We are all familiar with exercises for the major muscle groups in our weekly splits. We tend to want to work the most prominent areas of our physiques. But to sculpt your muscles into a work of art, you need to touch up a few other areas that might not seem as spectacular.
Throw these detail workouts into your split to put the finishing touches on your muscle masterpiece!
Neck
You might have wide delts and thick traps, but they won't look that impressive if your head is sitting on a stack of dimes. And ladies, just like you won't get big arms if you train them, your neck won't grow to 20 inches with a few lifts.
Neck training can help you improve overall functional strength, improve your posture, and protect you from potential injuries. A strong neck helps protect the cervical spine and spinal cord, which is where impulses from the body transmit to the brain.
Here is a simple workout to help you train the neck without adding too much time to your workout:
- Superset: 3 sets, resting 60 sec. between sets
- Lying face-down plate neck resistance: 15 reps
- Lying face-up plate neck resistance: 15 reps
Forearms
You knock out set after set to blast your biceps and torch your triceps, but what about the muscles below the elbow?
I know what many of you are about to type out in the comments: "My forearms get worked by holding the weights, bro." That's true, but it would actually benefit your whole arm if you complimented those upper arms with some direct forearm work, such as a farmer's walk using dumbbells, kettlebells, plates, or a loaded trap bar.
Working your forearms can improve your grip strength and impact the overall appearance of your arms. Training them isn't complicated either. This three-move plan can trigger muscle growth in a matter of weeks. Do this at the end of your arm workout, or on a different day if you want to blast your forearms when they're fresh.
- Reverse barbell curl: 2-3 sets of 10-12 reps
- Wrist roller: 3 sets of 5 rolls up and down
- Farmer's walk: 3 sets to failure
Inner and Outer Thighs
When you think about leg day, quads, hamstrings, and calves come to mind—and some of you might even think about the glutes. But you're really only working the front and back of the legs. Be honest, how many of you work the abductors and adductors?
The inner and outer thighs are just as important as the front and back. The abductors pull the legs away from the midline of the body and allow athletes to move from side to side faster. The adductors bring the legs back into the midline of the body as well as pull them across. If you're an athlete in a sport with kicking or a bodybuilder looking to fill out your legs, you need to pay attention.
We're all familiar with the abductor and adductor machines, but those aren't the only choices you've got. Get creative with bands and cables to work your inner and outer thighs, or lie on your side and use free weights.
Try these exercises on for size to help you complete your lean and developed look:
- Lateral band walk: 3 sets of 20 reps per leg
- Band hip adductions: 3 sets of 20 reps per leg
- Superset: 2 sets
- Abductor machine: 10 reps
- Adductor machine: 10 reps