Bending of Zottmann: technique of doing the exercise

Such a muscle group, like the forearm, is a problem zone for many athletes. The fact is that standard exercises on hands practically do not affect this area. Moreover, the forearm specifically tries not to load. This is due to the fact that, being a relatively weak muscle group, the forearm quickly becomes tired, and the target muscles do not receive the proper load. But it needs to be developed, and there are at least two reasons for this. First, the body must be developed proportionally. And secondly, the stronger the forearm, the stronger the grip. Well, without a strong grip in men's sports do nothing.

Many noticed that for ordinary porters the forearm looks much stronger than that of professional athletes. The fact is that in normal training the athlete acts on this muscular group only with the help of flexion and extension of the hand, as well as compression of the palm. However, the forearm still has such a function as rotation, and a considerable part of its beams are for this purpose intended. So it turns out that someone who performs a variety of power work, better pumped his forearm than a regular at the gym. It is in the rotation of the brush is all the salt of the exercise, which we'll talk about today.

Bending of Zottmann is an old exercise, which few people now apply in their training, but in vain. It allows you to work at the same time biceps and forearm. Let's find out what this exercise can be useful in modern bodybuilding.

general characteristics

This exercise, as already mentioned, trains immediately the muscles of the shoulder and forearm. This is achieved through supination and pronation of the brush. Exercise has quite specific tasks, so it is not used by all athletes in training. In addition to working out the muscles, it helps to strengthen the grip and improve the neural connection. The technique of execution is simple for understanding, but difficult for muscles. Therefore, at the beginning it is recommended not to rush with increasing weight of dumbbells. By the way, Georg Sottmann trained with dumbbells weighing 50 kg. But before you reach such indicators, you need to master the technique.

Sottaman's bending is usually performed at the end of the training of the biceps or back, and also as a warm-up before working out the biceps. They will suit athletes of any level. For beginners, the exercise is interesting training neural communication and its versatility. And experienced weightlifters choose it to improve the functional qualities of the hands, which increases the strength in deadlift and bench press.

What muscles work

At first glance, this exercise looks like a simple bending of the hands on the biceps. However, if you look closely, there is some difference in it, due to which you can load more muscles. As a result, with the correct execution, the bending of Sottman is allowed to work out such muscles:

1. Bronchial muscle (brachioradialysis).

2. Radial wrist flexor.

3. Folders of fingers.

4. Round pronator.

5. Biceps (long and short heads).

At each stage of the movement, a muscle gets a load. By the way, a barely noticeable brachial muscle, with proper exercise, will make itself felt by burning in the shoulder area. If it is, then everything is done right.

Technique of execution

So, before you start pumping your hands, you need to take the starting position: take dumbbells in your hand, straighten up, straighten your arms, press your elbows against the body, and turn your palms towards each other. It's time to start flexing. With an exhalation, arms bend. In the very first stage of the movement of the palm should be turned up. At the top point, you need to pause to get the biceps maximum load.

Now you can proceed to the next stage - lowering the dumbbells. First, you need to turn your wrists so that your hands look down. Carefully, together with inhalation, hands return to their original position. That's basically it.

Common Errors

As a rule, performing the bending of Sottman, athletes admit such errors: ignoring the warm-up, improper breathing, large weight of dumbbells.

It is important to remember that the exhalation is done at the upper point of the amplitude. Do not do it downstairs or along the way. It can knock your breath off and complicate your workout.

As for the warm-up, before starting to bend Sottman, you need to make a simple complex for warming the muscles of the hands. This can be both normal rotation, and work with light dumbbells (press, rotation, stretching).

Helpful Tips

The elbow flexor will work much better if at the top point, when the dumbbells are at the chest level, slightly move the elbow joint down. When you feel very tired, you can put dumbbells and shake your hands intensively for a few seconds. This simple manipulation removes the load from your fingers, and you can continue to bend Sottman.

Rotate brushes during lifting and lowering should be very carefully. The muscles responsible for the rotation of the forearm stabilize these movements well. However, if you make a jerk, they can suffer. It is recommended to do this exercise at the end of the workout, as it heavily burdens the shoulder joint. It is important to choose the right dumbbell weight. If 12 repetitions are given to you without problems, the weight is too small. It is necessary that on the 8th repetition there was no longer any strength.

The most important thing in any training is technique. Therefore, if you can not do everything correctly with two hands at once, try to alternate hands, focusing on each of them.

Security

This exercise is considered completely safe, but if you neglect the technique, you may experience problems. The first thing to remember is that flexions are made smoothly, with the help of muscle strength. Any jerks are unacceptable. Otherwise, the undesired load can get a shoulder joint, which in many athletes is rather weak.

In addition, to protect the joint, you need to work with a comfortable weight. Of course, for every athlete it can be different. But for the beginning it is recommended to take dumbbells 3 kg. Let you do not mind such a small weight. It is needed in order to hone the technique and feel the work of muscles.

The back must remain stationary throughout the movement. Do not try to lift dumbbells with your back. Tolk in this performance will not be. In addition, for those with a weak back, this can be dangerous.

Anatomy

The muscles of the hands are small groups that can have two functions: flexion or extension of the hand. In addition to the basic functions, the muscles of the hands can also scrape and dry the brush. Since this exercise assumes the fulfillment of all the above functions (except for extension, of course), it develops the hands in a complex manner.

Conclusion

Usually, by training hands, many athletes neglect the forearm, wanting to develop only the shoulder muscles. Exercises for the biceps and triceps, of course, are useful, but if you only do them, then one can notice a lack of grip strength and disproportionate hands. Therefore, it is worthwhile to approach the training in a comprehensive manner and at least sometimes to load the forearm. Do not forget about safety and immediately take the big weight. Dumbbells are 3 kg for acquaintance with Zottmann's bendings, and soon you will master the correct technique.