These exercises are geared towards the individuals who are lifting for size and strength.  While size and strength are not always mutually attainable with one routine, these exercises aim to deliver both.

1.  Barbell Bicep Curl – This should be the first exercise of your bicep day.  Go heavier on this one and aim for 8 reps.  The majority of people can handle more weight on a barbell as opposed to a dumbbell, so this is ideal for adding strength.  Use a full range of motion (raise an inch from your chest, lower an inch from your upper thighs) and keep a straight back.  Far too often we see guys using too heavy a weight while doing bicep curls.  They lean forward, and back, and forward….as they struggle to lift the weight.  This is a waste.  Use good form and proper weight to notice the biggest gains.

2.  Incline Dumbbell Curls – An ideal exercise to prevent any momentum from assisting you lift the weight.  This puts full stress on the biceps, resulting in greater results.  This will require you to use a lighter weight, most likely.  Keep your back against the bench and slowly raise and lower the weights.

3.  Cable Curls – In order to fully develop a given muscle, you need to hit the deep muscle fibers as well.  Cable curls are good at doing this because their pattern of movement is so unsteady.  The constant pull of the cable will require all of your stabilization muscles to feel the burn.  Try using a rope, straight bar, or handles when performing this move.

4. Hammer Curls – By keeping your palms facing in throughout the whole movement, you place stress on a different set of muscle fibers in the bicep.  The muscle that is between the bicep and tricep comes into play here.  This is great at adding size and building strength in an often over-looked aspect of the arm.

5.  Concentration Curls – The classic bodybuilder move.  These are performed sitting down, with your elbow just above your knee.  These are sure to surge huge growth in your biceps.  The nature of the exercise places a great deal of stress on the bicep and removes the aspect of momentum.  Try using this one at the end of your workout to really finish off your biceps.

Workout #1

1. Dumbbell Bench Press – 3 x 10
2. Incline Dumbbell Press – 3 x 10
3. Lateral Dumbbell Raises – 3 x 10
4. Seated Dumbbell Press – 3 x 12
5. Dumbbell Curls – 3 x 12

Workout #2

1. Dumbbell Bench Press – 3 x 10
2. Incline Bench Press – 3 x 10
3. One Arm Dumbbell Row – 4 x 12
4. Tricep Kickbacks – 3 x 12
5. Dumbbell Curls – 3 x 12

Alternate between workout #1 and #2 every other time you workout.  Give yourself 2-3 days between workouts to recover.

Try this compound movement which benefits the entire body.  Strength and power are sure to increase after extended training with the snatch.  In addition, it is a great conditioner.  Start with low weight and do the move slow at the beginning as not to hurt yourself.

For the majority of the male population, a well-defined and chiseled chest is the most frequently sought after aspect of the human figure.  At the beach, almost every guy is going to suck in and stick out his chest when that hot girl walks by.  Unforunately, their chest deflates when they inevitably have to breath again.  Why do so many people want a great chest, but so few actually have one?  Simply, they have no idea what is required to work it out properly.  Below are so ideas to really activate your pectoral muscle fibers and give you a chest you can be proud of!

First off, we we will look at the anatomy of the chest.  It is formed by two muscles – the pecotralis major and pectoralis minor.  Each muscle needs to be worked equally to develop a well-rounded chest.

The key to any successful training routine has a lot to do with variation.  Muscle fibers quickly adapt to resistance training, which makes each subsequent training session that less beneficial to you if you do the same movements.  Use program 1 for the first week’s workout.  Use program 2 for the following week.  Do this for a combined 6 weeks then overhaul the two workouts completely and start over for another 6 weeks.

Workout 1                            

Flat Bench Press: 4 sets x 10

Incline Dumbbell Flys: 3 x10

Flat Dumbbell Press: 3 x 10

Decline Bench Press: 3 x 10

Workout 2

Incline Bench Press: 4 x 10

Cable Crossovers: 3 x 10

Incline Dumbbell Press: 3 x 10

Flat Dumbbell Flys: 3 x 10

The problem with so much of the health and fitness instruction available on the internet is that it assumes one solution for all body types.  It is very possible the above workout plan doesn’t work for you as well as you would like it to.  Each body is different, and different things will work better for different bodies.  It is your responsibility to try our a variety of exercises to see which produces the best gains.  In the event the above workout routine doesn’t work the way you want, try substituting some of the exercises below into your routine.

1. Pec Deck
2. Clap Pushups
3. Pullovers
4. Incline Cable Flys
5. Chest Dips
6. Depth Pushups

If for whatever the reason, these additional exercises aren’t doing the trick, check your form.  Make sure you are employing a full range of motion, moving the weight slowly up AND down, holding for a full second, and repeating until it hurts (the good kind of hurt from lactic acid buildup in a worked muscle!).  Keep in mind you want to focus almost all of the stress on the chest muscle.  Elimate supporting muscles (triceps, delts, etc.) whenever possible and focus solely on your chest.

Whether you want bigger arms, stronger arms, or leaner arms (do more cardio!) you need to pay attention to the tricep muscles.  The tricep is the muscle opposite your bicep on the backside of your arm.  Most often, the bicep is the one people pay most attention to, but believe or not, the tricep is actually larger and comprises more mass than the bicep.  That being said, you need to do exercises that really push the muscle fibers to the max.  If you want size and strength, stay away from the tricep kickbacks for the time being.  Take a look at these two moves and start working them into your tricep routine ASAP.

Close Grip Bench Press - Sometimes referred to the narrow grip bench press, this move is great for putting heavy resistance directly against your triceps.  Keep your hands about 12 inches apart and perform the movements similar to a regular bench press.

Dips - Wrap your hands around two parallel bars that are about shoulder width apart.  To begin, raise your self up so your arms are locked.  From there SLOWLY lower yourself so your elbows are bent at about a  75 degree angle.  This is one of the best moves for the tricep.  As you build strength, you will want to move on to weighted dips.  Attach a weight belt and weight around you waist and perform the same move….or just hold a dumbbell between your feet as you move up and down.