One of the most effective workouts for building muscle in the arms is using a training technique called “Positions of Flexion”. Which basically means training each muscle group through it’s full range of motion; starting with a compound mid-range exercise, then moving on to an exercise that works the muscle in the completely stretched position, and then finishing with an exercise that works the muscle in the fully contracted position.
To give you an example, here is a typical POF bicep workout:
· Barbell Curls
(this is a mid-range exercise as most of the tension is on the biceps in the middle of the rep)
· Preacher Curls
(this is a stretched position exercise as most of the tension is on the biceps at the bottom or fully stretched position)
· Concentration Curls
(this is a peak contraction exercise as most of the tension is on the biceps at the top of the rep when the biceps are fully contracted)
Lately I’ve been focusing my own workouts around the “Positions Of Flexion” concept and the results have been awesome, I’ve gotten the most intense muscle pumps that I’ve felt in years. In the past I usually just focused most of my efforts around the big basic compound mid-range exercises, but by incorporating fully stretched movements and fully contracted movements I can tell that I’m working muscle fibers that are not getting touched with just basic compound lifts. POF training utilizes the best of both compound and isolation exercises to work the muscles through a complete range of motion.
This is the Positions Of Flexion arm workout I did on Saturday July 26.
EZ Barbell Curls
(mid range exercise)
2 x 6 with 110 lbs.
Close Grip Bench Press
(mid range exercise)
2 x 6 with 225 lbs.
EZ Barbell Preacher Curls
(stretch exercise)
2 x 6 with 70 lbs.
Overhead Dumbbell Extensions
(stretch exercise)
2 x 6 with 40 lbs.
Dumbbell Preacher Concentration Curls
(peak contraction exercise)
2 x 6 with 40 lbs.
Dumbbell Kickbacks
(peak contraction exercise)
2 x 6 with 40 lbs.
Plate Pinch Holds
Two 25 lb. plates
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Hey Lee,
ReplyDeleteanother good informative article and thank you for that. I have a question which is about POF. I used to work out 5 days a week (split routine with POF approach)until 2 months back when I was advised, through different forums, that given my experience(I have been training for 2 years now) and stats I should be following a compound movement centric regimen. After that I have been following 5*5 training for past two months. My current stat is:
Shoulder lift:100 lbs
Bench : 170 lbs
Squat: 250 lbs
Deadlift: 220 lbs
Now I want to ask whether I should revert to split routine or switch between 5*5 and split routine. I still want to gain lean mass my arms and legs are still lacking..
Thank you...