Load Up The Weight. Locate either the lat pulldown or tricep pushdown machine, depending on which one your gym has. Choose a weight by placing the pin into one of the weight stacks on the machine. The tricep pushdown is one of those exercises which requires very little weight so choose your weight carefully. You wont be able to go too heavy on this type of exercise so don’t get too carried away when choosing the amount of weight. Go light if it’s your first time performing this exercise.

Choose an Attachment. The machine should have a high pulley above your head somewhere with an attachment. Depending on who’s used the machine before you the attachment may range from a bar to a rope so choose the appropriate attachment you want to use and attach it. All lat pulldown/tricep pushdown machines allow you to unattach the bar or rope at the top.

Starting Position. The starting position for this exercise often varies between lifters. Ideally what you will want to do is position yourself ever so slightly behind the bar (or your desired attachment) with feet together. Stance and feet position can be slightly altered if it makes you feel more comfortable. The most common variation is placing one foot in front of the other.

Positioning The Bar/Attachment. Once you are standing slightly behind the bar (or attachment) with the appropriate stance, grab the attachment from up above you and pull it all the way down by extending your arms down in front of you. Keep your elbows in by your sides. The bar should now be positioned down in front of your thighs. At this stage you should not be in a complete upright position. This will feel uncomfortable. Maintain a slight ark in your back with your knees slightly bent if it feels more comfortable. This will help support the body and minimize wobbling.

Raising The Bar. Once you are in position, raise the bar up to around a 90 degree angle. You don’t really want to be raising the bar all the way up. This makes the lift feel awkward and takes tension away from your triceps. When raising the bar it’s important to do it slowly and under control. Do not let the weight take the bar up. Focus on controlling it. Keep those elbows tucked in by your sides and as stationary as possible.

Pushing The Bar Down. Once your arms have reached that 90 degree angle (or slightly more) then it’s time to push the bar back down towards your thighs. Keep elbows still and tucked in by your sides. Push down by contracting your tricep muscle and fully extend your arms all the way down. If you can, give the triceps a good squeeze at the bottom of the movement and return the bar back up slowly.

How to do Tricep Pushdowns – A Few Pointers

Elbow Position. Elbow position is extremely important to make the most out of this exercise and perfect your form. Keep them in by your sides at all time. Keep them as stationary as possible and you will make the movement a lot easier. Tension will also be kept on your tricep muscles throughout the exercise.

Raise The Bar Slowly. If you raise the bar too quickly, tension on the tricep muscle is lost and it will make your next rep feel extremely awkward. You want to raise the bar in a controlled manor at all times. If you neglect to do this you wont get the full benefits of this exercise and you will lose out on valuable reps during your set. Raising the bar too fast can also throw your elbows out of position.

Head Position. Something we haven’t touched on yet is head position. In truth this doesn’t make too much of a difference during the tricep pushdown. You can either look straight forward or down at the bar. Do which ever feels more comfortable.

Grip. You can use either an overhand or underhand grip on the bar. If you are performing this exercise for the first time or simply have very little experience performing the tricep pushdown then I would recommend sticking to an overhand grip to begin with. Use an underhand grip later on once you have mastered the form and are looking to add more variation to the exercise. Remember to keep a tight grip on the bar throughout the entire movement.

This allows you to really isolate and squeeze those tricep muscles throughout the movement. Form is extremely important with this exercise. Unfortunately this is the type of exercise that will tempt you to swing the weight up and use momentum. If you do not follow strict form this exercise will not be effective. Do not swing the weight up by moving your arms out of position and using momentum. Strict form is crucial! Here is how to do tricep kickbacks using proper and strict form.

Find a Bench. To perform the tricep kickback you will need a bench to rest on. If there are no spare benches in the gym then feel free to use the weight rack. You can lean on the weight rack to perform your kickbacks in a similar way you would for dumbbell rows. If you have a bench to perform this exercise on, you should position it in the flat position.

Pick a Weight. It’s important you pick a weight that is light enough for you to perform between 8-12 reps, maybe a little more. Remember what I said earlier. This exercise requires very little weight. Do not be embarrassed if you find yourself using the lightest dumbbell on the weight rack to begin with. For this exercise, you will only require one dumbbell.

Starting Position. Once you have a bench and have chosen the weight of your dumbbell, it’s time to get into the starting position for the exercise. To do this you want to place your hand and knee onto the bench. The hand and knee you place onto the bench should be on the opposite side to which you will be holding the dumbbell. With the arm you are holding the dumbbell in, point your elbow up towards the ceiling and raise your upper arm as far as you can without feeling discomfort. Your starting position should look something like this:

Moving the Dumbbell. Once your all set up, you will need to extend your arm back behind you while keeping your elbow and upper arm as stationary as possible. The key to perfecting your form is really focusing on keeping that elbow and upper arm still while extending your arm back behind you as far as you can. Do not rock or swing your body while performing this exercise. Keep everything still and extend the dumbbell out behind you. At the end of the movement you should be in a similar position to this:

Once you reach this position, keep your elbow and upper arm still and return the dumbbell back towards the starting position.

How to do Tricep Kickbacks – Some Tips

Minimize Body Movement. Ideally there should be no body movement whatsoever throughout the exercise. The only movement should be in your lower arm where you are extending the dumbbell back behind you.

Head Position. With regards to head position you can either look straight in front of you or you can look down towards the bench. Which ever you feel most comfortable doing.

Light Weight. Always start with light weight when first performing the tricep kickback. Many people don’t realize just how tough this exercise really is and end up using too much weight. This then results in using momentum to swing the weight up. Start light to begin with, get a good squeeze and contraction in your tricep muscles and practice strict form. This will be far more effective for tricep development.

Elbows High. Always try and start the exercise by positioning your elbows as high up as you find comfortable. Focus on holding the dumbbell, bending your elbow and then raising it up towards the ceiling. This will be your starting position and your elbow/upper arm should not move from this position throughout the entire movement.

Grip. Although you will be using relatively light weight for this exercise, you will feel stronger extending the dumbbell back behind you if you squeeze the dumbbell hard and maintain a tight grip.

Find a Bench. Just like the bench press, you will need a bench in order to perform this exercise. Find a bench and place it in the flat position.

Load Up The Weight. Load up the barbell with the appropriate amount of weight. If your new to the exercise don’t go too heavy to begin with. We want to get a feel for the movement first and master the form before we start throwing heavy weight around. It’s worth mentioning that a light set or two to warm the tricep muscle up is always recommended before you perform your main working sets, as it is with any other muscle group.

Don’t walk into the gym, load up the weight for your working sets and begin lifting straight away when your muscles are cold. You will eventually injure yourself. Working sets also feel a lot more comfortable once you have completed a light set or two to warm your muscles up.

Starting Position. Once you have your warm up sets out the way and have loaded up the bar for your working sets, lay down on the bench and position yourself under the bar. You don’t want to sit too far back or too far forward on the bench when first setting up. This will make it awkward and dangerous to remove the bar and get it into position. A general rule is to lay under the bar so that the bar is directly above your eyes when you look up.

Similar to the bench press technique, place your back and shoulder blades down against the bench whilst maintaining a slight ark in the lower back. Feet should be planted firmly on the floor with knees bent. Grip the bar using a narrow grip. The grip should be around shoulder width/slightly less than shoulder width apart.

Do not grip the bar too close. If your hands are right next to each other on the bar you will make the lift feel extremely uncomfortable. You will also have a hard time balancing the bar when you lower and lift it. Squeeze the bar hard just before you take it off the bench.

Lift the bar off the bench and position it up above your chest, similar to where you would position it for a standard bench pressing movement. Maintain the slight ark in your lower back whilst pinning your back down against the bench for stability. Look up. You are now in position for your first rep.

Lowering The Bar. Lower the bar down towards your lower chest. You will find that the close grip will force you to lower the bar down towards your lower chest as lowering it to the upper chest will feel awkward and unnatural. When lowering the bar focus on pulling the weight downwards instead of just letting it drop.

Also try and maintain that position where your back is pressed down firmly against the bench. Another important point to mention when lowering the bar is to let your elbows travel forward slightly. Do not let them flare out to the side. This will help ensure you lower the bar correctly down towards your lower chest.

As you lower the bar you should also think about keeping a tight and firm grip on the bar. Weakening your grip as you lower it can encourage your wrists to roll back slightly and throw your grip off, making reps feel harder and more awkward. Squeeze that bar!

Lifting The Bar. Once you have lowered the bar down to the lower chest, explode back up. At this point you want to focus on pushing the bar back up whilst keeping your back and shoulder blades pinned down against the bench while maintaining a tight grip on the bar. It can be natural for the bar to travel up and slightly backwards. Reason being is that when lowering the bar, it can again be natural to lower it down and outwards slightly towards your lower chest.

This is mainly due to the close grip you are using on the bar. Lowering the bar by letting your elbows travel forward slightly will also alter the line the bar needs to travel in order to get back into its original starting position. Do not worry if the bar does not follow a straight up and down line.

How to Perform The Close Grip Bench Press – A Few Useful Tips

Elbows Travel Forward. When lowering the bar you will need to allow your elbows to travel forward slightly in order to lower the bar in the direction of your lower chest and ensure you do not flare your elbows out. This can feel strange at first but when performing the close grip bench press, you will soon realise how unnatural it is to lower the bar in a direct straight line.

Tight Grip. Grip that bar firmly and you will feel stronger and more stable throughout every rep.

Pull The Bar Down. Again, when lowering the bar, focus on pulling the bar down while keeping your back pinned down against the bench. This should help improve your form and minimize any wobbling or balance issues during the lowering phase. When your muscles are fatigued sometimes its only natural for your muscles to shake a little and throw your form off so don’t obsess too much about your form on the final 1 or 2 reps. Just Try and keep your form as tight and strict as possible.

Push Shoulder Blades Down On The Bench. This one relates to when you are lifting the bar back up above your chest. Once you’ve lowered the bar successfully down towards your lower chest, push the weight back up by driving your shoulder blades down against the bench and keeping them there once the bar has returned above your chest.

Find Yourself a Bench. Grab a bench and position it in the flat position. You can also perform skull crushers using an incline position on the bench but in this article we will keep it simple and focus purely on the flat bench skull crusher.

Get a Weight. Find yourself a weight that you can lift for at least 8 repetitions. If your unsure as to how much weight you can handle for this particular exercise then purposely go light and pyramid the weight up if your previous set was too easy.

Getting The Weight Into Position. The rep starts with the barbell elevated above your head with arms extended. Unless you have a workout partner to hand you the weight some people may find it tricky getting the weight into position to begin the set. The best thing to do here is use an EZ Bar instead of a traditional barbell. Position the bar on your thighs while sitting down on the bench.

Now you need to use a similar method as you would for the dumbbell bench press. The bar is probably best placed close to your knees while you sit on the bench. Take a little lean forward and using a little momentum, lay backwards onto the bench while kicking your legs up at the same time. This should get the bar up in the air enough for you to manoeuvre the bar into its starting position which is up above your head. You should now be in position for your first rep.

Lowering The Bar. Many people lower the bar differently during the skull crusher. Ideally you should lower the bar by keeping elbows still and in position. They should not move too much from their original starting position. Focus on keeping them still throughout the movement to keep tension on those triceps. Something else that varies between lifters is the position the bar is lowered to. This doesn’t seem to matter too much as long as you are using strict form and keeping those elbows as still as possible throughout the lift.

Some people will lower the bar to their foreheads while others will lower it further back, just behind their head. I feel more comfortable lowering the bar back behind the head. If I fail on a rep I know the weight will be positioned behind my head and I can drop the weight safely to the floor or onto the bench. If you fail on a rep and the bar is positioned just above your forehead there is a higher risk of danger. It’s personal choice, try both methods and stick to one you feel more comfortable with.

When you are lowering the bar you will want to squeeze the bar firmly and lower it in a controlled manor. It’s always best to have the bar under control on the way down even if it means going slow for the negative phase of the lift. If you lower the bar too quickly it takes stress off the muscle, raises risk of injury and just feels extremely awkward on your tricep muscles. Once you have trouble lowering the bar under control, you know the set is nearly over. The bar should be lowered to either your forehead or just behind your head at forehead level depending on which variation of the lift you are using.

Raising The Bar. Once you have lowered the bar to the appropriate position, keep elbows in position while you explode the bar back up. Focus on lifting the bar by simply extending your arm up. As mentioned before, try and keep elbows still while extending arms upwards. A slight variation of raising the bar during the tricep skull crusher is to extend your arm by pushing up and outwards. Supposedly this is meant to place greater emphasis on the long head of the tricep muscle. Feel free to try it. Don’t forget to keep that grip tight!

How to do Skull Crushers – Tips

Bar Position. If you are extending the bar back behind your head you should position the bar above your forehead (or slightly in front) to begin the rep. If you are lowering the bar down to your forehead then the bar will need to be positioned further in front of your forehead.

Elbows Still. Focus on keeping the elbows still. This will help keep tension on the tricep muscle and make the lift feel more comfortable and stable. It will also help you focus on lifting the bar directly upwards instead of lifting the bar up and across your body slightly. If elbows are kept relatively still, once you raise the bar up, it should roughly be in the same place as when you first started the rep.

Lower The Bar Slowly. Lowering the bar too quickly makes raising it back up feel a lot more awkward on your muscles. If you lower it under control you will feel a better contraction in your tricep muscles and make raising the bar feel a lot less awkward.

Grip. Keep that grip tight! Focus on squeezing the bar on the way down. This makes you feel stronger and more stable throughout the lift. It will also stop your wrists from rolling back at the bottom of the movement.

Grab a Weight. Use a weight that you can perform at least 8 reps with and can maintain good form throughout the movement. For this lift you have the option of using dumbbells or a barbell. In this guide we are going to focus on the barbell reverse curl. If however you wish to use dumbbells then that’s fine. The same rules will apply.

Stand Upright. Once you have the barbell in your hands, position it down in front of you at arms length. It should now be resting somewhere near your upper thighs. There should be a very slight bend in the elbow to ensure arms are not completely straight. Keep good posture and stand nice and upright whilst looking forward. This will be the starting position of the reverse barbell curl.

Grip. Grip the bar firmly with an overhand grip. Your palms should be facing towards your body to begin with. During the movement they will be facing down towards the floor as you curl the bar up.

Now Lift. What you now want to do is curl the barbell up while maintaining the current grip you have on the bar. Curl the bar as you would during a normal barbell bicep curl. The only difference here is that your palms are facing a different way than they would be when performing a bicep curl. Curl the bar up to around shoulder height or to the point when your forearms are vertical to the floor.

At this point your palms should naturally be facing down towards the floor. Now lower the bar back down to it’s original starting position whilst keeping it under control at all times. Palms will now revert back to facing in towards the body. Try and remember to keep that upright position throughout the movement with your head looking forwards or slightly up.

How to do Reverse Barbell Curls – A Few Pointers

Grip. Keep that grip tight. When you lift the bar up, your palms will be facing down towards the floor making the movement seem a little unnatural at first. Focus on squeezing the bar to maintain good form and make the movement feel less awkward. You don’t want the bar falling out of your hands when you lift it!

Body Movement. Just like the bicep curl, try and minimize any swaying or movement of your body during the lift. A slight bit of movement can be ok but you don’t want to be over exaggerating it and taking the stress away from the targeted muscle groups. Using momentum to get the weight up takes away work from the muscle.

Start light. If your new to this exercise then start light to get use to it. As mentioned earlier, a lot of people find this movement unnatural and a bit awkward at first. Get the benefits from the exercise by perfecting the form and really feeling the forearms and biceps contracting during the movement.

The seat will also be adjustable in order to get you into the appropriate position for the movement. Most gyms will have a preacher curl bench. If they don’t then you can also perform this movement using dumbbells. If your using dumbbells and there is no preacher curl bench in your gym use a standard bench.

Stand behind it, adjust it to a high incline position and you have everything you need to perform the dumbbell preacher curl. Anyway back to the barbell preacher curl. Here is how to perform the preacher curl using a barbell.

Find a preacher curl Bench. Sit on the preacher curl bench and adjust the height of the seat. Seat position is important in order to make the most out of this exercise. If the seat is too low your arms will not be in a comfortable position to perform the exercise. Alternatively you can stand up and lean against the preacher curl bench instead of sitting down. Whether you sit down or stand up is entirely up to you.

Grab a weight. Pick a weight where you think you will be able to perform at least 8 reps. If you are more experienced with this exercise then feel free to go heavier but I feel the preacher curl is most effective in a 8-12 rep range. Now we need to get into position.

The ideal way to get the weight into position is to have someone hand it to you once you are standing or seated in the preacher curl bench. However, if you are training on your own the barbell preacher curl can prove a little tricky to set up.

Try picking up the weight away from the bench. Walk across to the preacher curl bench with the weight down in front of you at arms length. If you can, walk behind the arm pad while keeping your arms in front of the pad. This way the weight should be positioned out in front of the pad, allowing you to place the back of your arms on the arm pad. You should now be ready to perform your first rep.

Another way to get the weight into position for your first rep is to perform a bicep curl near the preacher curl bench. Maintain the position at the top of the bicep curl so that the weight is positioned up by your chin. Now walk carefully into the preacher bench and position the back of your arms behind the pad. You should now be in position to lower the bar and perform your first rep of the preacher curl.

Lifting. Now, depending on how you have started the rep (this example is when starting from the bottom of the movement) you now need to curl the weight up towards your forehead. It’s not ideal to curl the weight all the way up.

Ideally you will want to stop at the point when your palms have just started facing you. The bar should also be around chin height or slightly above. Once you reach this point you will want to lower the bar back down in a controlled fashion.

When lowering, you do not want to lower the bar all the way down as this will make the next rep extremely hard and awkward and can take stress away from the targeted muscle. Lower to just below vertical. Ensure you maintain a tight grip on the bar and do not allow your wrists to bend back during the bottom phase of the movement.

Releasing the bar. If you have a spotter or workout partner with you then this is easy. Simply lower the weight down and let him/her take the bar and place it on the floor. If however you do not have a workout partner you will need to find a way to place the bar on the floor yourself. Now, if you have gone to failure and there is no way you can get the weight back up for one more rep then you don’t have much choice than to drop the weight onto the floor and make a bit of noise.

If however you complete your final rep and have the bar positioned at the top of the movement, then you can slowly move out of the preacher curl bench and lower the weight back down to the floor.

How to do Preacher Curls – A Few Pointers

Moderate weight. Use a weight that you know you can handle and have a good chance of getting 8-12 repetitions with. The preacher curl is a strict isolation movement of the biceps and minimizes any use of other muscle groups and body movement so its important your muscles can handle the weight. Get use to the exercise before going too heavy.

Squeeze the bar. To make the lift more comfortable and less awkward you will want to squeeze the bar firmly, especially on the lowering phase of the movement. This will also help to ensure your wrists do not roll backwards slightly when lowering the bar.

Have a workout partner handy. It’s extremely useful for this type of exercise to have a workout partner on hand to pass you the weight and lower it back down to the floor instead of trying to do it all yourself. It’s also safer. Alternatively you could switch to dumbbells and use a traditional bench in order to perform the preacher curl.

This isn’t to say you should always structure your routine like this, try switching the order of your tricep exercises around every so often to switch things up a bit. It does however make sense to place main lifts such the skull crusher and close grip bench press first in your routine where you are able to lift the most weight.

Let’s take a look at how to do dumbbell tricep extensions with good form.

Find a Bench. Grab a bench and set it so that it is upright with a very slight incline. Dumbbell tricep extensions can be performed by standing up or sitting on a bench. In this article we will focus on sitting down whilst performing the exercise. Don’t worry if you prefer to do it standing up then that’s no problem. The same rules will still apply.

Grab a Dumbbell. For the dumbbell tricep extension you will only need to use one dumbbell. If this is your first time performing the exercise then pick a weight you know you can handle. No need to go too heavy on these to begin with. Once you master the form you can then bump the weight up.

Sit Down on The Bench. With the bench positioned in an upright position, sit down on the bench and press your back firmly against it. Position the dumbbell on your thigh. Now you will need to get the weight up into position in order to perform your first rep. This is a lot easier if you have a workout partner available to just hand you the weight. If you don’t then you will have to manoeuvre the dumbbell into the starting position on your own.

Getting The Weight Into Position. If the weight is reasonably light it’s possible to just rest the dumbbell on your thigh, grip the dumbbell with two hands and simply raise it up above your head and into the starting position. If however the weight is a little heavier then try this. Rest the dumbbell on your thighs, grip it tight with both hands and raise it up to your shoulder by kicking your leg up and guiding the dumbbell onto your shoulder.

Now rest the bottom of the dumbbell on your shoulder. Note: When raising the weight you will need to flip it when in mid air so that the opposite side of the dumbbell is resting on your shoulders compared to when it was resting on your thighs. Once the dumbbell is resting on your shoulder you should now have the ability to adjust your grip and extend both your arms up above your head. Position the dumbbell slightly behind your head.

Grip. When you are in position, you should be gripping the dumbbell with both hands/palms wrapped underneath the top of the dumbbell.

Lowering the Weight. By now the weight should be positioned up in the air and slightly behind your head. Arms should be extended with hands wrapped underneath the top part of the dumbbell. Now lower the weight back behind you while keeping elbows as still as possible. Keeping elbows still will allow the weight to travel in the right direction and should help prevent the weight fro banging you on the head on the way down/up. When lowering the weight it is also important to try and keep your elbows tucked in. Do not start the movement with your elbows purposely flared outwards.

Lifting the Weight. Now push the weight back up by extending your arms and keeping elbows as stationary as possible. Try not to lift the weight up and across. This will make the lift feel awkward and position the dumbbell in the wrong place for your next rep. You may even hit your head on the dumbbell. If you keep elbows still and focus on pushing the weight up towards the ceiling then you should be perfectly set up for your next rep.

How to do Dumbbell Tricep Extensions – A Few Tips

Starting Position. Always start the rep with the dumbbell positioned up and slightly behind your head. Do not position the weight directly above your head. This will cause you to lower the dumbbell incorrectly and will cause you to move your elbows slightly in order to avoid hitting your head on the dumbbell. Position it slightly behind your head at the top of the movement to begin the rep.

Keep Elbows Still. Keep those elbows still throughout the movement in order to perfect your form. This will help keep tension on your tricep muscle, improve your form and make the lift feel far more comfortable.

Head Position. It’s best to either look forward or down. As you can imagine, looking up will make the lift feel uncomfortable. Look straight ahead or downwards towards the floor.

Variations. As mentioned earlier, you can perform the dumbbell tricep extension standing up but you can also perform it using one arm at a time. Both are great variations. Choose which ever one you feel most comfortable with.

The dumbbell hammer curl will place a greater emphasis on your outer bicep when performing the exercise but will still sufficiently work your whole bicep muscle.

The dumbbell hammer curl is often performed after the traditional bicep curl exercise or at the end of your bicep workout. Here’s how to perform the dumbbell hammer curl:

Grab a Pair of Dumbbells. Ideally you will want to pick a weight that allows you to perform between 8-12 clean and solid reps without cheating. If you are unsure of the amount of weight you can handle then purposely go light and if needed, pyramid the weights up during your working sets.

Stand Upright. If you want to make this exercise more challenging or simply like to perform each exercise with strict form, you should try your best to remain upright throughout the movement. Do not swing or sway your body in anyway to help get the weight up. This will make the movement slightly easier and take stress and work away from the targeted muscle.

Dumbbells By Your Side. Standing upright, place dumbbells at arms length down by your sides. You want to be gripping the dumbbells with your palms facing in towards the side of your body. Grip the dumbbells firmly before you lift to make the lift feel more stable and comfortable.

Lift! Now lift the dumbbells up whilst remaining as upright as possible (unless you want to use momentum). When lifting the dumbbells up you can either lift them up until your hands are in line/just above your elbows, or you can lift them all the way up so that the top of the dumbbell brushes your shoulders.

Once at the top of the movement lower the dumbbell in a controlled manor back down to your sides minimizing movement in the elbows and keeping them still. I prefer to lift the dumbbell all the way up but this is personal preference. Lifting to the top of the shoulders will make the lift slightly more challenging. Its also important to remember that during the lift your palms remain facing in towards your body throughout the whole movement.

Dumbbell Hammer Curls – Pointers

Grip. Try to grip the dumbbell firmly before you begin the lift and maintain this firm grip throughout your set. Gripping the dumbbell this way will help you feel more comfortable throughout the lift and should allow you to squeeze out an extra rep or two that you wouldn’t of otherwise got.

Stance. Assume a normal comfortable stance when performing the dumbbell hammer curl. Usually a shoulder width or slightly less than shoulder width stance is fine. Try and minimize swaying or movement throughout the movement if you’re concentrating on strict form. A slight bit of movement is acceptable and sometimes can only be natural with heavy weight but do not over exaggerate it.

Head Position. Where you look during the lift doesn’t matter too much. Unlike the squat and deadlift you can actually look down in front of you if you wish to do so. It’s not such a big factor in the dumbbell hammer curl, just do what feels comfortable for you. Obviously you don’t want to be hunched over performing the lift but looking down in front of you wont hurt you.

Variations. You can add a slight variation to the dumbbell hammer curl by performing them sitting down on a bench. This helps minimize body movement and forces stricter form. This will make the lift more challenging and ensure the muscle is worked even harder.

The bicep muscle only makes up about a third of your arm. Your triceps on the other hand take up around two thirds of your arm so don’t get too obsessed with working your biceps. Train them hard and sensibly and you will see results. Here’s how to do bicep curls with proper form:

Grab a weight. For bicep curls you can use dumbbells or barbells. In this exercise guide we will focus on the barbell bicep curl. Similar rules apply for dumbbells so don’t worry if you are using dumbbells for your bicep curls, this guide can still apply to you. Grab/load up a barbell with weight you can lift for at least 8 reps.

As a rough note, try lifting in the 8-12 rep range. Once you get more experienced you can lift heavier and drop the rep range down as low as 3 reps if you wish to do so although low reps are normally associated with bigger compound exercises such as the bench press, squat and deadlift. If you’re looking to perfect your bicep curl form to begin with, focus on a lighter weight which allows you to hit 8-12 clean repetitions.

Grip. Grip the bar with an underhand and slightly wider than shoulder width grip. Give the bar a good squeeze to get comfortable. Alternatively you can use an overhand grip but this is not classed as a traditional barbell bicep curl. Using an overhand grip transforms the exercise into what is known as a reverse bicep curl.

Stand upright. With the bar in your hands, let your arms hang down in an extended position where the bar rests on upper thighs and stand in an upright position with chest puffed out. If you are keeping strict form (always best) you will want to maintain this upright position throughout the movement.

However, when the weight gets heavy your body is more inclined to lean forward. I have found a slight lean forward when lowering the bar back down can help the lift feel a little more comfortable. This lean should be very slight and not over exaggerated. Do not jerk the weight up!

Elbows slightly bent. Most exercise guides ask you to fully extend your arms in the starting position just before you lift the weight up. In my experience (and a lot of others by the sound of it) placing your arms in a fully extended position before attempting to lift the weight makes the movement feel uncomfortable and takes away some of the stress from the target muscle, transferring it to joints and tendons. Keep those elbows slightly bent for maximum comfort.

Lifting the weight. Squeeze the bar hard and curl the weight up to around chin level. When you’re lifting the weight you want to try and focus on lifting it straight up instead of up and outwards. Lifting the bar up and outwards makes the lift harder, more uncomfortable and wastes valuable energy. Keep those elbows still and slightly bent while driving the weight upwards.

Lowering the weight. Lower the weight using a similar mind set as lifting it. You want to lower it downwards instead of outwards and down. This helps ensure that when you return the weight down towards thigh level your elbows remain slightly bent in order to push out that next rep with good form. Remember to keep squeezing the bar, even when lowering it. This makes the lift feel more stable and controlled.

Head position. Quick note on head position. Throughout the lift try and focus on looking forwards infront of you. Looking down can throw your form off and round your back.

So there you have it, that was how to perform the barbell bicep curl with good strict form. Be sure to check out some of our other exercise guides should you be needing any assistance in a particular lift. If you cant find the exercise your looking for, feel free to contact me and I will try my best to add it!

Your lower ab muscles are still worked, just not as hard as your upper abs. While focusing on developing your lower ab muscles dont forget you need to lose lower ab fat first if you want to see your lower abs clearly.

Best Lower Ab Exercises

Lets go through some of the best lower ab exercises you can do to develop those stubborn lower ab muscles:

Hanging Leg Raise

Hanging leg raises are definitly one of the best lower ab exercises you can do.

Start: To perform the hanging leg raise you will need to begin the movement by hanging from a high bar with a wider than shoulder width grip. Your body should be fully extended in a vertical position while hanging from the bar.

Execution: Raise your legs up around hip level while keeping your legs as straight as you can. Its natural to maintain a slight bend in the leg while bringing them up. Keep your knees together throughout the movement. The hanging leg raise can also be performed using bent knees.

Instead of keeping your legs straight, raise them up by bending your knees and leading the movement with your knees. This is an easier version of the hanging leg raise and would probably be a better option for beginners. Once you progress and get stronger then try switching to the straight leg variation to make the movement harder.

Finish: Lower your legs back down to the starting position so they are fully extended and your body is back in a complete vertical position. Try and control the movement as much as possible. You body should not be swinging. Try and keep it still and focus on using your ab muscles to stay stable and perform the movement.

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Lying Leg Raise

The lying leg raise is in theory the same movement as the hanging leg raise except that you will be laying down in a more stable position. The lying leg raise is also handy if you do not have a high bar to perform the hanging leg raise.

Start: Lay down with your back flat against the floor or a bench. Place hands either down by your sides or underneath your glutes (bum) and raise your legs up in the air near a vertical position with knees slightly bent.

Execution: Similar motion to the hanging leg raise. With your legs exended up in the air lower them down to just above floor/bench level with your feet and toes pointing forwards. You can either keep your legs as straight as possible while lowering your legs or you can keep them bent throughout the whole movement. Completely bent knees will make the movement easier. Straighter legs will make it harder.

Finish: Now raise them back up focusing on pulling your legs up using your ab/lower ab muscles.

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Barbell Ab Roll outs

Barbell ab roll outs are rarely used in the gym. Barbell roll outs are a great exercise for the abs which many people seem to neglect. Instead of using a barbell it is also possible to use dumbbells or an exercise ball. Here we will focus on the barbell roll out.

Start: Start with the barbell at your feet. Bend over to grip it with legs straight (or slightly bent if you cant stretch that far) and arms straight.

Execution: Roll the barbell forward until you are stretched out as far as possible while maintaining a flat lower back. The further you roll out the more stress that is placed on your abs and lower abs to stabilize the body. If your midsection is not strong enough there is a chance you will lose position.

If you find this happening then roll the bar forward but dont fully extend yourself. Only roll the bar out to the point you know you still have full control of your body and can stabilize yourself. Work your way up to using full range of motion and keep form strict.

Finish: Once you’ve rolled the bar out as far as you can go you need to pull it back to the starting position. Keep tension on your abs and pull everything back.

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The Reverse Crunch

The reverse crunch is another great lower ab exercise.

Start: Lay down on the floor with your arms by your sides. Move your legs up in the air but bend your knees so that thighs are perpendicular to the floor. Your knees and feet should form a straight line and feet need to be put together.

Execution: To perform the reverse crunch move your legs in towards your body using your ab muscles while moving your hips off the floor slightly. Knees should end up above your chest.

Finish: Return your legs to the original starting position keeping them under control at all times.

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Those are in my opinion 4 of the best lower ab exercises you can do to develop those stubborn lower ab muscles. Try and perform all lower ab exercises with strict form keeping as much tension as you can on your abs throughout every movement.