The Big-Arms Workout That Will Crush A Hangover

Banish the furry vestiges of excess with our scientifically-backed bro sesh

By Mark SansomPublished: 18 April 2017

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While it your bed may seem safer sanctuary to combat weekend excess, the best place is actually the gym. But the classic toil on the treadmill isn’t doing you any good when it comes to waving goodbye to your inner drought.

“It’s little more than self-flagellation,” says David Lewis, British powerlifting champion and exercise scientist, who created this workout (embodyfitness.co.uk). “All it does is exacerbate your nausea. The best approach is to lower the reps and increase the load. Instead of simply hammering the body’s depleted energy stores, it wakes up the nervous system, slapping you out of that anxious, post-Jägerbomb lethargy.”

Trust us – in half an hour’s time you’ll be better than an extra hour in bed and trip to the greasy spoon would ever have made you feel.

Barbell curl

Sets: 4

Reps: 4

Rest: 2min

Grab a barbell with a shoulder-width grip and let it hang in front of your thighs. Brace your core as you curl the bar up to your chest, keeping your upper arms stationary. Return under control to the start position.

Incline bicep curl

Sets: 4

Reps: 2-4

Rest: 2min

Sit on an incline bench and hold a dumbbell in each hand at arms length. Use your biceps to curl the dumbbell until it reaches your shoulder, then lower them back down to your side and repeat.

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Cable bicep curl

Sets: 1

Reps: 25

Rest: 2min

Hold a cable bar with underhand grip, shoulder width apart. Use your biceps to flex your elbows and raise the bar to your shoulders. Lower it back down to your thighs and repeat.

Close-grip bench press

Sets: 4

Reps: 2-4

Rest: 2min

Lie back on a flat bench holding a barbell with a narrow, overhand grip. From the starting position, breathe in and lower the bar slowly until it skims the middle of your chest. Push the bar back to the starting position explosively as you breathe out. Focus on pushing the bar using your chest muscles.

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Barbell bench press

Sets: 4

Reps: 2-4

Rest: 2min

Lie back on a flat bench holding a barbell in the rack above you with a shoulder-width, overhand grip. Lift the bar off the rack and position it above your chest with arms fully extended. From the starting position, breathe in and lower the bar slowly until it skims the middle of your chest. Push the bar back to the starting position explosively as you breathe out. That’s one rep.

Triceps cable rope pushdown

Sets: 1

Reps: 25

Attach a rope handle to the high pulley of a cable station. Keeping your elbows tucked in at your sides grab the handle, tense your core, and bring your hands down until your arms are fully extended, then return to the starting position. Only your forearms should move.

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