Do the arm exercises first in your workout.
After that, it’s up to you how to fit in
exercises for other muscle groups. Here
are some suggestions.
BEGINNER : Do a total-body workout two
or three times a week. Try one set of eight
to 12 repetitions of the following exercises
after you finish your arm exercises.
1. Lat pulldown
2. Squat or leg press
3. Leg curl
4. Dumbbell chest press
5. Cable or dumbbell row
6. Crunch
INTERMEDIATE : Divide your program
into two workouts, one for your upper body
and one for your lower body. Perform arm
exercises in the upper-body workout.
Alternate between the two taking a day off
after each. So you might do the upper-body
workout on Monday and Friday one week
and the lower-body workout on Wednesday,
then the following week do the lower-body
workout on Monday and Friday and the
upper-body workout on Wednesday.
Upper-body workout After arm exercises,
choose one exercise each for your
chest, back, and shoulders. Do two or
three sets of the chest and back exercises
and one or two sets for your shoulders.
Lower-body workout Choose one “hipdominant”
lift—an exercise that emphasizes
the hamstrings and gluteals
(examples include stepups and deadlifts).
Then choose one “knee-dominant”
exercise, meaning the emphasis is on the
quadriceps muscles of the front of the
thigh (squats, leg presses, and lunges
qualify). Do two or three warmup sets and
two work sets. (A work set means you’re
using the most weight you can for that
number of repetitions. The warmup sets
should be percentages of that weight-
maybe 40, 60, and 80 percent. Do fewer
repetitions in each successive warmup
set.) Add your choice of abdominal and
calf exercises.
ADVANCED : Divide your workout into
four parts. Do each one once a week; don’t
work out more than 2 days in a row.
1. Arms and shoulders
2. Knee-dominant exercises (described
above), plus abdominals and calves
3. Chest and back
4. Hip-dominant exercises (also above),
plus abdominals and calves again