So you want to get good looking arms; it’s what a lot of people strive for when strength training in the gym. But if you having trouble seeing results, then you’ve come to right place to learn better lifting techniques for the outcomes you want to see! I’m going to give you some insights on my biggest form and technique pet peeves that can slow your progress. Watch the video and read on to find out tips you can use to improve your gains and get those strong great looking arms.
Training Arms is more of a mental art form than a physical one. Many people have the wrong idea that to train arms means you have to lift as much weight as possible. This is not necessarily what will get you good results in arm training. What I mean by “mental art form”, is simply being able to concentrate and focus on correctly moving the weight throughout the full ranges of motion, and ensuring that you are contracting the appropriate muscles when doing so. For an arms training plan, the first step is to lower the amount of weight lifted, this allows for good form and technique. Biceps and Triceps are two of the most finicky muscle groups to train when it comes to developing and growing muscle size. This is simply because you need to hit them properly with an appropriate weight. The key is to fully stimulate the muscles throughout the full range of motion while concentrating on the purpose of the exercise you are performing. That means NO ego lifting or swinging around heavy weights here. That’s not to say that a swing of the weight can’t be used effectively, but we’ll get into that later!
First off, let’s name the things I DON’T like to see when training arms.
- Ego Lifting or Using a weight that’s too heavy
- NOT using proper form
- NOT using full range of motion
Doing any of the above things, is short selling yourself on your hard earned muscle gains, and could ultimately lead to injury down the line.
Next, let’s name the things I DO like to see when training arms.
- Using proper form
- Using full range of motion
- Focusing on lifting the weight with the targeted muscles and fully contracting the muscle
- Controlling the weight throughout the range of motion, especially the eccentric portion (lowering).
By picking a proper weight, performing the movement correctly, and utilizing the full range of motion, you are going to achieve results quicker and keep the muscle growth progression ongoing down the road. In addition, really focus on contracting the muscles as you perform the movements, and squeeze that muscle at the top. Then while lowering the weight, really focus on controlling the weight and lower slowly, instead of just allowing the weight to drop down.
Now remember when I said that swinging the weight has a purpose? You can effectively use the swing, in something we call forced reps. By swinging the weight up, but still controlling the weight on the way down, you are effectively overloading the muscle. This however shouldn’t be done for all of your sets and exercises. By doing this, you are keeping the muscle under tension, and as we know, muscle growth comes from putting those micro tears into the muscle and then the growth happens during repair of the muscle during the recovery process. This can only be achieved through putting your muscles under tension, progressive muscle overload, and through repetition and consistency in proper form.
So there you have it! Now that you have some suggestions on how to get those great looking strong arms, get into your local gym and crush those weights! And as always, if you have any further questions, I or any of our personal trainers are always here to help you achieve your fitness goals at The Gym Inc. in Watertown, SD. Remember when you join with a gym membership, we help you get started with a free personal training session.
Call us today at 605-753-5600 to get started on your personalized fitness plan.