 12 reps in one and 12 plus forced reps in another. He was seen using the machine for five sets. After the fourth and fifth sets, he could be seen hitting poses to analyze his progress.

Dumbbell Lateral Raise

The second exercise was another lateral raise, but this time with dumbbells. The current, but not defending, Olympia 212 winner is focusing on width with these exercises. He opted to use the seated version to enforce proper form and use less weight. In between sets of 10-12 reps, he could be seen talking to another Olympia 212 winner — 2019 champion Kamal Elgargni.

For his third set, Lunsford started seated, then stood up to get a few extra reps without having to lower the weight. 

Smith Machine Shoulder Press

The third movement for this session was the Smith machine shoulder press, which emphasizes the front delts. He started with one 45-pound plate on each side of the bar, then two, then three plates per side for two sets. Lunsford explained why he stuck with the same weight for the last two sets.

“I don’t feel like I need to set any PR’s…Today, I don’t feel like that’s necessary or even a good idea to be honest.”

Dumbbell Front Raise

Lunsford then performed another front delt movement. He did dumbbell front raises by bringing both dumbbells up and in front of him simultaneously. He kept the range of motion to shoulder level to focus on the shoulders instead of the traps. He explained that his motion helped target the upper chest as well.

He changed his motion on the third set to mimic a “Y” formation to focus on the delts a little differently. 

Rear Delt Work

Lunsford and his training partner stayed in the same place for the next exercise, but they changed the focus to the rear delts.

After three sets of that exercise, they changed to the reverse pec-deck machine, where they performed three sets as well. Lunsford had only planned on doing two movements for the rear delts, but he chose to add face pulls to make it three exercises for that area.

Biceps

The 2017 NPC USA champion added biceps to the agenda on this day, and he chose cable curls to work with. He hit additional poses in between his three sets. This was the conclusion of the training session.

Lunsford will be looking to dethrone defending Mr. Olympia Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay to become the 17th man to win bodybuilding’s biggest title in December. If he wins, he will be the first man to win the Olympia in two different divisions. If you want to try a similar version of Lunsford’s workout, you can follow the sample routine above. Olympia qualification not guaranteed.

Featured Image: Derek Lunsford on YouTube

The post Derek Lunsford Trains Shoulders Ahead of His 2022 Men’s Open Olympia Debut appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Here are some of the best workouts to hit your legs hard no matter your training situation — at home, on the road, or if you’re just looking for a new way to pack on size and strength.

The Best Leg Workouts

• Best Leg Workout With Dumbbells
• Best Bodyweight Leg Workout 
• Best Leg Workout for Size
• Best Leg Workout for Strength

Best Leg Workout With Dumbbells

Leg day is often a chance to use a wide range of equipment at the gym. Every standard commercial gym has various machines to target specific leg muscles, a behemoth of a leg press, and the tried and true squat rack. But if you don’t have access to all the fun stuff, you don’t have to sacrifice results.

Whether you’re training at home with a few dumbbells or you’re in a barebones hotel gym, you can get a serious leg workout.

The Dumbbell-Only Leg Workout

A few pairs of dumbbells or a pair of adjustable dumbbells are all you need to target each leg muscle with high-intensity exercises. Because the legs are powerful and can typically move more weight than most dumbbells allow, this workout focuses primarily on single-leg exercises to reap more benefit from relatively lighter weights.

This routine can be done twice per week if it’s the only leg training in your program or it can be used as an additional leg workout to complement your current plan.

Single-Side Walking Lunge

• How to Do it: Begin standing with a dumbbell in each hand at your sides. Take one large step forward and descend into a deep lunge position. Keep your head and shoulders above your hips, not leaning forward. Press through the front foot to rise while pulling your back leg forwards. Your entire body should be a short distance from where you began. Step forward again with the same leg for the target reps before switching sides.

• Sets and Reps: 3 x 10-15 per leg.

• Rest Time: No rest between legs, 60 seconds between sets.

Dumbbell Squat

• How to Do it: Stand with a dumbbell in each hand. Keep your arms straight and your feet roughly hip-width apart. Keep a neutral spine without rounding forward. Push your hips back to squat halfway down, pause briefly, then return upright. Next, squat as low as your mobility allows, and stand upright again. This is considered one full rep using the “one and a half rep” method.

• Sets and Reps: 4 x 8-10

• Rest Time: 90 seconds between sets.

Split-Stance Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

• How to Do it: Begin standing with a dumbbell in each hand at your sides. Take a small step backwards into a staggered stance. If you were on a clock face, have one foot at 11 and the other at 5 (after switching sides, you’d be on 1 and 7). Keep a slight bend in your front leg. Push your hips back and bend at your waist. You should feel tension in the hamstrings of your front leg. Avoid rounding your spine. Flex your glutes and hamstrings to pull your torso upright. Your feet shouldn’t move until all reps are completed.

• Sets and Reps: 3 x 8-10 per leg.

• Rest Time: No rest between legs, 60 seconds between sets.

Leaning Single-Leg Calf Raise

• How to Do it: Stand at arms-length to a wall with one hand palm-flat against the wall. Hold one dumbbell in your free hand by your side. Bend your wall-supporting arm until your entire forearm is on the wall and your body is leaned forward at a slight angle. Keep your body straight from your feet to your shoulders. Raise as high as possible onto the toes of the foot under the dumbbell. Hold the peak contraction for three seconds before lowering.

• Sets and Reps: 3 x 10-15 per leg.

• Rest Time: No rest between legs or sets.

Best Bodyweight Leg Workout

Some lifters’ legs may be capable of squatting hundreds of pounds and leg pressing even more, but with the right exercise choices, you can get an intense and effective lower body workout without any weights.

Bodyweight-only training is most often associated with upper body workouts filled with dips, chin-ups, and push-up variations, but any lifter can get a serious leg workout using more than high-rep bodyweight squats or miles of walking lunges.

The Simple and Effective Bodyweight Leg Workout

This bodyweight-only routine prioritizes single-leg exercises, long time under tension in each set, and explosive movements to burn the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes.

This style of training, using unfamiliar exercises and high-intensity techniques, can often create a surprising amount of muscle soreness in the days following the workout. Train hard, recover properly, and stick with the plan to see results. Go through the complete workout once every four to seven days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Bulgarian Split Squat

• How to Do it: Put one foot behind you on a bench, chair, low table or other study object below knee-height. Stabilize your body. Squat down until your rear knee is nearly touching the floor. Reaching straight ahead while leaning slightly forward can help to maintain balance. Pause at the bottom for two seconds. Keep your foot flat as you straighten your leg. Lower halfway down before rising up again. This is one full rep using the “one and a half rep” method.

• Sets and Reps: 4 x 6-8 per leg.

• Rest Time: 15 seconds rest between legs, 60 seconds between sets.

Reverse Lunge

• How to Do it: From a standing position, take one large step backwards with one foot. Descend into a lunge position. Don’t allow your upper body to lean while stepping back. Return to a standing position and pull your back leg forward. Perform all reps on one leg. Use the same leg to perform reps of the next exercise before switching sides.
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 10-12 per leg.
• Rest Time: No rest before moving to the next exercise, working the same leg.

Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift

• How to Do it: From a standing position, take a small step backwards into a staggered stance, stepping with the same foot as the previous exercise. Keep a slight bend in your front leg. Push your hips back and bend at your waist. Feel tension in the hamstrings of your front leg. Pause briefly before flexing your glutes and hamstrings to pull your torso upright. Perform all reps with one leg forward before performing a set of the previous exercise on the opposite leg.
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 10-12 per leg.
• Rest Time: 60 seconds before returning to the previous exercise, performing a set on the opposite leg.

Leg Matrix

• How to Do it: This isn’t one single exercise, but is a four-exercise circuit popularized by Coach Alwyn Cosgrove. Perform standard bodyweight squats, followed immediately by alternating lunges (step with one leg, descend, stand upright and return to center, step with your other leg, descend, repeat), followed immediately by jumping alternating lunges (as the previous exercise with an added jump into the air to as you switch legs), ending with jumping squats (standard bodyweight squats, jumping into the air on each rep).
• Sets and Reps: 1 x 24 reps of each exercise (12 lunges per leg, 24 total reps). If you somehow manage to complete all 96 reps in less than 90 seconds, which is top-level performance, rest three minutes and repeat the circuit for one additional set.
• Rest Time: No rest between exercises.

Best Leg Workout for Size

“Leg day” is a phrase which strikes fear into even the most experienced lifters. Because the legs are a relatively large muscle group, you need to include multiple exercises to avoid neglecting any part of the lower body. That means you’re in for a lot of work with a lot of intensity and a lot of muscle-burning reps.

Many lifters over-focus on the quadriceps and neglect their hamstrings and calves, but a complete training session addresses them all. Under-trained muscles remain smaller and weaker than muscles that get worked. Since most people want to wear shorts in public once in a while without feeling self-conscious, here’s a size-building program to build a solid set of legs.

Legendary Leg Day

This once-per-week workout uses classic exercises, simple techniques like supersets and peak contractions, and old fashioned hard work to grind out muscle-building reps. The last few reps of each set should be extremely challenging while maintaining good form. Reach near-complete muscular failure on the very last rep of each set.

Back Squat

• How to Do it: Setup in a squat rack with the bar positioned across the back of your shoulders. Unrack the bar by taking one small step backwards. Set your feet outside-hip width. Keep your lower back locked and your chest up. Aim to reach a parallel depth (having your hips level with your knees) for optimal muscle recruitment. Pause briefly before standing up.
• Sets and Reps: 4 x 8-12
• Rest Time: 90 seconds between sets.

Leg Curl

• How to Do it: Set up on either a seated or lying leg curl machine. Adjust the pads to contact slightly above your heels. Bend only at your knees without moving your upper body. Contract your hamstrings fully, until the leg pad is either in contact under the seat frame (for seated leg curls) or in contact with your glutes (for lying leg curls). Hold for two seconds before slowly extending your legs under control.
• Sets and Reps: 4 x 10-12
• Rest Time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Leg Extension

• How to Do it: Sit on a leg extension machine. Set the shin pads just above your ankles. Think of your shoelaces floating to the ceiling while straightening your legs to raise the weight. Don’t allow your glutes or hips to leave the seat. Hold the peak contraction for two seconds before lowering the weight under control.
• Sets and Reps: 4 x 10-12
• Rest Time: 60 seconds before returning to the previous exercise.

High-Stance Leg Press

• How to Do it: Sit in a leg press machine and set your feet outside shoulder-width relatively high on the platform. This stance activates more glutes and hamstrings. Keep your feet flat while pressing through your heels to full lockout. Lower the weight as far as your mobility allows. Keep your lower back in contact with the seat throughout the set. Repeat reps steadily without pausing in either the locked out or the stretched positions.
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 12-15
• Rest Time: 60 seconds between sets.

Seated Calf Raise

• How to Do it: Sit in a seated calf raise station. Unlock the weight and lower your heels to a comfortable stretch position. Pause for two seconds. Raise onto your toes as high as possible. Pause for two seconds before lowering to the next rep.
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 15-20
• Rest Time: 30 seconds between sets.

Best Leg Workout For Strength

A strong lower body can often be an indicator of total body strength, since many upper body exercises are hindered by a weak lower body. In short: When in doubt, get really strong legs because they improve pretty much everything else.

Stronger Legs, Stronger Body

This strength-focused workout is centered around the classic barbell back squat. Not only is it, arguably, the most popular of the “big three” powerlifts, it has also been shown to benefit athleticism. (1) (2)

Use this program once per week, ideally after a rest day to avoid cumulative fatigue and allow maximum focus.

Back Squat

• How to Do it: Setup in a squat rack with the bar positioned across the back of your shoulders. Unrack the bar by taking one small step backwards. Set your feet outside-hip width. Keep your lower back locked and your chest up. Aim to reach a parallel depth (having your hips level with your knees) for optimal muscle recruitment. Pause briefly before standing up.
• Sets and Reps: 5 x 3-5
• Rest Time: Three minutes between sets.

Romanian Deadlift

• How to Do it: Begin with a barbell at waist-height using a palms-down (pronated) grip. Set your feet shoulder-width apart. Retract your shoulder blades and brace your core. Keep your back in a neutral position while pushing your hips back and bending at the waist. Lower the bar until you feel maximum tension in the hamstrings and glutes. Contract the target muscles and return to an upright standing position.
• Sets and Reps: 4 x 6-8
• Rest Time: Three minutes between sets.

Step-Up

• How to Do it: Begin with a bench or steps at roughly knee-height placed in front of you. Hold a pair of dumbbells in each hand, hanging at your sides. Place one foot on top of the platform. Focus on pressing through the top foot with little to no assistance from the foot on the ground. Keep your shoulders back and resist leaning. Pause briefly at the top before lowering under control. Letting your body free fall to ground-level decreases muscular stress and increases joint impact.
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 6-8 per leg.
• Rest Time: 60 seconds between legs, 60 seconds between sets.

The Leg Muscles

Training your “legs” is like training your “back.” It’s almost always considered one body part for training purposes. In reality, it’s a collection of multiple muscles which need to be recruited with a variety of exercises.

Knowing exactly what muscles make up your lower body is essential to getting the best results, building more muscle, and increasing overall strength.

Quadriceps

Being the large muscles on the front of the thigh, your quadriceps are responsible for movement at the knee to extend and straighten your leg. The “quad” in quadriceps refers to the four muscles that function together — the rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, and vastus intermedius.

Generally speaking, the muscles are recruited and activated similarly during quadriceps-focused exercises. However, some research has shown that certain heads may be recruited differently with specific techniques. (3) (4)

This type of finely targeted training can be useful for competitive bodybuilders and high-level aesthetic lifters, but the vast majority of lifters in the gym can build exceptional muscular development without over stressing about hitting one head of the quads more than another.

Hamstrings

The hamstrings are a multi-headed muscle on the back of the upper leg. It consists of three different sections — the biceps femoris, semimembranosus, and semitendinosus. The hamstrings are responsible for bending the knee, as well as extending the hips.

Because the hamstrings control two different types of movements, exercises like leg curls and deadlift variations are both necessary for total recruitment and maximum development.

Glutes

The glute maximus, glute medius, and glute minimus combine to form eye-catching glutes. The glutes primarily function in hip extension, to pull the legs and torso into a straight line. They’re also heavily recruited in rotating and moving the leg from the hip joint.

Due to the glutes’ relative size and attachment points, they can be some of the most pound-for-pound powerful muscles in your body. While heavy lifting certainly isn’t the only way to train, direct glute exercises have the potential to move higher poundages than direct training for other body parts.

Calves

The calves are made of the soleus and gastrocnemius on the back of the lower leg. Both work to extend the ankle and foot. The gastrocnemius attaches above the knee while the soleus is entirely below it. Due to this unique division, the soleus is prioritized when the knee is bent (during seated calf raises) while both muscle heads work during straight-legged calf raises.

Warming Up the Legs

Because the legs involve multiple muscles and multiple joints, a thorough warm-up is mandatory. Addressing the hips, knees, and ankles can lead to improved range of motion, optimal performance, and reduced risk of injury.

The Full Leg Warm-Up

• Squat to Calf Raise: With your feet shoulder-width apart, squat down to a comfortable depth. Pause briefly before standing. Transition directly into a calf raise, rising onto both toes. Hold the top position briefly before returning to a squat position. Repeat for 10 reps.
• Standing Knee Raise: From a standing position, bring one bent leg up to waist-level in front of your body. Keep your torso over your hips without leaning excessively forwards or backwards. Complete a total of 20 reps, alternating legs each rep. 
• Squat to Stand: Stand with your feet beyond shoulder-width apart. Reach forward to touch your toes. Slightly rounding your back is acceptable because the spine isn’t under any load. Next, drop your hips down into a deep squat position. Your knees should end up outside of your arms. Stay in the bottom position and raise both hands overhead. Stand up while keeping both arms up. Lower your arms to your sides and repeat the process for five reps.

Leg Day Every Day?

“Skipping leg day” has become in-gym shorthand for avoiding hard work, but if you want impressive results, going through hard work is unavoidable. You’re now armed with plenty of options to get the job done, no matter your goal and no matter your gym. There are no excuses left to skip leg day.

References

1. Chelly MS, Fathloun M, Cherif N, Ben Amar M, Tabka Z, Van Praagh E. Effects of a back squat training program on leg power, jump, and sprint performances in junior soccer players. J Strength Cond Res. 2009 Nov;23(8):2241-9. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181b86c40. PMID: 19826302.
2. Crewther, B. T., Kilduff, L. P., Cook, C. J., Middleton, M. K., Bunce, P. J., & Yang, G. Z. (2011). The acute potentiating effects of back squats on athlete performance. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 25(12), 3319–3325. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e318215f560
3. Stoutenberg M, Pluchino AP, Ma F, Hoctor JE, Signorile JF. The impact of foot position on electromyographical activity of the superficial quadriceps muscles during leg extension. J Strength Cond Res. 2005 Nov;19(4):931-938. doi: 10.1519/r-16364.1. PMID: 16437818.
4. Signorile JF, Kacsik D, Perry A, Robertson B, Williams R, Lowensteyn I, Digel S, Caruso J, LeBlanc WG. The effect of knee and foot position on the electromyographical activity of the superficial quadriceps. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 1995 Jul;22(1):2-9. doi: 10.2519/jospt.1995.22.1.2. PMID: 7550299.

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Want to bring up your bench press? A strong set of horseshoe triceps will help you when locking out the weight. If you struggle with pull-ups, underdeveloped biceps may be holding you back.

Whether you are just beginning your training journey, have been hitting the gym for years, or have no equipment at all but still want great results, you can find the perfect arm workout to get you closer to those goals. Dive in, choose your plan of attack, and get working.

The Best Arm Workouts

• Best Bodyweight Arm Workout
• Best Arm Workout for Beginners
• Best Arm Workout With Dumbbells
• Best Muscle-Building Arm Workout

Best Bodyweight Arm Workout

Bodyweight training may not seem like a popular option to consider, but focusing on bodyweight movements can translate into improved body awareness, better muscular coordination, and more exercise options once you start to add weight in the gym.

The Arms Mastery Bodyweight Workout

This workout is designed to be simple and effective. Get stronger, improve muscle coordination, and feel a pump that you never thought could be possible with just your body weight.

You will perform two exercises in a superset fashion with the inclusion of the “contrast training method.” Contrast training is when you start a set using a slow-and-controlled rep speed and finish the set performing reps explosively. This contrasting tempo recruits more muscle fibers, which leads to increased power output and an increased stimulus for muscle growth.

Tempo is indicated by a series of four numbers. The first number addresses the speed for lowering the weight (stretching the muscle), the second number refers to any pause in the stretched position, the third number is the speed to raise the weight (contracting the muscle), and the fourth number covers any pause in the contracted position. The third number, in particular, may sometimes be an “X” instead of an actual number. This means the movement should be performed as quickly as possible. Think of the “X” as “explosive”.

For example, using the contrast training method, perform the first six to eight reps working at a 5-0-1-0 tempo — take five seconds to lower the weight (yourself, in this case). Take no rest before immediately raising the weight for one second. Lockout but do not rest at the top before beginning the next repetition. For the next six to eight reps of the same set, you will use a 2-0-x-0 tempo — two seconds to lower, no rest, as fast as possible upwards, and then no rest at the top position.

The amount of reps in this bodyweight workout may not seem too difficult at first, but take into account the total time under tension. The first half of your set can take more than 45 seconds followed by another 20+ seconds, resulting in more than one intense minute for each set.

Diamond Push-up

• How to Do it: Support your body on your toes and hands. Set your hands directly underneath your chest to create a triangle or “diamond” shape with your thumbs and index fingers. Your hands do not need to be touching. Keeping them a few inches apart may be more comfortable for your wrist and elbow joints. Maintain a straight line from your neck to your ankles during each rep. Bend your elbows to lower your entire body. Press to full lockout. Allow your elbows to sit roughly at a 45-degree angle towards your body.
• Sets, Reps, Tempo: 4 x 12-16 using contrast training. Each set should be 6-8 reps at 5-0-1-0 tempo followed by 6-8 reps at 2-0-X-0 tempo.
• Rest time: 60 seconds before moving to the next exercise.

Inverted Biceps Curl With Towel 

• How to Do it: Wrap a sturdy towel around any fixed object that can support your bodyweight, such as a rail, staircase, or fence. Grab the towel with your thumbs up and the material running out of the pinky-side of the hand. Shift your weight onto your heels. A lower body angle will be more challenging, so adjust the towel length and position your body accordingly. Flex your biceps and curl to pull yourself up. Supinate your wrists (rotate your palms towards you) as you come to the last quarter of the contraction. Your palms should end up directly in front of your face.
• Sets, Reps, Tempo: 4 x 12-16 using contrast training. Each set should be 6-8 reps at 5-0-1-0 tempo followed by 6-8 reps at 2-0-X-0 tempo.
• Rest time: 60 seconds before moving back to diamond push-ups.

Best Arm Workout For Beginners

So you are just starting your fitness journey. That’s good. But you might be thinking the way to a bigger, stronger, and more functional set of arms is all about getting as pumped as possible. Nope.

It’s important to understand that you cannot rush this process and, much like the larger muscle groups that most trainees dedicate time to, improving the arms should be no different.

The biceps and triceps receive a portion of the tension in almost every exercise involving the chest or back. This indirect work should still be counted towards your overall weekly “arm training” volume. It is also important to understand that, in the initial weeks of starting any new program, you will see an improvement in neuromuscular adaptations before muscle growth can occur. (1)

Essentially, when you begin a new workout routine, your brain “learns” how to efficiently use various muscles during an exercise before your body can “tell” those muscles to respond to training by growing larger. When your body is more efficient at using specific muscles, your training plan can become more productive.

This means it would be wise to spend time perfecting these exercises to better serve you in later cycles of training. Because most people work on their larger muscle groups at the start of the week, it makes sense to use this arm workout at the end of the week.

This beginner workout focuses on recruiting the biceps and triceps with simple and effective exercises. This allows you to develop a mind-muscle connection (learning to feel the specific muscles working), reinforces strict form on fundamental movements, and targets the body parts to build a foundation of size and strength.

Close-Grip Bench Press

• How to Do it: Take a slightly inside shoulder-width grip. Lower the bar in-line with your mid-chest. Do not aim to keep your elbows tucked in, but allow them to sit naturally or at a 45-degree angle with your forearms perpendicular to the floor. Touch the bar to your chest at the bottom. Reach full lockout before lowering the bar.
• Sets, Reps, Tempo: 4 x 6-8 at 4-0-X-0 tempo.
• Rest time: 60 seconds before moving onto the next exercise.

Medium-Grip EZ-Bar Curl

• How to Do it: Keep your feet flat and grasp the bar with a palms-up grip. Keep your shoulder blades retracted as you brace your abdominal wall. Keep your upper arms perpendicular to the floor. Every rep should start with the muscle fully stretched at the bottom and end fully contracted at the top.
• Sets, Reps, Tempo: 4 x 6-8 at 4-0-X-0 tempo.
• Rest time: 60 seconds before moving back to the first exercise.

Cable Triceps Extension With Rope 

• How to Do it: Face a cable high-pulley with a rope attachment. Grab the rope with both hands and take one or two steps back. Maintain a strong, stable upright position. Set your upper arms in place, gently touching the sides of your body. Keep your elbows in position and do not let them move forward or back. As you start the movement by pressing your hands down, think of flexing your triceps to move the weight.
• Sets, Reps, Tempo: 3 x 10-12 at 3-0-1-1 tempo.
• Rest time: 60 seconds before moving to the next exercise.

Cable Hammer Curl With Rope 

• How to Do it: Face a cable low-pulley with a rope attachment at the bottom. Grab the rope with a thumbs-up grip and take one or two steps back. Maintain a strong, stable position. Your upper arms should be set in place with your elbows angling slightly outwards. Do not allow your arms to flail as you curl the weight upwards.
• Sets, Reps, Tempo: 3 x 10-12 at 3-0-1-1 tempo.
• Rest time: 60 seconds before moving back to the previous exercise.

Best Arm Workout With Dumbbells

Whether you can’t make it into the gym or you don’t have a gym membership, no problem. You can still build a respectable set of arms. All you need is a few sets of dumbbells and an adjustable bench.

The Dumbbell-Only Workout for Arm Size

Training with dumbbells can be a great way to spot any lack of strength or coordination from one arm to the other. Requiring the body to move two weights separately in a single coordinated exercise will reveal, for example, if one arm has been under-stimulated by standard exercises or if one side has been overcompensating for the other during specific movements.

It’s not uncommon for one arm to reach muscular failure before it’s opposite side, typically the non-dominant side (right-handed people tend to have weaker left sides and vice versa.). When this happens, end the set when one side reaches failure even if the opposite side is not fully fatigued. This allows the weaker side to eventually “catch up” in development and reduce the discrepancy.

Switching to dumbbells is also a great way to take the pressure off your joints if you get pain when performing the same exercises with a barbell. Dumbbells allow your wrists and elbows to adjust slightly during any given exercise, while a barbell requires your hands to stay in a static position during an exercise, which can sometimes contribute to joint strain.

Single-Arm Skull Crusher

• How to Do it: Lie on a flat bench as if performing a standard dumbbell bench press, with a dumbbell in only one hand. Keep your elbow pointed directly up to the ceiling. Lower the weight until your arm is fully stretched and the dumbbell is touching the top of your shoulder on the same side (right hand lowers to right shoulder, left to left).
• Sets, Reps, Tempo: 3 x 8-10 at 3-1-1-0 tempo.
• Rest time: No rest between sides, 45 seconds before moving to the next exercise.

Dumbbell Spider Curl

• How to Do it: Set the bench to a high-incline angle. Lie with your chest on the top of the bench. Curl both weights while keeping your your hands supinated (palms facing up). During the movement, do not allow your elbows to shift back towards your body. Be sure to hold an isometric contraction at the top position.
• Sets, Reps, Tempo: 3 x 8-10 at 3-0-1-2 tempo.
• Rest time: 60 seconds before moving back to the previous exercise.

 Dumbbell French Press

• How to Do it: While standing, raise one dumbbell over your head with both hands. Your hands should be placed against the top weight plate with your palms facing the ceiling. Be sure to pause in the stretched position before raising the weight. Keep your elbows stationary during the movement. Raise and lower the weight by bending only at the elbows, not pressing with the shoulders.
• Sets, Reps, Tempo: 3 x 12-14 at 2-2-1-0 tempo.
• Rest time: 45 seconds before moving to the next exercise.

Zottman Curl

• How to Do it: Sit on a bench with an upright torso. Retract your shoulder blades and brace your abdominal wall. Your upper arms should remain perpendicular to the floor. Curl the dumbbell up with a supinated (palms up) grip. As you reach the top position and begin the descent, rotate both hands into a pronated (palms down) grip. Lower the dumbbells until the biceps are fully stretched in the bottom position. Rotate both hands to a supinated position before beginning the next rep.
• Sets, Reps, Tempo: 3 x 12-14 at 4-0-1-0 tempo.
• Rest time: 45 seconds before moving back to the previous exercise.

Best Muscle-Building Arm Workout

Dedicating an entire session to train the biceps and triceps is a classic and effective workout style. Even if you are already hitting your triceps and biceps in other sessions, add this workout 36-48 hours later. You’ll be fully recovered beforehand and can put 100% into this workout. This will make sure you are maximizing your efforts to add muscle, since training a body part twice per week can deliver better results than only training it once per week. (2)

This workout combines heavy loads, extended sets, and intense peak contractions all into one workout. You begin with a heavy lower-rep exercise, followed by exercises using the high-intensity one-and-a-quarter rep technique. The workout finishes with high-tension isolation exercises using high reps coupled with isometric holds in the fully shortened (peak contraction) position.

You will perform this workout in a superset format using a short rest period after the first exercise and a longer rest period after the second exercise in each pair.

Close-Grip Bench Press

• How to Do it: Using a standard flat bench, emphasize triceps recruitment by using a slightly closer grip on the bar. Keep your elbows positioned at a 45-degree angle from your body and don’t allow them to flare out. Note that there is no lockout or pause in any position. Maintain explosiveness coming out of the bottom of the movement.
• Sets, Reps, Tempo: 4 x 6 at 3-0-X-0 tempo.
• Rest time: 60 seconds before moving to the next exercise.

Medium-Grip EZ-Bar Curl 

• How to Do it: Grab an EZ-bar with a palms-up grip, setting your hands just outside your hips. Keep your elbows positioned into your rib cage throughout the set. Focus on not letting your elbows move forward or backwards as your lift. Keep your upper arms in place with no internal or external rotation of the shoulders. Maintaining strict form will keep all the tension placed on the biceps.
• Sets, Reps, Tempo: 4 x 6 at 3-0-X-0 tempo.
• Rest time: 90 seconds before returning to the previous exercise.

Decline Dumbbell Skull Crusher 

• How to Do it: Position a bench at a slight decline (roughly 20 degrees) and lie back holding two dumbbells overhead with your hands facing each other. Perform each set using the “one and a quarter rep” technique. Lower the weight fully, raise it one-quarter of the way up, return to a fully stretched position, and then return to full lockout. This is counted as one rep. As you lower the dumbbells, fully stretch the triceps by thinking about reaching your arm slightly behind your head.
• Sets, Reps,Tempo: 3 x 8-10 at 3-2-1-0 tempo.
• Rest time: 45 seconds rest before moving to the next exercise.

Incline Dumbbell Curl

• How to Do it: Position a bench at a high incline (roughly 45 to 65 degrees. Choose the higher angle if your shoulder mobility is restricted) and sit fully back with your hips, shoulders, and head on the bench. Begin with the weights hanging straight down. Perform each set using the “one and a quarter rep” technique. Curl both dumbbells all the way up, lower them to a full stretch, curl both weights one-quarter of the way up, and then down to a full stretch. This is counted as one rep. Focus on keeping your elbows in place and don’t allow them to swing forward.
• Sets, Reps, Tempo: 3 x 8-10 at 3-2-1-0 tempo.
• Rest time: 60 seconds before returning to the previous exercise.

Cross-Body Dual Cable Triceps Extension

• How to Do it: Position yourself in a cable station with two high pulleys. Grab the left handle with your right hand and the right handle with your left hand. Take a few steps back to add emphasis to the peak contraction. Bring your elbows in front of your body slightly to line up the cables with each arm. Focus on keeping your upper body stable while allowing your elbows to naturally sit in position. Do not keep your elbows tucked in close to your body. Press both hands down, and once you feel tension in your triceps, focus on maintaining it through the set. Be sure to finish each rep with a two-second isometric hold in the shortened (contracted) position.
• Sets, Reps, Tempo: 2 x 15 at 3-0-1-2 tempo.
• Rest time: 45 seconds before moving to the next exercise.

High-Pulley Dual Cable Biceps Curl

• How to Do it: Position yourself in front of a cable set at eye-level. Grab the handles and take a few steps back until your biceps are almost fully stretched out. Imagine your elbows are sitting firmly on a very high table and do not let them move during the set. Keep your palms supinated (palms facing up), and flex your biceps to bring your palms towards your face. Be sure to use a two-second isometric hold in the shortened (contracted) position.
• Sets, Reps, Tempo: 2 x 15 at 3-0-1-2 tempo.
• Rest time: 60 seconds before returning to the previous exercise.

The Arm Musculature

Building an impressive pair of arms requires training both the biceps and triceps. Neither body part can be neglected when the goal is overall size. In order to optimally train these muscles, it’s important to understand the details of how they perform and how they’re best recruited.

Biceps Brachii

When you flex your biceps in the mirror, you’re actually looking at more than just one muscle. The upper arm consists of two main muscles on the anterior (front) side. Both are responsible for achieving the desired look.

The biceps brachii is what most people consider “the biceps”. It is composed of two heads: a long head commonly referred to as the “outer” and a short head referred to as the “inner.” Both muscle heads originate at the scapulae and insert on the radius bone of the forearm.

Because the biceps muscle crosses both the elbow and the shoulder, it’s worked during the classic curling motion (elbow flexion) and it’s worked during front arm raise movements (shoulder flexion).

Brachialis

The brachialis originates at the humerus bone of the upper arm and inserts on the forearm’s ulna bone. Due to its location, the brachialis isn’t involved in shoulder movement; it only bends the elbow and moves the forearm. Its anatomy also makes it the stronger elbow flexor. (3)

Triceps Brachii

The triceps brachii is the main muscle on the posterior (back) side of the upper arm. The triceps muscle has three distinct heads, each with a slightly different shape and function — the long head, the medial head, and the lateral head.

The long head is located closest to the torso. It can be seen in poses such as the bodybuilder’s classic “front double biceps”. The lateral head, responsible for a triceps’ “horseshoe” shape, is on the outer side of the upper arm and it’s most visible in a “side triceps” pose. The medial head is a deeper muscle, located below the long head, and isn’t often noticeable on the surface.

The primary function of the triceps is elbow extension. All three heads cross the elbow joint and insert onto the ulna bone of the forearm. The origin of the lateral and medial heads are both on the humerus bone of the upper arm. The long head crosses the shoulder joint and originates on the scapula.

This different attachment point is one reason why different triceps heads can be influenced by shoulder and upper arm position during an exercise. (4)

Physical Preparation is Non-Negotiable

It does not matter what muscles you are planning to train — a warm-up is an absolute must. It not only prepares for what is to come physically, but mentally as well.

An effective warm-up will have your muscles firing and your nervous system ready to hit the ground running before you start your first working set. Arm workouts, in particular, require warming up the shoulder and elbow joints to train hard without pain.

The Biceps and Triceps Warm-Up Circuit

Perform these exercises back-to-back for three total rounds. Take no rest between each exercise, but take 30 to 45 seconds rest after each full round.

• Push-Up: Perform a basic push-up. Take two seconds to lower your body and two seconds to press up. Complete 10 reps.
• Bench Dip: Sit off of the side of a standard flat bench with your feet flat and knees bent. Place your hands on the bench to each side of your hips with your fingers pointed at your feet. Straighten your arms and then lower your hips below bench-level until you create a 90-degree angle with your arms before returning to the top. Complete 10 reps.
• Inverted Row: Use a Smith machine or any sturdy bar set at roughly waist-height. Grab the bar and suspend yourself from locked arms below it. Keep a straight body with only your heels touching the ground. Pull your chest to the bar. Perform five reps with a pronated (palms down) grip and then five reps with a supinated (palms up) grip. If necessary, keep your feet flat and bend your knees to improve leverage and complete the reps with less difficulty. This should be a warm-up, not an intense working set to muscular failure.

Bigger Arms Start Now

Wanting larger triceps and biceps isn’t just for bodybuilders. A workout dedicated to building a set of arms helps to put the finishing touch on any lifter whether their training priority is strength, athleticism, or all-out muscle. Stop short-changing your physique and start adding an arm day to your program.

References

1. Moritani T. (1993). Neuromuscular adaptations during the acquisition of muscle strength, power and motor tasks. Journal of biomechanics, 26 Suppl 1, 95–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/0021-9290(93)90082-p
2. Schoenfeld, B. J., Ogborn, D., & Krieger, J. W. (2016). Effects of Resistance Training Frequency on Measures of Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 46(11), 1689–1697. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-016-0543-8
3. Plantz MA, Bordoni B. Anatomy, Shoulder and Upper Limb, Brachialis Muscle. [Updated 2022 Feb 22]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK551630/
4. Kholinne E, Zulkarnain RF, Sun YC, Lim S, Chun JM, Jeon IH. The different role of each head of the triceps brachii muscle in elbow extension. Acta Orthop Traumatol Turc. 2018;52(3):201-205. doi:10.1016/j.aott.2018.02.005

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Remember those days where you could train hard, go out and party all night, get next to no sleep, eat a heap of junk food, and then crush your workout in the gym the next day? Yeah, me too, but those days are behind me. At some point around the age of 40, some things became more noticeable for me. Maybe I was more sore than I thought I should be from a workout. Sometimes I found I was still tired after workouts that didn’t appear that hard at the time. Aches and pains started to be a little more consistent. Injuries took a lot longer to bounce back from. I generally started to feel stiffer in my body, and, what I call the “old man groan,” became more audible getting up or sitting down. Maybe I was just more aware of my body and trying to keep up with the young bulls in training was just getting harder. Sound familiar?

Aging doesn’t have be a death sentence to the art of expressing the human body. It is just a number. Just like Riggs and Murtaugh used to say, “We’re not too old for this shit.” By making some intelligent changes to the way we think about our training, we can keep training until a ripe, old age. Training intelligently as you get older doesn’t have to be rocket science if you follow these five key concepts.

1. Health Before Fitness and Performance

In previous articles, I have written about the importance of getting both healthy on the inside and out before getting fit.

So many people are worried about fitness and performance, but have forgotten the basic health premises of:

• Getting enough restful sleep
• Eating enough vegetables and having a healthy whole food diet
• Getting enough sunlight and fresh air
• Moving often enough, especially just walking
• Drinking enough clean water
• Keeping stress levels low
• Staying out of pain (addressing injuries)

If you haven’t got these things in place first, then this is where you need to start. At 44, I know of very few people my age or younger that actually have got this under control. If in doubt, start here. The affects will be resounding and noticeable straight away.

2. Look After Your Heart

The most important muscle in the body is the heart, especially when the leading cause of death in many countries, including Australia, is cardiovascular disease. Especially as the industry currently worships in the church of high intensity training, it sees few people investing the time and effort to undertake what is called cardiac output training.

Cardiac output work is a form of aerobic training that improves the amount of blood that can be pumped by the left ventricle of the heart on a per minute basis. The increased blood being pumped out per minute creates pressure on the ventricular walls from the inside. This pressure results in left ventricular eccentric hypertrophy, which is increased size of the ventricle by stretching it from the inside out. This is different than concentric ventricular hypertrophy, which is an actual increase in ventricular thickness that results from higher intensity conditioning methods. The more blood you can pump out on a per minute basis, the more oxygen and nutrients you will deliver throughout your vascular system and to your working muscles. This type of training results in decreased resting and working heart rates, and it is proven to be more beneficial than high intensity methods for cardiovascular disease. It is also great for recovery, and takes us more into our parasympathetic nervous system state (“feed and digest” or more relaxed).

Look to train at 120-150 beats per minute, a few times per week for 30-90 minutes. Based on some recent studies, running may be one of your best bets to stay on the planet a little longer.

3. You Must Build Muscle

A study from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) shows that the more muscle mass you have as you get older, the less likely you are to die prematurely. The findings add to the growing evidence that overall body composition is a better predictor of mortality than body mass index (BMI) alone.

BMI simply measures height to weight ratio and can be misleading. Total body mass includes fat and muscle which have different metabolic effects. The study was designed to test the hypothesis that greater muscle mass in older adults will be associated with lower mortality. What they found was that in fact there was an inverse relationship. So while this is good news for those that like to get “swole,” it still doesn’t mean that taking steroids, chugging multiple pre and post workout chemical shit storms, and eating a kilogram of red meat per day gets given a green light.

4. Risk Versus Benefit

When it comes to your exercise selection, weigh the risk of doing the exercise versus the benefit derived from doing it. Instead of getting caught up in the “which exercise is better” debate, what we need to be doing is asking what exercise is best for the individual based on injury history, limitations and restrictions, technique, and movement quality.

I don’t like to demonize exercises. More often than not, it is not the exercise that is the problem when it comes to exercise selection. It is often someone’s poor movement quality and technique, along with the load, volume, and density that is the problem.

Let’s take the good morning as an example. This very exercise humbled Bruce Lee and put him in hospital for many months, which is where he wrote a number of his books. With a dowel or broomstick, or a light barbell, this exercise can be a reasonable posterior chain exercise but loaded to the hilt, and with poor form, can be an absolute back breaker. In this instance, I can think of a number of double leg bilateral (trap bar deadlift, sumo deadlift) or single leg (single leg deadlift ) options that would be a better exercise selection and put far less stress on the lower back. If you start doing an exercise that puts you into pain, or if you are in pain after a session from a particular exercise, it should be obvious that you need to:

1. Address your injury
2. Improve or change your movement quality and technique
3. Remove or change the exercise so you can train pain free

Just remember that not all things are for all people so, if in doubt, do something that you know your body responds well to.

5. Movement Variety Is the Spice of Life

Specialization, or doing the same thing over and over, is generally a recipe for injury. If you only do a lot of strength training, you probably need to do aerobic activity and more mobility or movement work. If all you do is aerobic work, you need to strength train and do some mobility and movement work. And if all you do is mobility and movement work, then you need to strength train and do some aerobic work.

From my personal experience, many people conform to a system or methodology—a dogma they follow that appears to use them, rather than the other way around. Not surprisingly in my classes, the most injured people are those that have rigidly followed one methodology or system of training, to the exclusion of all others. I find this interesting when these systems promote “balance.” The reality is that we all tend to gravitate to the things we are good at. Not surprisingly, some of my clients who are hypermobile have gravitated to yoga, and only yoga. This has unfortunately proven injurious for them. Now, they do strength and stability work, look for more movement variety and aerobic activity, and are more healthy and more injury free, as a result.

The same could be said for other clients who have naturally gravitated to strength work, and have only done heavy strength work. Their bodies are banged up from repetitive high threshold, high tension techniques and lifting. Upon improving their mobility and flexibility, picking up some aerobic work, and looking for opportunities to move differently have helped them to be healthier, aerobically fitter, more flexible, and injury free. The bottom line is this: The body likes movement variety.

Get Some Balance

In the last few months, I have had a number of students of some years ago contact me with injury woes. At the time I was training them, I was, and I still am, a big advocate of the health before fitness paradigm, training for longevity, and injury proofing. But it was lost on them. Being young, indestructible, and bulletproof, they blew it off and underestimated its value. Years later, with the body now riddled with aches, pains, and showing the scars of hard training, they had come back to me looking for a solution to their injury woes. They now valued something they hadn’t at the time. The thing is that if you are active, playing competitive and contact sports, and training hard, injuries are almost a rite of passage. But I would argue that they don’t always have to be.

And remember, you’re not too old for this shit.

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The way we describe a workout is by breaking it down into exercises, sets, and repetitions. All of your workout can be explained in only a few lines and all will understand what those numbers and multiplication signs mean.

The Importance of Number of Repetitions

Early on, you learned about repetitions. You learned the number of reps you do depends upon your training goal. You do singles, doubles, and triples for power; sets of four, five, or six for strength; eight to twelve reps for hypertrophy; and sets of fifteen or more for endurance.

(As an aside after all the many years I have spent around gyms I have never seen any trainee doing sevens. Ditto on thirteens and fourteens. I guess we just like to work with round or familiar numbers.)

How to Categorize Sets For Lifters and Bodybuilders

The way you categorize sets is somewhat different than reps. They, too, depend on your training goals, but they also depend on where you are at in your workout. Most trainees regardless of discipline use between three to eight work sets. These are the down-and-dirty sets that help you work toward accomplishing your goals.

It stands to reason that the higher the intensity and the lower your reps per set, the more sets you will have to do. For strength and muscle building, the name of the game is to achieve a certain volume of work in training sessions.

For weightlifters or powerlifters, you will not be able to lift more than one rep at 100% intensity, so you will have to do more sets of those singles to get enough work in. Conversely, if you are doing a bodybuilding-type of routine, then three sets is the norm. Due to the high reps, bodybuilders only need to do three sets in order to achieve sufficient training effect.

Approach the Warm Up With Caution

The number of warm-up sets done on the way to work-set territory can vary. Many beginners make the mistake of taking too narrow a step between each set. By the time they get to their work sets, they are showing signs of fatigue and cannot perform at their best. Excess warm up can be a sign of lack of confidence. This is especially seen to be true in competition settings where stress is high and those extra sets pile up quickly.

With practice you can get to the point where you will need few heavier warm-up sets. In that case, a new problem emerges – the psychological difficulty of going from very light to quite heavy all at once. This is like jumping out of a nice warm bed into a cold shower.

The solution is a little thing we call an approach set. This is a weight only a plate or so lighter than the first work set and done for only a single or double. The sole purpose of approach sets is to mentally prepare the lifter for the heavier work weights to come.

It is just too much of a shock to the system, especially that mysterious system between the ears, to go from a light warm up to a heavy work set in one jump. The approach set will warn the body and the mind that they are now going to be lifting something a little heavier. After the approach set the first work set will feel a lot better and the lifter will feel more confident.

Ramped Up or Straight Across

Eventually you get to your work sets. The number of reps and sets will depend on your training goals. Special attention should be given to the repetition regimen in your work sets. By that I mean, will sets be ramped up or straight-across?

Ramped up means the weight used in each set increases. A lifter might do 135×5, 155×5, 175×5, 185×5, and top out at 195×5. This approach is generally used by novices who have not yet developed the capacity for many sets at high intensity. This is great for getting newbies into shape and also for anyone coming back after a layoff or injury. As a lifter gets in better shape and more experienced, he or she will need more intensity.

That is where the straight-across sets come into play. At some point our lifter will want to do 195×5 for all five sets (or 195/5×5 as our shorthand puts it). Intermediate and more experienced athletes will need this extra work to produce a training effect.

This venerable 5×5 regimen is commonly used in powerlifting, football, and general strength training. It was popularized by Mark Berry in the 1930s and revived by Bill Starr in the 1970s. The only reason such an antiquated routine is still used is simple – it works.

Intensity Versus Volume

Olympic lifters don’t use quite as many reps, instead concentrating on singles, doubles, and triples. As you might guess, when you are peaking for competition, the number of reps goes down but the number of sets will have to go up to compensate somewhat.

I say “somewhat” because you cannot substitute intensity for volume perfectly. For example, if you want to move from a 5X5 regimen to one with singles, you cannot do 25 singles at 95-100% intensity. Even Bulgarians will tire well before that. Eight to twelve such lifts are pretty much the maximum. At that point volume will drop off considerably, to the point it may be inadequate to maintain strength in the long run. So, what to do?

Enter the concept of the back-off set. This is where the bar is unloaded by a certain amount that will enable more reps and more sets to be done at a high enough weight to stimulate improvement, but not so much weight that fatigue happens too quickly.

Back off sets are often done straight-across until a lifter is satisfied that enough work has been done. Others prefer a sort of reverse pyramid situation where the weight is lowered gradually over several sets. Each set will be a little bit lighter and easier than the last.

Variations on the Classic Rep and Set Schemes

There are other regimens out there, but the ones mentioned are the ones most commonly used today. But they are often done with some variation.

The old pyramid regimen has been around for ages. Often lifters will only pyramid upwards, but sometimes they extend the workout by pyramiding back down again. Still other lifters like to warm up really well, then start at the top and pyramid downwards Whichever way they pyramid they usually end up doing more work than they have to.

There are also hybrid schemes where three sets across at one weight are done and then three more may be done across at a higher weight. This is often done when transitioning from ramping up to straight-across sets. At first the lifter is only capable of one set at the maximum. As the lifter gets in better condition, he or she can do two sets, then three, still ramping up the earlier sets. Eventually, the lifter can do all five sets and ramping up can be forgotten.

A Summary Approach

That’s about it for rep and set basics. An exercise will open with straight-across warm-up sets, then some ramping warm-up sets, an approach set, several work sets, and then maybe finish with some straight-across back-up sets.

The key is to know what each is for and don’t do more than you have to.

The post How to Adjust Sets and Reps to Fit Your Training Goal appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

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