How to Get Great Arms

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Get great arms with these simple exercises

Your arms are a vital part of your body. If you’re not strong enough, it is easy to mistakenly use your back an get injured. Everyone can benefit from basic strength training and arm exercises and luckily, they are pretty easy to do. Here are some of the best exercises that will help you get great arms, whether you are a man or a woman.

First, lie on the floor and stretch completely out. Hold a dumbbell in one hand, reach straight up and support your arm with the other hand. Gently lower the dumbbell back towards your head. Please keep in mind that if you have sweaty hands you should be wearing gloves for this exercise. Do not use weights that are too heavy for you. Do a complete set, and then switch arms. This is called a lying arm extension.

Now, you can go to an old stand-by, the pushup. Yes, I’ve gotten sick of puchups with my 100 pushup program, but it’s still a great exercise. If you are just starting out, you can try the bent knee pushup, or you can go full out. Remember to keep your body straight and avoid scooping your back. You’ll want to imagine a line from your feet to your head and your back should fit right against this line. Lower yourself slowly and bring yourself back up. Repeat as many times as you, gradually increasing the amount of repetitions as you get stronger.

The dumbbell curl is a great way to really work those arms. Place a dumbbell in each hand and put your arms down at your sides. Your palms should be facing in front of you. Slowly raise the dumbbell in one hand until your elbow is completely bent. Return the arm to the former position and then bring up the other arm using the same motion. Your goal is to be able to switch from arm to arm without stopping. This is sometimes called the no-rest curl and it is very good at building strong and toned biceps. If you are a woman, start off with lighter weights and work your way up.

If you want to have a better all around upper body, you can also do shoulder presses and pull-ups. You’ll want to use the right machine for your shoulder presses and make sure that your form is good. Don’t set the weights too high at first, or you may injure yourself. Instead, use a lower resistance and build your way up. If you don’t have a machine, you can get the same benefit by using dumbbells.

Stand up straight, with your feet slightly apart. Hold a dumbbell in each hand at the level of your shoulders. Push one up until your arm is completely straight, and then bring it slowly down. Repeat with the other arm. You can also do both together if you prefer.

Building strong arms takes some time and unfortunately, I can’t figure out a Lazy shortcut to them. I may have to change my name - or stick with just normal arms.

Photo Credit: frecklescorp

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Posted by Lazy Man on August 14, 2008 in Exercise.

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