Femme Flex Friday host Alina Popa decided that this week’s episode should hit the road. Well, the 2018 Rising Phoenix World Champion opted to hit the gym instead. She was joined by another champion bodybuilder, 2020 Ms. Olympia winner Andrea Shaw. Shaw was kind enough to share a few training tips for viewers that could benefit from some tricks of the trade from the No. 1 female bodybuilder on the planet.
Biceps – Isolation Preacher Curl
Shaw uses dumbbells and focuses on working one arm at a time when she starts her biceps routine. Her suggestion to this exercise is to not shortchange the range of motion for the sake of using more weight. “The key to the movement is to fully extend the arm before raising it back up.” Shaw prefers to perform 15-20 repetitions with this exercise.
Concentration Curl
The champ sticks with the dumbbells and working each side independently on the next movement, the concentration curl. This classic exercise helps make her biceps more round and full. “The change of the arm being on the side now helps add the 3D effect to how the muscles were developed.” Shaw opts for 6-8 sets of 15-20 reps with this exercise.
Hammer Curls
The third movement for the biceps is hammer curls. Ms. Olympia can be seen using both arms simultaneously in the video for this one. What she won’t be seen doing is generating momentum. “There is no rocking. So don’t use any momentum to get the weight up. You want to make sure it’s a slow and controlled movement, stopping at roughly 90 degrees, and then lowering back down.” Her sets and reps are the same here as in the previous exercise.
Cable Biceps Curls
“I like to finish with cables because there is a different type of tension from start to finish that is applied to the biceps.” Shaw uses the benefits of cables to conclude her biceps routine. One extra trick she uses is to not let the pinned weight touch the stack at the bottom. This helps maximize the tension.
Shaw talks with Popa about traps training as well as what she does for her calves. Learn and apply her hacks by catching the full episode of FFF. This and every episode are available every Friday at 6 p.m. EST over at www.wingsofstrength.net .
