Dumbell Arms Exercises

Dumbbells Arm Exercises

Before discussing dumbells arm exercises we should first consider the anatomy of the arm. Knowing this will help us to understand why we decided on the dumbells arm exercises we chose and what they will do.

The major muscles that we will create dumbells arm exercises for here are briefly described below but you may want to look at the these pictures first to get an idea of what we will be talking about:

Special note: the Pics below are incorrectly labeled. Coracobrachialis should read brachialis and radiobrachialis should read brachialioradialis

Pic 1. Front Bicep View
Pic 2. Back Bicep View
Pic 3. Side Chest View
Pic 4. Side Triceps View

Elbow Benders (elbow flexors)

1. Biceps Brachii (better known as biceps)
   Action - bend elbow
               - rotate forearm from palm facing down to palm facing up (forearm supination)
               - long head attaches to front of shoulder blade and helps raise arm in front at the shoulder joint (shoulder flexion)
    

2. Brachialis
   Action - bend elbow
              

3. Brachioradialis - bends elbow
   
   Elbow Straighteners (elbow extensors)
    

4. Triceps - straightens elbow
                 - long head attaches to the back of the shoulder blade and takes the arm back at the shoulder (shoulder extension)

These are the major muscles that can cause movement at the elbow. A good workout should train at least the biceps and triceps but a well developed and shapely arm comes from training all of them.

Arm Exercises

Biceps Brachii

Biceps bend the elbow and rotate the forearm to a  palm up position. So the best dumbell exercise for the biceps is a sitting dumbell curl starting from a palm facing down position (thumb turned in) and ending in a palm facing up position (thumb turned out). This is called the supinating bicep dumbell curl.

The bench should be a bit inclined because the long head of the biceps attaches to the front of the shoulder blade and will be at full stretch in an inclined position.

Brachialis

When your elbow is fully flexed, the brachialis is the small ball of muscle you can feel at the side of your upper arm. When they are developed they make the biceps look bigger because they pass under them. And they accentuate the curve of your shoulders making you look broader.

The brachialis bends the elbow. Dumbell curling when your forearm position is half way between palm up and palm down (i.e. palms facing your sides) maximizes the load on the brachialis. This is called a hammer curl.

Brachioradialis

Nearly every upper body exercise uses the finger and wrist extensors and flexors of the forearm through the action of gripping. However, on the outer part of your upper forearm is the often overlooked and under developed brachioradialis.

If developed the brachioradialis will flare out like your lats do on your back. The effect is a much bigger and more powerful looking forearm and increased curl strength.

Dumbell curling in a palm facing down position maximizes the load on the brachioradialis. This is called a reverse dumbell curl.

Triceps

About 2/3rds of your upper arm volume is made up by triceps, just have another look at Pic 1. Front Bicep View. Although everyone concentrates on building the biceps, it is the triceps that will give you truly big arms.

There a number of different dumbell exercises for the triceps. Here are the best ones.

1. Bent over dumbell tricep kick backs
   Bend at the waist to 90 degrees while maintaining a gentle curve in your lower back. Bring you upper arm to back so that it is parallel with the ground. Now straighten the elbow so that at the end position your whole arm is parallel to the ground. The other arm should be supporting you by leaning on a bench or something.
    

2. Seated dumbell tricep extensions
   Sitting in a chair (the back of a bench is often to high for this exercise, if that's the case do the other exercise below) lift the dumbell up so that your elbow is bent but your upper arm is next to your ear. With the other hand support the back of your upper arm. Now straighten your elbow such that at the end position your arm is pointing straightup into the air.
    

3. Lying dumbell tricep extension
   Lying flat on your back on a bench with arm bent, point your elbow into the air and support your upper arm with the other hand. Similar to the exercise above, straighten your elbow so that at the end position your arm is straight and pointing into the air.

A Few Important Tips

Before I give you the program here are a few principals to remember.

• always train your arm muscles with opposing muscle groups in the one workout, for example chest and biceps is fine (chest muscles push, biceps pull). But if you train chest and then triceps (both push), your triceps will be tired before you get to them.
   

• do your elbow bending exercises (curls) 2 hands at a time. By bending both elbows simultaneously it is difficult to cheat by swinging the dumbells and its faster.
   

• do your curls sitting down because again it is more difficult to cheat and if the bench is slightly inclined it will put a stretch on your biceps and brachialis, thus working them through their full range.
   

• the arm muscles are small and already working during most upper body exercises. Therefore avoid training them too much at the expense of a larger muscle group.

The Workout
 

You can do curls and tricep extensions in the same workout but I prefer to do them like this in a 3 day/week plan:

Day 1: Chest and Curls
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Back and Shoulders
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Legs and Triceps

So here we go:

Day 1:

Supinating bicep curls
- 3 x 8-10 reps

Hammer curls
- 3 x 8-10 reps

Reverse curls
- 3 x 8-10 reps

Day 5:

Bent over dumbell tricep kick backs
- 3 x 8-10 reps

Seated dumbell tricep extensions
- 3 x 8-10 reps

Lying dumbell tricep extension
- 3 x 8-10 reps

This routine like all routines is extremely flexible and does not have to be followed exactly as it is here. But if you do wish to make changes they should be based on a good reason.

Good luck and enjoy!

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