When it comes to arm exercises for women, it’s the small things that count. How so? The smallest errors in posture and technique can add up, and over time, slow down your progress substantially.
Most women aren’t even aware that they’re making any errors. It’s hard enough to show up and exercise, let alone perfect every exercise your doing.
Well, I don’t recommend getting too anal here. However, avoiding the most common mistakes will give you the biggest bang for your buck while not making your arm workouts a mechanistic nightmare.
So here is the important list of what NOT to do when doing arm exercises for women:
1. Heave hoeing the weight up. This is most common with barbell curls and all its variations. The problem? It places a lot of stress on your lower back and takes stress off of your biceps. Not a good thing if you want fast arm toning.
2. Letting the shoulders come up. Most common with press downs for the triceps, although some women also do this when performing curls. What’s the big deal? When you elevate the shoulders, you work your trapezius (neck) muscles, not your arm muscles. And do you really want a big neck?
3. Allowing the elbows to shift around. Probably the most common error, letting the elbows shift takes all the stress of your arms-not a good thing if you want rapid arm toning. It can also lead to some shoulder impingement issues in the long run. So keep your elbows locked in place!
4. Not using the heels for support. The most stable anatomical position is with the heels firmly digging into the ground. If you frequently place your weight on the balls of your feet, please stop! You will be able to lift heavier weights and prevent injury by using your heels.
Avoiding the above errors when doing arm exercises will make you better off than most women. Don’t worry about having perfect technique, this will make your arm workouts a nightmare. Instead, do your best to avoid the major errors and keep the flow going.