Beginner Series: Back & Biceps
Welcome to the Gym: Week 1 Workout Guide
Back & Biceps
Try any or all of the following exercises in any order. Some will require machines or equipment. Ask a trainer or staff member of your gym to clarify anything you don’t understand as everything written is mostly common language in the gym environment.
Dumbbell Curl
Try 3-4 Sets of 10 Reps Alternating Between Arms.
Stand upright, feet close together, back contracted, arms directly down by your sides with palms facing forward, dumbbells in hand. 5-15 lbs. should be plenty.
The non-working arm should be almost, but not quite, fully extended holding the dumbbell flexed and still. Grip the dumbbell handle firmly.
With one arm at a time, raise your forearm and hand up toward your shoulder. Keep your upper arm and elbow stationary and rigid by your side as you raise upward, keeping your wrist neutral and inline with your forearm, you don’t want to let your wrist pull back.
Once the working forearm and bicep are fully contracted (fully flexed at the top of the rep), begin to lower it back down in the same method that it came up.
Once returned to almost fully extended, hold it stationary and repeat with the other hand.
The Cable Lat Pull-down Machine
Try 3 sets of 10-15 reps.
Attach a bar, preferably a longer one around 3-4 feet wide, to the cable and select a moderate weight around 20-50 pounds.
Facing the machine, sit down on the seat with your knees under the knee pads, Ensure the knee pads are lowered (or seat raised) so your knees are firmly pressed against pads.
Reach both hands up with palms facing forward and grip the bar firmly a bit wider than your shoulders.
Keeping your back firmly contracted, pull down on the bar equally with both hands. Keep your elbows wide and imagine trying to touch your shoulders blades together as you pull. Pull the bar closely in front of your face until it almost touches the top of your sternum with your arms and elbows directly out to your sides.
Return the bar slowly back up to the starting point and repeat.
Seated Cable Row
Try 3 Sets of 10-15 reps.
Any cable attachment will do, but look for one that has grips very close together , about 3” apart, and parallel to each other, This is a neutral grip, close grip attachment. Attach it to the cable and choose a manageable weight, 20-50 lbs.
Sit down with your feet firmly planted on the platform, hip width. Reach forward and grip the handles with palms facing each each other and ensure to grip firmly with all 5 fingers.
Sit upright and tilt back slightly at the hips, pulling the cable toward your abdomen and elbows down and by your sides. This is the starting position.
With the handles touching, or almost touching, the top of your abdomen slowly release the the handles away from you keeping back tight and upright until arms are almost fully extended.
Explode back toward your abdomen and think about trying to pinch your back and touching your shoulder blades together (you can’t actually) and repeat for the remaining reps.
Bench Supported Dumbbell Back Fly
Try 3 Sets 010-12 Reps
Find a bench, preferably a mobile one that can be raised to an incline (not one that is built into another machine or bench press rack). Raise the bench up to a 20-30 incline.
Select a pair of dumbbells, 5 - 10 lbs. and holding one in each hand, lay face down on the bench with your head over the edge of the high end of the bench. You chest and abdomen should be laying firmly against the bench with your feet making secure contact with the ground behind, placement is variable so long as you are able to hold and posture your body on the bench.
Now that you are in position, hang your arms straight down towards the ground. Tilt your head up slightly. Do not fully extend your arms, but do have a very slight and rigid bend in your elbow. Keep your arms flexed to keep them stiff and stable during movement.
Raise both dumbbells up and out to their respective sides until they are horizontal. Imagine if you were standing straight up with your arms straight out to your side to make a ‘T’, this is where your arms should be in relationship to your body at the top of this motion.
Ensure you are maintaining a tightly contracted (arched) back and posture and are not allowing your elbows to pivot during this motion. Return the dumbbells back down toward the ground and repeat for remaining sets and reps.
Cable Hammer Curl w/Rope Attachment
Try 3-4 Sets of 15 Reps.
Local and open cable machine that allows the cable cable attachment to be pulled up from ground level, most racks have a sliding mount.
Find a rope attachment to connect to the cable. This is a rope about 2 feet long with thick rubber heads on each end for gripping and a mounting bracket that can slide across the rope, for this exercise the mount needs to be directly in the middle to create two equal lengths of rope on each side.
Connect the attachment to the cable’s d-ring. Select a weight between 10-30 lbs. and you may adjust after testing out the exercise.
When gripping the rope ends, make sure the ends of the rope are pointing up with the mount below them. With each hand, assume a firm grip and each end of the rope just underneath and up against the rubber heads.
Stand up tall, tight back and posture, facing the cable machine and rope. Keep elbows down firmly by, but not against, your sides and forearms horizontal gripping the rope. Bending only at the elbows, lower the rope down until arms are almost straight but not full locked out. Then with power, curl them back up until they almost touch your shoulders/chest and the slowly lower them again. Do not hold hands together or let rubber heads touch, you want the instability.
Repeat this motion for the remaining reps and sets.
Take a Rest!
Hopefully you have been able to complete most or all of the exercises in this guide. Use this as many times as you wish but you will likely want to explore more variations and methods to reach your goals. Make sure to cycle through the other “Beginner Series” blogs for more exercise and nutrition info!
Once you feel more comfortable lifting in the gym and need a little more, check out the E-Book Store for comprehensive workout guides and plans.
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