In terms of physique goals, many men are looking to lean out everywhere while adding bulk to their arms to fill out their sleeves. It’s what a lot of us like to call, “having tickets to the gun show.” Many of us balk at doing cable exercises instead of lifting weights, but it’s not either or.
The biceps are composed of two muscles: the long and short heads. To bulk them up fully, you’ll also need to include some work on the triceps as well. This vital muscle group is made up of the lateral, medial, and long heads.
Now, we all know that using dumbbells is a great way to add size your arms, but your body will adjust to those same exercises after a time, and you’ll notice your results start to plateau. So, many gym professional move over to the cable exercises to mix things up and continue to grow those massive arms.
If you’re ready to bulk up those biceps and triceps, here are a few cable exercises you should try.
Straight bar tricep pushdown
While facing the cable machine’s pulley system, grip the straight bar with your palms facing down. Next, take a step backward while keeping your back straight. Your elbows should remain close to your body throughout the movement.
Once you’re ready, use your triceps to push the bar downward until your arms are fully extended, but don’t lock your elbows. Hold at the peak of the rep and feel the tension in your triceps for a brief moment before slowly raising the bar back up.
Outside grip cable EZ-curls
While facing the cable machine, pick up and grip the EZ-curl bar with your palms facing up. Keeping your elbows down by your side, lift against the resistance in a curling motion, pulling the bar toward your chest while squeezing your biceps. At the peak of the movement, hold that squeeze for a second before slowly lowering the bar.
Overhead rope extension
While facing away from the cable machine, hold the ends of the rope in your hands above your head and keep your elbows pointed upward. As you begin the rep, move the rope ends outward as you extend your triceps. Stop the rep just locking out your elbows, hold weight in place for a moment, and then return the rope to its starting point.
Note: Your elbows should never flare outward.
Rope hammer curl
These are similar to dumbbells hammer curls. Grab onto the ends of the extension rope, stand up straight, and take a small step backward. Next, do a controlled hammer curl up and, as always, squeeze those biceps at the peak of the rep before slowly lowering the rope back to the original position.
Lying cable bicep curls
This is a slightly unconventional arm-strengthening exercise. Unlike the others, you lay flat on your back with your feet positioned on the floor for extra stability. So, grab on to the straight or EZ-curl bar with your palms facing up and carefully move into a lying position.
Keeping your elbows down by your side, lift the resistance in a curling motion toward your chest, making sure to squeeze your biceps for maximum effect. As always, you’ll want to pause for brief moment at the peak of the movement before slowly lowering the EZ-curl bar back to the starting position.