| Who among would honestly say they wouldn't want | | | | should be as comfortable as possible. |
| to have a great body that they'd be proud to show | | | | Alternate Dumbbell Curls |
| off at the beach? Not very many, I would predict! | | | | This is another great exercise for building muscle |
| Despite all of the media attention to losing weight, | | | | mass on your biceps. Again, it is a very simple |
| there are a large number of people who are actually | | | | movement, but I see so many people in the gym |
| in the correct weight range but lack the great muscle | | | | NOT doing it properly. To do this exercise, grab a |
| tone. This is where many people get confused. | | | | dumbbell (on the heavy side too!) in each hand and |
| Exercising for weight loss is different from exercising | | | | have them down each side with your palms facing |
| for muscle gain. Some exercises will target fat loss, | | | | each other. Raise one dumbbell and rotate your palm |
| while other exercises aim to increase muscle mass. | | | | forward at the same time. Once you have completed |
| Ever since Steve Reeves started showing his arms | | | | one full contraction with one arm, slowly (emphasis |
| off on the beach, men have always wanted to have | | | | on slow!) lower the dumbbell and bring the other arm |
| huge biceps. Building biceps make people believe that | | | | up at the same time. If done correctly, when one |
| you are a tower of strength. This is strange because | | | | dumbbell has reached the upper limit, the other |
| the bicep muscle is actually relatively small in relation | | | | dumbbell should have reached the lower limit at the |
| to other muscles of the body. For example, the bicep | | | | same time. |
| only makes up about a third of your upper-arm mass. | | | | Now, here's where I see so many people doing it |
| Your tricep muscle (ie the muscle underneath your | | | | wrong!!! Many people will grab very heavy weights |
| arm) is by far much bigger, but how many men go | | | | and instead of lifting from the stopped, by your side |
| around flexing their triceps? Not a lot. But, a great | | | | position, they will swing their arms slightly backward, |
| pair of biceps always looks great, so here's a couple | | | | then upward. WRONG!!! By doing this, their bicep is |
| of great exercises to build mass. | | | | actually doing a lot less work (if any at all), and the |
| Standing Bar Curls | | | | person is simply letting the momentum of the |
| Like all great mass-building exercises, this involves | | | | swinging dumbbell take it to the upper limit. Talk |
| very basic moves, but it still amazes me to see | | | | about a waste of time! If I were to do this, I could |
| people doing it incorrectly. To do this, simply grab a | | | | easily double the weight of each dumbbell and still not |
| bar and load it up with enough weight and stand with | | | | get the same amount of work. It is so much more |
| your feet about a shoulder width apart. Hold the bar | | | | efficient to use just enough weight so that you do |
| with an underhand grip (palms facing up). Start with | | | | not have to swing your arms first to lift it. So, like all |
| the bar hanging down so that your arms are | | | | good weight exercises, if you can do it as slow and |
| completely straight. Now, here's where most people | | | | methodically as possible, your arms will get a |
| do it wrong! Make sure your body is still upright (ie | | | | tremendous workout. The eventual result of this will |
| not leaning too far forward) and slowly bring your | | | | be torn shirt sleeves from having huge arms! |
| arms up towards the shoulder. You should try to | | | | How many repetitions? |
| keep your elbows close to the body and in the same | | | | This is always a tough question. If your goal is to |
| place so as to force your biceps to do all the work. | | | | simply build mass and size, you should use heavy |
| Once you have come to the drop, gently let your | | | | weights but lower repetitions. Aim for doing 3 sets of |
| arms go back to the starting position. By doing it | | | | 6-8 reps for mass building. Once your arms become a |
| slowly and in a controlled manner (ie instead of just | | | | reasonable size (but will likely lack muscle density), it |
| letting it drop), your bicep is actually getting twice the | | | | is time to use lighter weights but more repetitions. |
| workout because it is still working to keep the barbell | | | | For muscle definition, try doing at least 3 sets of |
| steady. This slow and controlled manner is a very | | | | 12-15 repetitions, or more if possible. |
| efficient way of increasing muscle mass. In fact, | | | | Building huge biceps is a goal most men have. The |
| many very successful professional body builders will | | | | problem is they generally do not know which |
| count two seconds going up and then two seconds | | | | exercises they have to do nor do they know how to |
| going down. Do I even need to tell you about the | | | | do them properly. Remember, the only way to build |
| size of their biceps? | | | | muscle is to tear them at a microscopic level so they |
| Now, some people, such as myself, will find that using | | | | can be rebuilt bigger and stronger. By doing the |
| a straight bar will put stress and strain on their wrists. | | | | above exercises, you are targeting the biceps |
| This is easily overcome by using an EZ curl bar | | | | directly. By doing the exercises properly and having a |
| instead, as the hands will be in a more comfortable | | | | good protein-based diet, you can be assured that in a |
| position. Remember, lifting the weight in a slow and | | | | few months of hard work, your arms will be the |
| controlled manner is much more efficient, so you | | | | envy of a lot of people on the beach! |