When relaxing on the beach or working out at the gym (fitness center), muscular arms will make you look more attractive. For that, you need to train your biceps and triceps using weights 2-3 times a week to strengthen and tone your arm muscles. In addition to having muscular arms, you can lose weight if you exercise regularly by working your muscles thoroughly.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Train Your Arm Muscles Regularly
Step 1. Make a plan to train 3 times a week
After exercising using weights or resistance ropes, the muscles being trained need to rest for 48 hours to recover. Therefore, set a schedule to train every 2-3 days, for example Monday, Wednesday, and Friday so that your muscles have time to rest and recover. Arm muscles are small muscles that can be easily injured if over-trained. To prevent injury or soreness, allow your muscles to rest after a set of exercises or after each workout.
Stick to a consistent workout schedule and incorporate the workout schedule into your daily routine
Step 2. Do a variety of exercises
Muscles don't grow if you keep doing the same movements all the time. Avoid this by doing a variety of movements on certain days or slightly changing the series of movements that you have been doing.
- After setting up a weekly schedule, determine the movements you want to do so that you train your arms with different movements each week and then rotate them so that your daily or weekly workouts are more varied.
- The body will adapt after training for about 4 weeks. In order not to experience a plateau, change your movement routine after 4-6 weeks of training.
Step 3. Use dumbbells or resistance ropes
Before training your arms, prepare loose weights that are light, but challenging enough for your fitness level. In addition, you can use resistance ropes as a weight training tool that is practical and easy to use.
- If you've never worked with weights before, ask a trainer at the gym how to lift weights. To train the arm muscles, do each movement 3-5 sets of 10-20 times each. Before training, find out how much weight you can lift 10-20 times without losing strength or experiencing extreme fatigue. When practicing, the loss of strength should occur after the last move.
- You can determine when your muscles lose strength if you train more often. Depending on your fitness level, start with light weights, such as 1-2 kg in each hand to increase muscle strength over time.
Step 4. Perform full contractions as you practice
In order to get maximum results, try to make a full contraction each time you lift the weight by contracting the muscles as much as possible when the load is at its highest position and doing maximum stretching when lowering the load. Move from start to finish using as much power as possible with the widest possible range of motion.
Start exercising your arms in front of a mirror so you can see your arm position and posture to make sure you're doing each movement with a full contraction. Make sure you tighten your arm muscles as you bend your elbows with each move to keep the muscles active. Get used to stretching after doing 1 set of movements so that the muscles remain flexible and do not cramp
Step 5. Eat nutritious food
An effective way to gain muscle is to adopt a healthy diet before and after training. Eating nutritious food after exercise is beneficial for maximally building muscle and restoring body condition after exercise.
- Choose a menu according to your daily calorie needs and consume protein and carbohydrates after exercise. To keep the body healthy and fit, avoid foods that contain trans fats and no calories after training because it hinders recovery and muscle building.
- To increase muscle, eat foods that are beneficial to build muscle while exercising. Get in the habit of eating foods with 46 grams of protein for women and 56 grams for men which are found in red meat, fish, poultry, eggs, and dairy products. (Protein requirements should be calculated based on body weight, training targets, and daily activity. In general, adults need 0.8 grams of protein/kg body weight, while athletes and other athletes need 1.6-1.8 grams of protein/kg weight). Eat a variety of foods so that the body gets a complete protein intake, especially from animal meat and vegetarian menus, such as legumes, soybeans, quinoa, and chia seeds. Choose healthy carbohydrate sources, such as brown rice, rolled oats, sweet potatoes, and rye bread. Use healthy oils for cooking, such as olive oil or sunflower oil. Add olive oil as a dressing when eating salads (olive oil should not be heated because the structure of the fat will be damaged). Get enough fiber by eating lots of vegetables and fruits.
Part 2 of 3: Training the Biceps
Step 1. Do bicep curls
The biceps is the strongest arm muscle. If it is formed, this muscle will stand out in the upper arm. To work your biceps, hold loose weights, known as dumbbells. Use dumbbells that are not too heavy so they can still be lifted, but are challenging enough. You can do bicep curls while standing or sitting on a bench for weight training.
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold dumbbells in a horizontal position while extending your arms at your sides with your palms facing each other.
- While exhaling, raise the dumbbells to shoulder height. Hold for a moment then lower again while inhaling. Do not make jerking movements when lifting weights. Instead, do a gentle, flowing motion while making a full contraction as you lift the weight and then slowly lower the dumbbells while straightening your elbows.
- Do this movement 3-4 sets of 12 times each.
- As a variation, alternate bicep curls between your right and left hands 6 times each.
Step 2. Perform inner bicep curls
This exercise is useful for building the inner biceps. You can practice sitting or standing. If you want to practice sitting down, sit at the end of a bench while activating your abdominal muscles as you lift and lower the dumbbells.
- Hold dumbbells while straightening arms at sides with palms facing each other, 1 dumbbell with 1 hand.
- While exhaling, raise the dumbbells to shoulder height until the dumbbells are parallel to the floor.
- Hold for a moment then lower the dumbbells slowly while inhaling.
- Do this movement 3-4 sets of 12 times each.
Step 3. Perform hammer curls
This exercise is quite challenging and is very beneficial to enlarge the biceps if the movement is increased gradually.
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold dumbbells while straightening your arms at your sides with your palms facing each other.
- Lift the dumbbells forward until they are vertical and your forearms are parallel to the floor. Hold for a moment then lower the dumbbells slowly. Make sure your upper arms are perpendicular to the floor and don't move as you lift the dumbbells.
- Do this movement 3-4 sets of 12 times each.
Step 4. Do isolated dumbbell curls
This exercise is best done while sitting so that you can work your biceps well.
- Sit on the edge of a bench with your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold a dumbbell in one hand while straightening your elbow to the floor next to your inner thigh. Make sure there is a wide enough gap between your thighs so that you can lift and lower the dumbbells without hitting your thighs or calves.
- While exhaling, raise the dumbbells to shoulder height. Hold for a moment then straighten your arms to the starting position while exhaling.
- Do this movement 3-4 sets of 6 times each. When you're done, do the same movement with the other hand.
Step 5. Do Preacher bicep curls
To do this exercise, you will need an arm support that can be adjusted according to your height.
- Begin practicing using a supinated grip by pointing your palms upwards. Place your right upper arm on a support while holding dumbbells. Point your palms up and straighten your elbows.
- While exhaling, lift the dumbbells until your forearms are parallel to the floor. Hold for a moment and then slowly lower the dumbbells to their original position. Do the same movement with the left hand.
- Do this movement 3-4 sets of 6 times for each hand. Hold the barbell with the other hand every 1 set.
- This movement can be done using a neutral grip with the palms facing each other. Do 3-4 sets of 6 times each with both hands alternately every 1 set.
Part 3 of 3: Training the Triceps
Step 1. Perform tricep extensions to strengthen the triceps
Lie on your back holding dumbbells, 1 dumbbell in 1 hand. You will need to lie on a bench to work your triceps comfortably and steadily.
- Lie on your back on a bench with your feet on the floor. Hold dumbbells, 1 dumbbell with 1 hand while straightening your arms up.
- As you inhale, bend your elbows while lowering the dumbbells to your shoulders. Hold for a moment and then straighten your arms to their original position while exhaling.
- Do this movement 3-4 sets of 12 times each.
- You can do tricep extensions while standing. Hold 1 dumbbell with both hands and extend your arms above your head. Hold for a moment then bend your elbows to lower the dumbbells behind your head. Hold again for a moment then straighten your arms above your head while exhaling.
Step 2. Do tricep dips
This exercise can be done while sitting and does not require dumbbells because it simply uses the body as a weight.
- Sit on the edge of a bench or chair while bending your knees or straightening your legs forward and placing your feet on the floor. Place your palms next to your hips while holding the edge of a bench or chair.
- Move your buttocks 5-10 cm from the edge of the bench and bend your elbows. Inhaling, lower yourself to the floor until your elbows form a 90° angle. Hold for a moment then straighten your elbows to return to the starting position while exhaling.
- Do this movement 3-4 sets of 12 times each.
Step 3. Perform tricep kick backs
This exercise is useful for building the triceps muscle if the movement is increased gradually. You need a bench to practice.
- Place your right knee and right palm on the bench while straightening your left leg beside the bench.
- Hold a dumbbell with your left hand. Keep your back straight as your body bends forward from the hips so that your chest is almost parallel to the floor. Bend your left elbow 90° while holding dumbbells in a horizontal position and bringing your palms toward your hips.
- Straighten your left arm back and lift the dumbbells while exhaling. Hold for a moment then lower the dumbbells to their original position while inhaling. Do not make a stomping motion when lowering the dumbbells.
- Do this movement with your left hand 3-4 sets of 6 times each. When you're done, do the same movement with your right hand.
Tips
- So that the muscles are not injured, get into the habit of warming up for a few minutes before exercising, for example by walking leisurely, walking on a treadmill, doing star jumps, or jumping rope. After your workout, stretch to relax your muscles.
- You can still do weight lifting even though you don't have dumbbells or other equipment, for example by doing push ups, pull ups, muscle ups (lifting the body while resting on the palms), one arm dips (lowering and raising the body from a sitting position while resting on the palms). on the edge of the seat using 1 hand), and front flexes.
