Strength Training Move of the Month:

Please consult a physician before beginning any resistance training or nutrition program. The following is simply a suggestion and is to be modified according to your own needs, strengths, and limitations

Superset of Two Kinds of Incline Bench Bicep Curls

Place the bench at a very high incline, so that it feels like you're almost sitting upright but not quite. Sit on the bench with your legs close together, and with the dumbbells, do an alternating bicep curl. Keep your shoulders and elbows back and by your sides, without actually hugging your arms to your body. Keep your head back as well. Be sure to not utilize movement of the shoulder in order to get the weight up. Upon reaching the concentric contraction, pause for a brief half a second and then lower the weight steadily until the arm is straight. Be sure one arm is moving up while the other is moving down so that you are never at a complete rest.

When finished with the set, grab a slightly lighter set of dumbbells and do hammer curls, where the palm is facing in towards the body, thus making the dumbbell look like the head of a hammer. Curl the weight in the same fashion as the alternating bicep curls, but raise both arms at the same time rather than alternating them. Again, be sure to contract and squeeze at the concentric phase of the motion and then lower the weight without utilizing movement at the shoulder.

Do a set of 10 to 20, depending upon your goals for your biceps, for the alternating curls, and then do a set of 10 to 20 for the hammer curls. The burn is painful but well worth it. You may use this to pre-fatigue the biceps at the beginning of your workout or as a closure to your arm workout. Consider adding in a tricep exercise right before or right after to create a tri-set and offer more of a challenge to your arm workout.