The overwhelming majority of men who own gym memberships will confess that the initial reason they became interested in building a ripped physique was seeing an action hero in a movie while growing up. It's not uncommon to hear movies like Conan and Rocky cited as huge gym influences. Many of them then try to follow the same workout routines of their chosen action hero. The Sylvester Stallone arm workout is a prime example of that mistake.
Looking at the super lean physique you see on screen in the final product, it would be quite foolish to walk into a workout like this with ambitions of taking it easy. Use that vision of the end result as a barometer to tell you that this is going to be very tough.
One particular action star, Sylvester Stallone, is well known for his intense workout schedule and it would be ill advised to attempt a full scale workout in his style without first familiarizing yourself with the surroundings at your local gym for a few months.
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.
Incline Dumbbell Curl - 15 reps on an incline bench.
EZ Bar Curls - Start with 12 standard-grip curls before switching to a wide-grip and forcing out as many reps as you can before failure. This is where most people begin to struggle with the biceps phase, so use a lighter weight if necessary.
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.
The triceps section involves a few big moves to really get the blood pumping. It's the biggest muscle in this workout, so push yourself hard if you want to see an even better return on your results. The first move in this phase is Close-Grip Bench Press, which you owe 10 reps. Try to keep the elbows from flaring out as you perform this, to minimize chest and shoulder involvement.
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.
For the cool down phase, you will need to perform three body weight planks for 30 seconds each and one single set of Close-Grip Push Ups. Don't be fooled into skipping the cool down phase, for it is vital to ensuring you get maximum results and recovery from your gym session.
If you make it through this workout you will have a new found respect for the final physique you see on the movie screen the next time you watch a Hollywood action movie. It's simple yet brutal approach is deliberately misleading, leading many people to jump into it and regret it later on. Use lighter weights than you usually would because it is performed as a high intensity circuit, rather than a standard gym session.
The Sylvester Stallone arm workout is one of the most brutal celebrity training sessions out there and that is largely down to the man himself. After all, you wouldn't expect a Rocky-style training session to be anything too easy.
Looking at the super lean physique you see on screen in the final product, it would be quite foolish to walk into a workout like this with ambitions of taking it easy. Use that vision of the end result as a barometer to tell you that this is going to be very tough.
One particular action star, Sylvester Stallone, is well known for his intense workout schedule and it would be ill advised to attempt a full scale workout in his style without first familiarizing yourself with the surroundings at your local gym for a few months.
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.
Incline Dumbbell Curl - 15 reps on an incline bench.
EZ Bar Curls - Start with 12 standard-grip curls before switching to a wide-grip and forcing out as many reps as you can before failure. This is where most people begin to struggle with the biceps phase, so use a lighter weight if necessary.
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.
The triceps section involves a few big moves to really get the blood pumping. It's the biggest muscle in this workout, so push yourself hard if you want to see an even better return on your results. The first move in this phase is Close-Grip Bench Press, which you owe 10 reps. Try to keep the elbows from flaring out as you perform this, to minimize chest and shoulder involvement.
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.
For the cool down phase, you will need to perform three body weight planks for 30 seconds each and one single set of Close-Grip Push Ups. Don't be fooled into skipping the cool down phase, for it is vital to ensuring you get maximum results and recovery from your gym session.
If you make it through this workout you will have a new found respect for the final physique you see on the movie screen the next time you watch a Hollywood action movie. It's simple yet brutal approach is deliberately misleading, leading many people to jump into it and regret it later on. Use lighter weights than you usually would because it is performed as a high intensity circuit, rather than a standard gym session.
The Sylvester Stallone arm workout is one of the most brutal celebrity training sessions out there and that is largely down to the man himself. After all, you wouldn't expect a Rocky-style training session to be anything too easy.
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More information: Successful online personal trainer Russ Howe PTI teaches many people how to build leaner physiques in the gym each day. Get your quick guide to the full sylvester stallone arm workout for free on his website.
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