Cable Exercises For Arms
People love to train arms because you can’t hide them. Whether you wear short or long sleeves, a good set of arms will be noticeable from every angle.
For women, a pair of trim, firm and well-toned triceps and sculpted biceps can turn a simple sleeveless blouse into a conversation piece.
The good news is you don’t need to spend too much time on your arms to see results.
The biceps compose 1/3 of your arm. The other 2/3 is your triceps. Both muscles are involved in other exercises. The primary function of the biceps is elbow flexion. You utilise this function whenever you pull objects toward you. Examples of exercises that involve the biceps are rows and pull downs.
The primary function of the triceps is elbow extension. This happens whenever you push objects away from you. All types of upper body pressing involve the triceps.
Thus, the muscles of your arms are activated whenever you train your back, shoulders and chest. The biceps and triceps are small muscles; they don’t require much stimulation to grow.
Cables are a good way of jumpstarting growth because they generate constant tension. Having been stimulated from previous workouts, arms will respond better to a low volume, high rep program.
Here are the 6 best cable exercises to build your arms:
1. Rope Pushdown – With your knuckles facing out, the emphasis is on the lateral head of the triceps. Rope Pushdowns is a good lead-off exercise because it places less stress on the elbows and provides a safe warm up.
2. Cable Tricep Extension – This exercise hits the long head of the triceps which is responsible for its size. You can perform this exercise lying down, seated or standing up.
3. Reverse Grip Tricep Pushdown – The medial head of the triceps is difficult to hit. Reverse Grip Triceps Pushdowns is the best exercise to target the medial head and rounds out your triceps workout.
4. Cable Bicep Curls – This is a good exercise for building your biceps because it hits both heads and allows you to handle the most weight.
5. Incline Cable Curl – Incline Cable Curl places your arms behind the body and creates a powerful stretch on the long head of the biceps. This is the best exercise for building a high “biceps peak”.
6. Cable Hammer Curl – You cannot complete a good set of arms with weak forearms. The Cable Hammer Curl targets the brachioradialis muscles which are found on the top of the upper forearm and right below the lower biceps.
Sample Arm Workout
If you think your arms are lagging behind or underdeveloped, you can set aside a workout for them. Use a weight that will allow you to complete all the reps in strict form. You should rest only 1 minute between sets and 2 minutes between these arm exercises.
1. Rope Pushdowns – 2 sets x 15 reps
2. Cable Tricep Extension (Standing) – 3 sets x 10 reps
3. Reverse Grip Pushdowns – 2 sets x 10 reps
4. Cable Biceps Curl – 3 sets x 10 reps
5. Incline Cable Curl – 2 sets x 10 reps
6. Cable Hammer Curl – 2 sets x 10 reps
It would be best to train them after legs so they will be fresh and well- rested. You can also split the workouts with biceps after training back and triceps after chest.
