If you asked 100 men why they first joined a gym and started lifting weights, a large portion of them would reference an action movie such as Rambo as their primary influence for making the first step into the fitness community. However, dreaming of owning an action hero physique and actually doing it are two very different things, as you are about to find out when we tackle the Sylvester Stallone arm workout below.
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.
The workout Sly Stallone used to build his sculpted arms is renowned for it's simplicity and it's brutality. While the exercises are very basic, the techniques deployed are certainly not basic!
This workout is broken up into four stages. They are aimed at biceps, forearms, triceps and a cool down. It is performed as a circuit, with one set of each exercise in the phase without rest being classed as one round of the circuit for that particular muscle. You need four rounds before you can move on to the next round.
Hammer Curl - 12 reps with a fairly heavy weight to get you warmed up.
Dumbbell Curl on an incline bench - 15 reps with a bench set to a 45 degree angle.
Biceps Curl - The old classic exercise is yours for 12 reps. After reaching 12 reps, switch to a wide grip and try to push out up to six more.
Lying Cable Curl - Line a bench underneath a cable station and perform a curl down towards your head on the bench. This needs 15 reps and you might find that you need to use a lighter weight than expected, due to the constant tension of the cables and the burning in your arms at this point.
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.
Phase two begins with Reverse Curls, an often overlooked exercise which will not only help you to develop your forearms but also minimize the gap at the bottom of your biceps muscle. 15 repetitions will suffice. This exercise is paired with Wrist Curls and Reverse Wrist Curls, which both need 20 repetitions each, before performing a timed hang from a monkey bar for as long as you can hold it. The forearm round is finished off with one of Sly's favorite moves, Handshake Curls. This move needs 30 reps with a light weight, and simulates a handshaking motion with a dumbbell.
Triceps are the biggest muscle involved in this particular gym session and it is important to remember that factor when deciding upon what weight to use. Go as heavy as possible for the reps prescribed to maximize your results. It begins with a set of 10 Close-Grip Bench Presses.
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.
After four rounds of each phase, you will be feeling pretty exhausted by the time you round out the triceps phase. There is only a cool down phase remaining. It is always advisable to do a cool down, particularly after a session as brutal as this one, because it will help you to prevent blood pooling and feeling faint. The cool down only consists of two exercises - holding the plank to failure three times and a set of close-grip push ups to failure.
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.
While everybody has aspirations to train like their favorite action movie star, the Sylvester Stallone arm workout is not for everyone. Before you attempt it, look through each of the exercises and decide upon using significantly lighter weights than you usually would for each move.
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.
The workout Sly Stallone used to build his sculpted arms is renowned for it's simplicity and it's brutality. While the exercises are very basic, the techniques deployed are certainly not basic!
This workout is broken up into four stages. They are aimed at biceps, forearms, triceps and a cool down. It is performed as a circuit, with one set of each exercise in the phase without rest being classed as one round of the circuit for that particular muscle. You need four rounds before you can move on to the next round.
Hammer Curl - 12 reps with a fairly heavy weight to get you warmed up.
Dumbbell Curl on an incline bench - 15 reps with a bench set to a 45 degree angle.
Biceps Curl - The old classic exercise is yours for 12 reps. After reaching 12 reps, switch to a wide grip and try to push out up to six more.
Lying Cable Curl - Line a bench underneath a cable station and perform a curl down towards your head on the bench. This needs 15 reps and you might find that you need to use a lighter weight than expected, due to the constant tension of the cables and the burning in your arms at this point.
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.
Phase two begins with Reverse Curls, an often overlooked exercise which will not only help you to develop your forearms but also minimize the gap at the bottom of your biceps muscle. 15 repetitions will suffice. This exercise is paired with Wrist Curls and Reverse Wrist Curls, which both need 20 repetitions each, before performing a timed hang from a monkey bar for as long as you can hold it. The forearm round is finished off with one of Sly's favorite moves, Handshake Curls. This move needs 30 reps with a light weight, and simulates a handshaking motion with a dumbbell.
Triceps are the biggest muscle involved in this particular gym session and it is important to remember that factor when deciding upon what weight to use. Go as heavy as possible for the reps prescribed to maximize your results. It begins with a set of 10 Close-Grip Bench Presses.
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.
After four rounds of each phase, you will be feeling pretty exhausted by the time you round out the triceps phase. There is only a cool down phase remaining. It is always advisable to do a cool down, particularly after a session as brutal as this one, because it will help you to prevent blood pooling and feeling faint. The cool down only consists of two exercises - holding the plank to failure three times and a set of close-grip push ups to failure.
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.
While everybody has aspirations to train like their favorite action movie star, the Sylvester Stallone arm workout is not for everyone. Before you attempt it, look through each of the exercises and decide upon using significantly lighter weights than you usually would for each move.
About the Author:
About the author: Successful online personal trainer Russ Howe PTI helps many people how to build their best body in the gym and at home. Get your quick guide to the full sylvester stallone arm workout for free on his website.
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