Exercises for arm strength: complexes and recommendations for the development of arm muscles * Crossfit

Strong arms are the pride of any man. This is even more true for athletes. Hand exercises are an essential part of any workout program. The article describes the most effective techniques for developing grip and overall arm strength in the gym and at home. There are also complexes for men and girls.

Things to Remember When Training Hand Strength

The first thing to keep in mind: the hands, like the neck, are a complex "constructor" consisting of many elements. Difficulty provides mobility, but overloading these muscles is dangerous. One should not rashly lean on weights and sin with technique. This will not get you closer to your goal, but it will increase the risk of getting off your training track for a long time. On the other hand, a gradual but constant increase in loads is necessary. Pay the same attention to your hands as you would to "standard" muscle groups.

Be wary of stereotypes, too. There is an opinion that strong hands are necessarily big. No one argues that, all other things being equal, the masses decide. But it is possible to achieve great strength even without muscle overgrowth. There are enough examples of athletes with strong, but not too voluminous arms. John Brzenk, the armwrestling icon, doesn't have a monstrous mass. At the same time, the athlete won over much larger rivals for many years.

Bruce Lee can be considered a classic example of the amazing combination of "small format" and impressive hand strength. According to some sources, the martial artist once won in the arms of his friend, who was none other than the US armwrestling champion. It's hard to say how true this story is, but it is known for certain that Bruce trained the grip maniacally.

The conclusion is simple - exercises for arm muscle strength work. Those who are not prone to mass gain or do not want to increase in size should not be afraid of modest strength results. With the proper approach to training, it is quite possible to turn your hands into ticks.

And further. We recommend becoming an adept in training variety. Yes, one or two exercises can also provide a solid increase in strength. This is proved by those who are deprived of the opportunity to vary their complexes. But variety is better. "Bombardment" of muscles and ligaments at different angles and in different conditions will allow you to fully reveal the power potential.

There are 4 main types of grip:

Restraining... When performing deadlifts, the athlete uses this type.
Squeezing... A firm handshake is the best example.
© puhhha - stock.adobe.com
"Carpal"... In this case, it is more correct to speak of a combination of grip and wrist strength. An example is holding a chair by the legs.
© GCapture— stock.adobe.com
Plucked... The ability to hold a heavy object by pinching is also hard work.
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To become a versatile strongman, work in all directions.

Exercises on different parts of the arms

Consider the basic exercises for various muscle groups of the arms. Let's "walk" the arms from the bottom up - from the hands to the biceps and triceps. After all, if for a strong grip first of all you need to work on the muscles of the hands and forearms, then to increase the strength of the arms (for example, to increase results in the bench press in powerlifting or for strict lifts for the biceps in power sports), exercises for the triceps and biceps are already needed.

Before any workout, do not forget to warm up - this way you can avoid many injuries.

Brush training

You can train your hands both in the gym and at home, using various techniques and equipment. To begin with, how to increase the grip strength by working with an expander and gymnastic apparatus.

With expander

Using a rubber ring or spring projectile is a classic scheme for increasing grip strength. Examples of exercises:

Squeezing and unclenching the projectile - as an option, you can work with only two or three fingers or lean on static - hold the squeezed expander for a while.
© michaklootwijk - stock.adobe.com
Twisting the rubber with a figure eight - perfectly develops finger strength.
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Stretching the rubber bands with your fingers - the intensity is increased by increasing the number of elements.
© Sviatoslav Kovtun - stock.adobe.com
Squeezing a tennis ball.
© gdphoto - stock.adobe.com

The expander is convenient because it takes up a minimum of space, so you can work with it at any time and anywhere. The load is limited by the number of repetitions, the degree of tightness of the projectile and the time.

On gymnastic apparatus

Gym equipment or imitation will help develop an unusually strong grip.

Examples of exercises:

Hanging on the horizontal bar. There are many ways to diversify the exercise: hanging on two arms with weights, hanging on one arm for a while, hanging on several fingers, hanging on a thick and / or rotating bar.
We should also mention hanging on towels. Unlike the horizontal bar, the vertical grip uses the thumb to its fullest. This is the exercise that Paul Wade recommends in his famous book The Training Zone. Anyone who manages to hang on one hand on a thick towel for a minute can safely challenge many armlifters.
Rope climbing. There are also a large number of variations - light, with additional weight, with different setting of brushes, at speed, performing statics (analogous to hanging on towels), etc.

It is best to train the grip purposefully, performing several exercises in several approaches to the stop, every 7-10 days. A long interval between workouts is necessary for the complete recovery of all ligaments and tendons.

Forearm workout

There are three main exercises for developing powerful forearms:

Extension of hands with dumbbells or a barbell (grip from above): option designed for the outer zone of the forearm.
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Barbell or dumbbell curls (bottom grip): This exercise is aimed at developing the inner forearm.
Dumbbell / Kettlebell Hold - take heavy equipment and hold for the maximum time. The static grip develops well. To complicate things, you can wrap a towel around the handles of the dumbbells, thereby making them thicker. You can also not just stand still, but walk around the hall - you get the exercise "farmer's walk".
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Biceps workout

In the gym

The favorite muscles of most gym goers are trained in different ways. Classic exercises that will help develop arm strength include:

Barbell curls. Whether you are using a straight or curved bar - do what is more comfortable for your wrists.
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Standing and sitting dumbbell curls. It can be performed with supination of the hand in the process of lifting, you can immediately grasp it with a bottom grip when the palms are looking from the body.
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© Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com

© Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com
Curls with a barbell or dumbbells on a Scott bench.
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© Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com
Hammer-style dumbbell curls - palms facing the body, neutral grip.
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Reverse-grip barbell curls - focus on the shoulder and brachioradialis muscles.
Curls of the arms on the block or in the crossover from both the lower and upper handles. Used as a utility room.
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© Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com

© Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com

All of these options involve the biceps of the shoulder, but each has certain nuances. By doing all the variations, you will achieve all-round biceps development. When working for strength, you don't have to resort to variety. There are quite a few athletes who have developed tremendous power using 1-2 exercises.

At home

All the barbell and dumbbell exercises described are suitable for both the gym and the home. But there are situations when there are no such shells at home. The options for training biceps in this case will be limited, but you can think of several exercises:

Pull-ups with a narrow back grip. You only need a horizontal bar - now it is not difficult to find a crossbar, as a rule.
Lifting the biceps of any load. This could be a backpack or bag that needs to be loaded with sandbags or water bottles. It could be a classic sandbag. The main thing is that the weight must be distributed more or less evenly so that the arms are loaded equally.
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Mutual resistance of both hands: the working hand, which "tries" to bend at the elbow, is held in the wrist by the other hand. This is a static exercise designed to develop tendon strength.

Triceps workout

Exercises in the gym

Most of the arm is "given" to the triceps brachii, which occupies about two thirds. Therefore, those who seek to increase the volume should first of all lean on this muscle group, and not on the biceps. In the case of increasing strength for the bench, you also need to work on this group.

Basic exercises:

Bench press with a narrow grip - the narrower the grip, the more the triceps are loaded. The optimal width (at which the wrists will not "break") is 20-30 cm. Can be performed in Smith.
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French press - extension of the arms with a barbell or dumbbells at the elbows. The traditional position is lying down, but you can also do it while sitting. It is not recommended to work with large weights, as the likelihood of injury to the elbows is extremely high.

© Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com

© Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com
Kick-backs - extension of the arms along the body in an incline.
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Extension of the arms downwards on the block simulator. You can use a straight handle and a rope. Ancillary exercise.
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© Jale Ibrak - stock.adobe.com

Exercise at home

If we again consider the option in which there are no shells at home, the following exercises can be distinguished:

Triceps-style dips - with a minimal tilt of the body, while the elbows go back, not to the sides.
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Push-ups from the floor with narrow arms. The elbows move in the same way. The brushes are turned towards each other.
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Reverse push-ups. Can be performed on a sofa, chair or any other similar surface.
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What else can you recommend for hand training at home? Holding a chair on outstretched arms by the legs, lifting a bag (or other uncomfortable heavy objects), winding a cable with a weighted weight on a round handle, holding a tight ball with a fixed weight, trying to break a thick reference book or bend a metal rod, etc.

There are a lot of options. These are more than enough, but you can always connect your imagination and diversify your workouts. The beauty of manual exercises lies in the ability to do them anytime, anywhere.

Exercises with different equipment

Barbells and dumbbells are just a part of your sports equipment. Consider shells that can (and sometimes need to) be used additionally.

Weights

The shells that were traditionally used by Russian strongmen of the past and which are now gaining popularity around the world. Most of the exercises described above are performed in the same way with kettlebells:

The specificity of this "iron" is in too large a step of weights. Otherwise, kettlebells have a lot of advantages, and many (including outstanding athletes) consider the Russian classics to be more suitable for the development of strength and functionality than a barbell and dumbbells.

Heavy athletic ball

A heavy ball can be a good addition to a classic. What can you do with it? Yes, a lot of things, for example:

Throw up - the main load falls on the shoulders and triceps.
Bending your arms, holding the ball from below and from the side - biceps and forearms are well loaded.
© Maridav - stock.adobe.com

An alternative is the popular today sandbags (bags of sand or other filler). The bags have comfortable handles - a good help in many exercises. But for a powerful study of the grip, it is better to refuse the straps.

Training complexes on hands

So what do you do with all these hand strength exercises? There are countless training complexes. Here are a couple of examples.

Complex for strengthening the grip. Perform every 7-10 days:

Exercise name	The number of approaches and reps
Barbell wrist flexion / extension	4x10-12
Farmer's walk	4 to maximum
Holding the pancake off the bar with your fingers	4 to maximum
Hanging on a horizontal bar on a towel with two hands	3 to maximum
Hanging on a horizontal bar on one arm	3 to maximum
Squeezing the expander	4x10-15
Negative holding of the expander - such a variant of the expander is taken that you cannot squeeze with one hand. With your other hand, help to squeeze it, and then prevent it from opening	3x10

Complex for triceps, biceps and forearms. Emphasis on increasing strength, but also using the utility room. As a result, with proper nutrition, the volume of the hands will also grow. Also performed no more than once a week:

Exercise name	The number of approaches and reps
Bench press with a narrow grip	4x10,8,6,4
Standing barbell curls	4x10,8,6,4
Triceps Dips with Additional Weights	3x8-10
Standing dumbbell curls	3x10,8,6
Extension of arms from the upper block with a straight handle	3x10-12
Hammer Dumbbell Curls	4x8-10
Barbell wrist flexion / extension	4x10-12
Farmer's walk	3 to maximum
Hanging on a horizontal bar (on two or one hand)	3 to maximum

A little about exercises for girls

Strong arms will not hurt girls either, but for most women, this goal is somewhere at the end of the list of training priorities. In the foreground are beautiful, taut arms. Therefore, the exercises should be performed in a slightly different way - in more repetitions.

However, you do not need to take the smallest dumbbells - you do not need to be afraid of the working weight, the muscles of the male type will not grow in you, no matter how hard you try. For effective workouts, always use the maximum weight you can do for a given number of reps. Naturally, this does not apply to warm-up sets.

An approximate set of hands for girls:

Exercise name	The number of approaches and reps
Standing barbell curls	4x10-12
French bench press with dumbbells	4x12
Dumbbell curls sitting on an incline bench	3x12
Extension from behind the head with one dumbbell with two arms	3x12-15
Curls of arms from the lower block	3x15
Extension of arms with a rope from the upper block	3x15