Download Bicep and Tricep Workout

Bicep and Tricep Workout
Arm Muscle Anatomy
The arms consist of three main areas - the biceps, triceps, and forearms.
The biceps is actually a smaller muscle then the triceps. It is on the front of the
upper arms. There are two heads of the biceps muscle (hence the bi in biceps).
Beneath the biceps is the brachialis, a flat muscle group that runs about half way
up the upper arm bone from the elbow joint. From the rear you can see the
brachialis as a well-defined band of muscle between the triceps and biceps when
a muscular bodybuilder flexes his/her arm.
The triceps is a three-headed muscle that is on the back of the upper arm (hence
the name tri in triceps).
It is essential that when you do any exercise that you perform the movements
correctly, if you don’t you will receive less then optimum benefit from the
exercise. It is very difficult to unlearn bad exercise habits, so it is best to learn the
right exercise technique from the very start.
The key to developing the arms is to avoid overtraining these small muscle
groups. The arms are used as secondary muscles in almost all chest, back, and
shoulder exercises. For example, the biceps are used when doing any type of
rowing movement for the back. The triceps are used when doing any type of
pressing movement for the chest and/or shoulders.
Muscles and Joint Pain
Muscles originate on a fixed bone in our body, cross over a joint, and insert onto
a moving bone. It is important to understand that all muscles move from the
insertion point going toward the origination point. It is because of the placement
of the muscles that we can move, but when a muscle is in spasm, or is
contracted we cannot move the joint it affects without pain.
Just as pulling on the end of your hair will cause you pain in your scalp, so too
will a muscle pulling on the tendon cause pain at the insertion point on the bone.
You can't stop the scalp pain until you let go of your hair, and you can't stop the
joint pain until you let go of the tension in the muscle.
Take a look at the graphic of the biceps muscle (left). There are thousands of
fibers lying next to each other in straight lines. All muscles run in straight, or
slightly curved, lines. The biceps originate at the front of your shoulder, cross
over the inside of the elbow, and insert onto the forearm. When the biceps
contract your forearm moves toward the shoulder.
The muscle at the back of your upper arm, the triceps (see image at right),
originates at the back of your shoulder, crosses over the point of your elbow, and
inserts onto the forearm. When the triceps contract your straighten your arm.
In order for either of the muscles to fully function, the opposing muscle must
completely stretch (see image at left). If the biceps (A) are contracting, but the
triceps (B) are not stretching, you will only move as far as the triceps will allow.
Likewise, if the biceps are held in the contracted state by spasms, you will not be
able to full open your arm. In either case, you will lose strength because the
muscle fibers are unable to move at their optimum performance level.
When a person feels weak, they often think it is necessary to strengthen their muscles ,
but the truth is they need to release the spasms and stretch the limiting muscles. Exercise
and weight training without doing very specific treatments to release the muscle spasms,
and stretch the muscles, will only continue the painful cycle.
How Muscles Cause Nerve Pain
Nerves travel from the spinal cord, through openings in the vertebre of the spine,
and then out to muscles and organs. When a nerve passes through a muscle it
can become impinged as the muscle goes into spasm. This will cause you to
have pain, numbness, tingling &/or weakness in any of the muscles that are
innervated by this nerve.
For example, a spasm in the scalenes can cause pain to be felt in the upper
back, chest, across the shoulders, down the arm and into the forearm (see image
below). A common burning pain that is felt in the center of your back, along the
shoulder blade, may actually be caused by a spasm in your neck. You can rub
your back all day, but until you treat the spasm in your neck you will never get rid
of the pain.
Nerves also pass alongside muscles. For example, the median nerve, which
gives feeling to the hand, runs between strong muscles in the forearm. If one of
these muscles shortens from repetitive strain, you will feel pain and numbness in
your hand and wrist. You will rub your hand, shake your hand, and put all your
focus of attention onto your hand and wrist, but the source of the numbness is in
your forearm - or even as far away as your neck. This same situation happens all
over the body, it's called "the Gate Theory", which means that pressure or
damage to a nerve will refer pain to a different area, usually where the nerve
ends.
Muscles and Tendonitis
Muscles merge into tendons, and tendons attach to moveable bones. The
system is beautifully designed, until there is a shortening of the muscle from a
spasm or contraction resulting from repetitive use. When this happens the
shortened muscle pulls on the tendon, causing it to pull away from the bone. This
is most clearly demonstrated in Achilles tendonitis, but may occur anywhere in
the body.
The two muscles of the calf, "gastroc" (short for gastrocneimus) and soleus both
merge into the Achilles tendon (see image above). The tendon then inserts into
the back of the heel. When the muscle contracts it pulls the heel up off the
ground, allowing you to stand on your toes. The calf muscles must contract in
order for you to push off with your toes as you take a step.
When either, or both, of these muscles are shortened by spasms, they continue
pulling on the bone even when your foot is flat on the floor. You are straining the
tendon, causing it to overstretch and become inflamed at the insertion, or even to
tear from the bone. The pain becomes so severe that unless the two muscles are
stretched you will not be able to walk without pain.
Frequently a person is given heel lifts to try to "bring the ground up to the heel",
however, it is more logical to release the spasms, stretch both muscles, and
"bring your heel down to the floor". Many people know how to do one of the calf
stretches - the one that stretches the gastroc. However, most people don't know
how to stretch the soleus, as a result the calf is never fully stretched, and the
painful cycle returns.
Muscles and Bone Spurs
Continuing with the process shown above, when the muscle is so tight that it is
trying to pull the tendon away from the bone, the body jumps into action. With
incredible wisdom, the body sends bone cells to the area of the inflammation to
"hold on" to the tendon. As the muscle continues to pull, the body continues to
send bone cells. Eventually the bone cells pile up, and you have a bone spur.
Trying to eliminate a bone spur will be unsuccessful as long as the muscle is still
pulling on the tendon. Many times people find that once the tension is released
the bone spur doesn't cause them pain, and no further action is necessary.
Wherever your pain is being felt - in the hand/wrist, low back, knees, ankles, or
any other joint, you can learn how to treat the muscles that are the source of your
discomfort. The Julstro System teaches you how to treat the muscles that
cause wrist pain and hand numbness, and the series of "Pain-Free" Books
teach the Julstro techniques for the rest of the body.
You will be amazed at how quickly the Julstro Self-Treatments work. You will be
your own "best therapist."