An article for fragile “lifters”. Or 21 safe exercises.

The biceps is a muscle consisting of two heads: long and short. All basic biceps exercises involve curling your elbow under load: with free weights or on a machine. This changes the range of motion, body position and rotation of the forearm, which provides a different effect on the muscle.

Choose 1-2 exercises and add them to your workouts. But don't always use the same ones: alternating different options will help load both heads and stimulate muscle growth.

Concentrated biceps curls

The American Council on Exercise (ACE) ACE Study Reveals Best Biceps Exercises found that the concentrated curl activated the biceps by 97%, better than all other exercises.

Sit on a bench, take a dumbbell in your right hand, and rest your left hand on your left knee. Press the triceps of your right hand against your inner thigh. Bend your elbow to lift the dumbbell, then lower it back down and repeat.

Try to press the working part of the body closer to the pelvis, and not to the knee. When you move your arm in this way, at the extreme point it automatically turns outward, which puts even more stress on the biceps.

Choose an appropriate weight for 8-10 reps: you should feel heavy at the end of the set. Do 3-5 approaches.

How to develop flexibility: 21 exercises

Consider these exercises to improve your flexibility.

Hamstring stretch

Stand straight, place your feet shoulder-width apart, and bend your knees slightly. Then lean forward and place your hands on your calves. Stay in this position for 45 seconds or 2 minutes.

Piriformis stretch

Sit on the floor with both legs extended in front of you. Then cross your right leg over your left and place it on the floor. Place your right hand on the floor behind your body and place your left hand on your right knee and rotate your torso to the right. This exercise stretches the hips, back and buttocks.

Lunges with twist

This exercise helps to cope with back pain for those who lead a sedentary lifestyle. It also helps open the chest.

Stand up straight. Take a big step forward with your left leg, bend your left knee, and walk your right leg back. Place your right hand on the floor and rotate your upper body to the left. Stay in this position for 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

Triceps stretch

Kneel down, sit on your heels and extend your arms up. Bend your right elbow and touch your hand to your upper back. Pull your left arm up.

Curly stretch

Stretches the back muscles and relieves knee pain. Lie on your back with your feet on the floor. Cross your left leg over your right. Lift your right leg off the floor, grab it and pull it slightly towards you. Hold this position for 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

Stretch 90/90

This position helps develop hip flexibility. Sit on the floor, bend your right knee 90 degrees. In the same position, move your left leg to the side. Try to maximize the distance between your legs. Stay in this position for 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

"Frog"

Helps relieve lower back pain, great for runners. Get on all fours. Move your knees shoulder-width apart. Turn your socks inside out and place the inside edges of your feet on the floor. Push your hips back. Hold the position for 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

"Butterfly"

Sit on the floor, spread your knees out to the sides and touch your heels. Lean forward and press your knees as hard as possible. Do the exercise for about two minutes.

Shoulder stretch

Helps cope with poor posture and relieves tension. Sit on the floor, bend your knees and lower your feet to the floor. Pull your arms back and bring your shoulder blades together. Stay in this position for 3 seconds. Perform 5-10 times.

Side stretch

Kneel down and move your left leg out to the side. Keep it perpendicular to your body (not in front or behind). Reach your right arm over your head, place your left hand on your left leg, and gently bend your torso and right arm to your left side. Keep your hips in front of you. Stay in this position for 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

Lunge forward

Stand straight, then bend your left knee, lunging forward, and take your right knee back. Tighten your buttocks and hold in this position for up to 2 minutes. Repeat for both sides.

Chest stretch

Lie on your stomach with both arms extended to your sides so your body is in a T shape. Move your left arm to the side and bend your left knee. Try to stretch your muscles as much as possible. Great for pumping up your abs and shoulders.

Knee stretch

Lie on your back, pull your right knee towards your chest and leave your left knee flat. Hold this for 2 minutes. Repeat for the other leg.

Neck stretch

Most people forget to stretch their neck. But releasing tension in this part of the body can have a positive effect on the spine.

Stand straight, feet shoulder-width apart. Then sit on the floor and lift your chest up. Pull your left ear towards your shoulder, and do the same with your right. To increase the stretch, gently press down on your head with your hand.

Lying stretch

Lie on the floor on your left side. The lower leg should be straight, and the upper leg should be pulled towards the buttocks. Remember to keep your hips stable. Stay in this position for 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

"Sphinx"

This exercise strengthens your back muscles and has a positive effect on your abs. Lie on your stomach, focus on your elbows and lift your chest off the floor. Then lengthen your spine and relax your shoulders.

"Puppy pose"

Get on all fours, stretch your arms forward a few centimeters and focus on your toes. Lift your hips up and toward your heels. Stay in this position for 2 minutes.

"Pretzel"

Stretches several important muscles in one area, which saves time. This way you stretch the buttocks, spine and hips.

Lie on your left side with your left arm under your head. Bend your right knee and cross it over your bottom leg. Take your left foot and pull it back.

"Angel Pose"

This is a great option for warming up. Lie on your back, bring your feet together and allow your knees to open and come closer to the floor. Hold for 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

Stretching while standing

Stand straight, bend your left leg and press it to your thigh with your left hand. Your knees should be together. If you need to, move your arm to the side for balance. Repeat for the other leg after 2 minutes.

Crossover biceps curls

Attach the handle to the lower block, grab it with a direct grip. Bend your elbow and lift your forearm while turning your palm toward you. Return to starting position and repeat.

You can attach a straight handle and perform the exercise with both hands at the same time. However, the work of only one of them allows you not only to bend the forearm, but also to turn the arm outward, which increases the load on the biceps.

Perform 3-5 sets of 8-12 reps for each arm.

Training principles

To correctly create a complex for biceps, remember the simple principles of its training:

• Despite the almost complete lack of basic exercises for working the biceps flexor muscle, it works great in all back exercises. That is why it is usually done on back day, finishing it off with 2-3 isolation exercises.
• To pump up your biceps, it is enough to use one projectile. But you can alternate, muscles love new exercises and unusual angles of movement.
• The biceps is a small muscle group not designed for intense and long-term work. Therefore, just one arm flexor workout per week with 2-4 exercises is enough.

Reverse grip pull-ups

This exercise is not isolated: it loads not only the biceps, but also other muscles of the shoulders and back. Despite this, these pull-ups are very effective: according to ACE, they activate the biceps by 80%.

Grab the bar with a reverse grip, lower your shoulders, squeeze your shoulder blades together - this is the starting position. Pull yourself up so that your head is below the level of the horizontal bar, and then lower yourself to the starting position. Don't pull your chin up trying to reach the bar: your neck should remain straight.

Do 3-5 sets of 10 reps without weight. If you can't finish the last sets, then do them point-blank. If you can do 10 repetitions, then try weighting - a belt with a chain and a 5 kilogram weight plate. Perform 3-5 sets of weights at point-blank range.

Incline Dumbbell Raises

In this exercise, the hands with dumbbells are located behind the line of the body, so biceps curls are performed with greater amplitude.

Sit on an incline bench, grab dumbbells and lower your arms freely to your sides. From this position, bend your elbows and lift the dumbbells to shoulder level. Lower them back down and repeat.

Do 3-5 sets of 8-10 reps each.

Dumbbell raises with supination

In this exercise, you combine elbow flexion and forearm external rotation to maximally target the biceps.

Take the dumbbells with an overhand grip, bend your arms and lift your forearms while turning them outward. At the top point, the position of the hands should be the same as at the bottom: with the palms facing you. Lower your arms and perform the movement again.

Do 3-5 sets of 8-12 reps.

Dumbbell raises with expander

In this exercise, additional load is provided by the resistance of the expander. In this case, the maximum voltage is created at its upper point.

Step on the apparatus with both feet, take dumbbells and an expander, turn your palms away from you. Bend your elbows and bring the dumbbells to shoulder level, while turning your forearms outward. Lower, then raise the weight again.

Perform 3-4 sets of 8-10 repetitions. The expander makes the exercise much more difficult, so first try doing it with a light weight. If it's too easy, take heavier dumbbells or choose an expander with more resistance.

Training plan. Preparing for a half marathon

Last time we talked about preparing for the marathon.

My first marathon: 20 weeks to prepare

Training plan to prepare for 42 km 195 m.

If you watched the program and realized: “No, guys, what a marathon, are you kidding me? If only I could run half a marathon here!”, then today we are publishing a half-marathon training program especially for you!

Basic rules for preparing for a race

● Before jogging, you need a 15-minute warm-up, after - a cool-down for 10 minutes; ● Optimal frequency: 3-4 workouts per week; ● We combine and alternate the load: interval training for speed development, tempo running, long jog, training in the gym or outdoors for all muscle groups; ● We increase the weekly volume gradually, no more than 10% of the total distance; ● You can calculate your pace using an online running pace calculator, but the main guideline is how you feel; ● Don't forget about rest and recovery time.

When to start preparing?

The optimal training period for a half marathon is 16 weeks, the minimum is 8 weeks.

Important: the program is not designed for beginners. You should run an average of 8-10 km per workout to ensure that your body is ready for the load of the 21.1 km plan.

Half Marathon Training Plan

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