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Buff up your biceps with the '21'

Posted: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 5:52 PM
Filed Under: ,

By Rob Parr

 

Summer is around the corner and if you want to show off your sexy biceps when the temperature rises, start pumping them up now.

 

One of my favorite arm-enhancing activities is the “21.” Here’s how to do it:

 

Start in a standing position, holding either dumbbells or a barbell with a weight that fatigues your muscles by the 21st repetition. Your elbows should remain against your sides during the entire exercise.

 

*For the first 7 repetitions, begin with your arms fully extended toward your thighs. Then raise the weight up until your forearms are at a 90-degree angle to your legs (parallel to the floor). Squeeze your biceps. Then lower the weight and repeat.

 

*For the next 7 reps, begin at that 90-degree position and lift your hands toward your shoulders, squeeze the biceps and then lower to the starting position and repeat.

 

*For the final 7 reps, you’ll do the full range of motion. So start with your arms fully extended toward your thighs. Then raise the weight up toward your shoulders, and again squeeze the biceps. Lower and repeat.

 

Aim to do two to three sets of the entire sequence a few times a week, and you’ll be on your way to sporting buff biceps for beach season.

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Comments

Jusg go with what you got! And be happy.

Nathan (Sent Wednesday, May 02, 2007 5:33 PM)

Jusg go with what you got! And be happy.  Leave the iron-pumping to the pros.

Nathan (Sent Wednesday, May 02, 2007 5:34 PM)

In order to gain mass, you must consume more calories than you are burning.  This can be done through a simple weight gainer product.  I love circuit training as it keeps me toned and builds mass if I intake weight gainer with intense, supersetting workouts.

Mark (Sent Thursday, May 03, 2007 12:32 AM)

I love the people here who speak for me. Telling me the only reason I work is to bag a ladies. Telling me to pick up a book and stop wasting my time. Man, all this time I thought I was successfully working out and keeping my grades up, but you've all proved me wrong.

I workout for no one but myself, for my own gratitude, through my own determination and perseverance. Nobody but me influences what I do in the gym. Those who don't appreciate that are usually too weak to lift a book. And those who can appreciate it are my closest friends.

Nothing comes easy, but hard work and discipline make anything possible no matter who you are. I've proven that to myself. The rest of you simply don't try hard enough.

Jason (Sent Thursday, May 03, 2007 1:27 AM)

When I played football in hs we would do 21's as part of our bicep workout but it had a little twist. You would get a 45 lb, 35 lb, and 25 lb plate and line then up on the ground or somewhere. You would do an entire set of 21's with the 45 and then immediately do an entire set with the 35, then you would finish by doing one last set of 21's with the 25. Only then you would rest, and you would repeat that entire cycle at least 3 times.

Robert, Ft. Worth, TX (Sent Thursday, May 03, 2007 9:22 AM)

Brains and braun land the ladies...Women dont want a nice mind to lay their head on, they want ripped shoulders, bicepts and a great chest.  School is great, but nerds get the ugly girls!  Nerds that have muscles and physical endurance get the real prizes.

John, Tallahassee, FL (Sent Thursday, May 03, 2007 10:54 AM)

What is a "ROM"?

Carlos Moreno (Sent Friday, May 04, 2007 8:55 AM)

Range of Motion

Al mn (Sent Monday, May 07, 2007 9:09 AM)

I'm a 16 year old girl, I work out four times a week and I'm on several sport teams. I am socially active. My average GPA is 3.85/4 so I would say that I'm doing great at balancing my life.
I hate it when guys think that girls just want muscle. What we want is a naturally sporty guy, one who does not spend all day every day in the gym, but who maybe like to run around the block or play some basketball outside. That's what a real guy is. The rest are just.. insecure losers. Of course, I'm not talking about the guys that go to the gym for reasons other than to 'bag the ladies'. I respect those.
Sorry guys, but if you were an ugly, brainless jerk in the first place, buffing up your arms won't make you be like more, or for longer. That's all.

Ana, living in Istanbul, Turkey. Spanish originally. (Sent Monday, May 07, 2007 12:57 PM)

I know I'm slow, but I can't distinguish between the 2nd and 3rd set of the 21's described in the article.  Can someone help me...I want to try it, but I want to make sure I'm doing it correctly.

LP Jamestown NY (Sent Monday, May 07, 2007 2:40 PM)

question,

how can i big my arms and biceps and triceps

thanks
haris

haris,kunduz,afghanistan (Sent Tuesday, May 08, 2007 2:50 AM)

I have started doing the 21's at the end of my workouts, and it's a great muscle failure exercise to close any routine with. Just make sure the reps are controlled, not jerky. As for all of the talk on these boards about girls wanting guys with muscle...there are men who work out for their own physical and spiritual gains, who just happen to attact certain kinds of women...the same can be said for all those bookstore/coffeeshop guys barely reading a book hoping that an attractive girl asks what they are reading...so it works both ways, why worry about what some other guy is doing?

Eric, Washington, DC (Sent Tuesday, May 08, 2007 9:27 AM)

This is all very amusing to me, first off don't worry about what girls like because you will never please or attract every woman unless you are filthy rich, powerful, celebrity. Some girls like muscle some don't do it for yourself no one esle and who cares what people think about it? Just be yourself and do what makes you happy, if you can't get girls it probably isnt your lack of muscle, the way you carry yourself and your style have a lot to do with it. Oh and 21's are good for a pump but they do little for mass stick with the basic 3 sets 8 to 12 reps and eat like a horse.

Eddie, Alexandria, VA (Sent Thursday, May 10, 2007 6:11 PM)

For LP in Jamestown (Lucy's hometown): A normal curl starts with the arms hanging straight down and ends with the weight up near your shoulders. With the first set of 7, start with your arms at the bottom and only go halfway up (til your forearms are level), then with the next set of 7, start at the top and only go halfway down (again, til your forearms are level), then with the last set of 7, perform the full range of motion: all the way down to all the way up.  Hope that helps.

Mark, Honolulu (Sent Friday, May 11, 2007 8:51 PM)

OMG...yeah I know the stronger the better genes..blahh blahhh blahh. Sorry but I don't want a man that can beat off a preditor I want a man that can intelligently survive from a preditor, cause I know that will be the man that will come home to our children

Tammy, Naples, Florida (Sent Thursday, July 19, 2007 9:38 AM)

altho 21s are pretty sweet, i prefer a pyramid approach to biceps. you can do it by yourself or with another person. you start with ten reps, hand the weight over to the other person, they do 9 reps, switch back, and work your way down to 0. if you do this by yourself, just rest between opposing sets (as a stand in for the lifting buddy you're missing). starting off ur biceps like this is a killer and feels great

dave (Sent Tuesday, July 24, 2007 3:19 PM)

I'd have to say that these were some of the hardest exercises I have ever attempted; but they work really well. I've only been on them for a couple of days and I can still feel the pump in my arms that never goes away, and they look bigger too!

Kagan Evans, Saint Charles, Missouri (Sent Friday, September 14, 2007 12:31 AM)

I am sure there is more to it then overload.. otherwise why aren't weight lifters defined.  Not fat!!! I think wghat ever works for you and don't knock it till you've tried it

Laura London (Sent Wednesday, November 07, 2007 7:46 AM)



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