Do you wish you had more strength and muscle definition in your arms? SWEAT Owner and Personal Trainer, Katie Corkill, provides 5 tips to create definition in your arms.
1. Perform all arm exercises slowly to ensure proper form. Flying through your workout routine will not produce the benefits you want, and it increases your chance of injury. Take your time with each exercise to ensure proper form for maximum results.
2. Take each set to failure. If there is no struggle, you are not building strength. When you first pick up the weights, you should be able to complete several reps before, but the last few repetitions should be a struggle. Allow yourself to struggle, but do not sacrifice proper form for struggle. If you cannot complete the exercise in proper form, stop and move on to the next exercise.
3. Perform a variety of exercises for each muscle group. To see the greatest benefit from your efforts, you should incorporate various exercises that work the same muscle or muscle group in order to work as many muscle fibers within the muscle as possible.
4. Utilize “negative repetitions” to fatigue the muscle further than a normal set can. Every muscle strengthening exercise has two parts: eccentric and concentric. The act of exertion of pushing or pulling a weight (the actual lift) is the concentric part of the exercise. The eccentric part is the motion of returning or lowering the weight to the starting position. A “negative rep” is a controlled lowering of the bar or weight back to starting position. For example, to complete negative reps on a bicep curl, take two to three times longer to lower the weight as it takes you to lift it.
5. Use isometrics to fatigue the muscle at the end of the workout. During isometric exercise, one muscle or group of muscles is contracted without moving. When lifting weights or doing body weight exercises, hold the position for 60 seconds, rest for 30 seconds then repeat three to five times. Isometrics doesn’t necessarily build strength, but it does help maintain muscle strength and tone. Isometric exercises are done in only one position at a time, so they will only improve strength in that one position. Do isometric exercises with various muscle groups to improve overall muscle strength.
This is the first of a three-part Fit Tips series focusing on common “problem areas.” These tips will only be effective if healthy habits, including proper nutrition and regular exercise are in place.
