The overwhelming majority of men who own gym memberships will confess that the initial reason they became interested in building a ripped physique was seeing an action hero in a movie while growing up. It's not uncommon to hear movies like Conan and Rocky cited as huge gym influences. Many of them then try to follow the same workout routines of their chosen action hero. The Sylvester Stallone arm workout is a prime example of that mistake.
However, you would be wise to avoid the common mistake of presuming that movie stars have a secret formula or an easy way to sculpt the end product which you see on the silver screen. They do not.
One particular action star, Sylvester Stallone, is well known for his intense workout schedule and it would be ill advised to attempt a full scale workout in his style without first familiarizing yourself with the surroundings at your local gym for a few months.
This arm circuit is split into 4 stages, running through each muscle in the arm by itself to allow for greater focus on the area in question. We will cover a section for biceps, forearms, triceps and a cool down phase. Each phase is performed as a circuit four times.
Hammer Curl with dumbbells - Feel free to go quite heavy, given that this is the first exercise and your muscles will still be very fresh. Aim for around 12 reps.
Incline Dumbbell Curl - 15 reps on an incline bench.
EZ Bar Curls - Start with 12 standard-grip curls before switching to a wide-grip and forcing out as many reps as you can before failure. This is where most people begin to struggle with the biceps phase, so use a lighter weight if necessary.
Flat Cable Curls - Pull a flat bench underneath a cable pulley station and lie on it. Curl down towards your head. The constant tension provided by the cables will make this variation of a curl much more difficult, so aim for 15 reps with a significantly lighter load.
Twisting Chain Curls - Attach a free weight to a chain and hold the chain so the weight is hanging down. Now perform a curl, while twisting your palms to face away from you at the top of each rep. This engages the muscles in your biceps and forearms. Remember, the forearms are a lot smaller and the instability of a hanging plate is very noticeable, thus a lighter weight is required.
After four rounds of the biceps circuit, we move on to the second phase which focuses on our forearms in a lot more depth than most guys currently do in the gym. Try to perform 20 repetitions of Reverse Curls, Wrist Curls, Reverse Wrist Curls and Handshake Curls before finishing off by simply hanging from a pull up station for as long as possible to work on your grip strength.
The workout's final stage features it's largest muscle group, the triceps. Go heavy to obtain maximum results but also bear in mind how fatigued you will feel at this point. The first exercise in this phase is Close-Grip Barbell Bench Press for 10 repetitions.
After getting that out of the way, you can move on to Bench Dips to failure. We will immediately follow this up with a set of 12 Triceps Pushdowns and more Dips to failure, before rounding out the phase with 20 Triceps Kickbacks.
For the cool down phase, you will need to perform three body weight planks for 30 seconds each and one single set of Close-Grip Push Ups. Don't be fooled into skipping the cool down phase, for it is vital to ensuring you get maximum results and recovery from your gym session.
Upon completion of this workout you will probably have a huge amount of respect the next time you see an action hero on the big screen with a sculpted, lean physique. The exercises are simple and proven, but the high intensity circuit approach puts a totally new spin on things and proves to be the downfall of most participants.
The Sylvester Stallone arm workout is one of the most brutal celebrity training sessions out there and that is largely down to the man himself. After all, you wouldn't expect a Rocky-style training session to be anything too easy.
However, you would be wise to avoid the common mistake of presuming that movie stars have a secret formula or an easy way to sculpt the end product which you see on the silver screen. They do not.
One particular action star, Sylvester Stallone, is well known for his intense workout schedule and it would be ill advised to attempt a full scale workout in his style without first familiarizing yourself with the surroundings at your local gym for a few months.
This arm circuit is split into 4 stages, running through each muscle in the arm by itself to allow for greater focus on the area in question. We will cover a section for biceps, forearms, triceps and a cool down phase. Each phase is performed as a circuit four times.
Hammer Curl with dumbbells - Feel free to go quite heavy, given that this is the first exercise and your muscles will still be very fresh. Aim for around 12 reps.
Incline Dumbbell Curl - 15 reps on an incline bench.
EZ Bar Curls - Start with 12 standard-grip curls before switching to a wide-grip and forcing out as many reps as you can before failure. This is where most people begin to struggle with the biceps phase, so use a lighter weight if necessary.
Flat Cable Curls - Pull a flat bench underneath a cable pulley station and lie on it. Curl down towards your head. The constant tension provided by the cables will make this variation of a curl much more difficult, so aim for 15 reps with a significantly lighter load.
Twisting Chain Curls - Attach a free weight to a chain and hold the chain so the weight is hanging down. Now perform a curl, while twisting your palms to face away from you at the top of each rep. This engages the muscles in your biceps and forearms. Remember, the forearms are a lot smaller and the instability of a hanging plate is very noticeable, thus a lighter weight is required.
After four rounds of the biceps circuit, we move on to the second phase which focuses on our forearms in a lot more depth than most guys currently do in the gym. Try to perform 20 repetitions of Reverse Curls, Wrist Curls, Reverse Wrist Curls and Handshake Curls before finishing off by simply hanging from a pull up station for as long as possible to work on your grip strength.
The workout's final stage features it's largest muscle group, the triceps. Go heavy to obtain maximum results but also bear in mind how fatigued you will feel at this point. The first exercise in this phase is Close-Grip Barbell Bench Press for 10 repetitions.
After getting that out of the way, you can move on to Bench Dips to failure. We will immediately follow this up with a set of 12 Triceps Pushdowns and more Dips to failure, before rounding out the phase with 20 Triceps Kickbacks.
For the cool down phase, you will need to perform three body weight planks for 30 seconds each and one single set of Close-Grip Push Ups. Don't be fooled into skipping the cool down phase, for it is vital to ensuring you get maximum results and recovery from your gym session.
Upon completion of this workout you will probably have a huge amount of respect the next time you see an action hero on the big screen with a sculpted, lean physique. The exercises are simple and proven, but the high intensity circuit approach puts a totally new spin on things and proves to be the downfall of most participants.
The Sylvester Stallone arm workout is one of the most brutal celebrity training sessions out there and that is largely down to the man himself. After all, you wouldn't expect a Rocky-style training session to be anything too easy.
About the Author:
Taken from: Established online personal trainer Russ Howe PTI helps many people how to build leaner physiques in the gym and at home. See the complete guide to the full sylvester stallone arm workout via his fitness website today.
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