Tennis fans from around the world will forever remember the famous 5 set Federer Vs Nadal 2008 Wimbledon Final…

A battle of two of the greatest sportsmen to ever grace the earth. On this occasion Nadal was crowned Champion.

What strikes people most about Nadal is his hunger to win every point, and of course his bulging biceps…

In this short article I have put together a ‘Rafael Nadal Arm Workout’ to help you cultivate the arms of a champion.

What muscles do you need to work on to look like Rafa? 

If you look at Rafa’s arms you can see he has big:

• Biceps
• Triceps
• Shoulders

Exercises : Rafael Nadal Arm Workout

One of the most effective ways to make your muscles grow is to train them more frequently. I have put together 3 Rafa arm workouts to ensure we blast all the muscle fibres in your arms from every angle.

The 1st workout focuses on Strength Training, the 2nd Endurance and the 3rd workouts focuses on Hypertrophy training, or in other words… pumping your arms up like a balloon!

If you are unsure of any of the exercise below click ‘HERE’ to open up a new page, copy and paste the exercise and watch (Scott Herman video’s are excellent and I would recommend his demonstrations).

Rafa Arm Workout 1 (Strength Training):

• A1 : Close Grip bench press
• B1 : Bicep barbell curls
• C1 : Standing DB Shoulder Press

*1-2 warm up sets per exercise (6-10 reps)

*5 working sets per exercise (6-10 reps)

*Rest 60s between each set

Rafa Arm Workout 2 (Endurance Training):

• A1 : Rope Cable Push Downs + Standing DB curls
• B1 : Overhead DB extension + Hammer curls
• C1 : Standing DB Lateral Raise + Rear Cable Cross-over (Standing)

*1-2 warm up sets per exercise (12-15 reps)

*5 working sets per exercise (12-15 reps)

*Rest 45s between each superset (2 exercises back to back) i.e perform Rope Cable Push Downs, then Standing DB curls, then rest 45s, then repeat.

Rafa Arm Workout 3 (Muscle Pump Training):

• A1 : DB Hammer Curls + Push Ups + Straight Bar Push Downs
• B1 : Standing Barbell Military Press + Seated DB side raises + Incline rear raises
• C1 : Tennis Ball squeeze (squeeze a tennis ball in each hand as hard as possible for 60s)

*1-2 warm up sets for exercises A1 & B1

*3 working sets per exercises (20-25 reps)

*Rest 30s between each tri sets (3 exercises back to back

Full Body Training : Rafael Nadal Arm Workout

Whilst it would be great to work the arms everyday, we must ensure we still pay adequate attention to other body parts or you will start to develop muscular imbalances and potentially injuries. Here’s two more workouts to prevent this from happening.

Rafa : Leg Workout

• A1 : Seated Hamstring Curl + Squat Jumps (5 sets x 12-15 reps)
• B1 : Leg Press (3 sets x 20-25 reps)
• C1 : Walking Lunges (1 set – as many lunges as possible)
• D1 : Calf raises (4 sets 20-25 reps)

Rafa : Core Workout

• A1 : Crunches (2 sets x 30-100 reps)
• B1 : Back extensions (2 sets x 30-100 reps)
• C1 : Oblique Bar Twists (1 set x 100 reps)
• D1 : DB Flat Bench Press (3 sets x 12-15 reps)
• E1 : Lateral Pull down (3 sets x 15-20 reps)
• F1 : DB bent over row (3 sets x 10-12 reps)

Periodisation – Rafael Nadal Arm Workout

Here’s how your weekly routine looks:

1. Monday : Rafa Arm Workout 1
2. Tuesday : Rafa Leg Workout
3. Wednesday : Rafa Arm Workout 2
4. Thursday : REST
5. Friday : Rafa Arm Workout 3
6. Saturday : Rafa Core Workout
7. Sunday : REST

Nutrition : Rafael Nadal Arm Workout

Imagine having a shiny red Ferrari parked outside your drive, but the car has no fuel tank built in. You are not going to get anywhere right?

Without the right fuel in your body your muscles will not grow as well as what they could if you were too ‘constantly’ supply them with the right amount of nutrients.

Aim to eat between 1-1.5g of protein per lb of body weight e.g. if you are a 200lb male that would mean eating between 200-350g of protein per day. Spread that number over 6-8 meals. Food which are high in protein include: chicken, turkey, eggs, steak, mince, cod, salmon, haddock, hake, nuts, protein shakes, etc, etc. Please e-mail for more specific nutritional guidance.

Rafael Nadal Arm Workout Nutrition:

Alongside the training aspect, if you want arms like Rafa you’ll need to consume more protein.

Protein is key when it comes to building muscle and I would recommend consuming at least 1.5kg of protein per kg of bodyweight…

So if you weigh 70kg you would consume 105g of protein per day.

If you really want to add some mass to your arms then you could consume up to 2g of protein per kg of bodyweight.

Foods high in protein include:

• Chicken
• Turkey
• Steak
• Mince
• Eggs
• Salmon
• Tuna
• Nuts
• Protein Shakes
• Protein Bars

For optimal muscle building results you should aim to consume 4 meals per day, eating protein with each meal. If you can, try and split your protein evenly throughout the day e.g

• Breakfast – 25-30g of protein
• Lunch – 25-30g of protein
• Snack – 25-30g of protein
• Dinner – 25-30g of protein

Also mix up your protein sources and try and eat a variety of both meat and fish, using protein supplements only as and when needed.

If you want a free LEP Fitness recipe book – with 30 high protein meals then please drop me a message and I’ll send one straight to your inbox.

Final Note:

Try this routine for 8-12 weeks and I can 100% guarantee that your arms will grow like crazy. Make-sure to read through the plan carefully and always consult a medical professional before embarking on this intensive exercise program, it is not for the faint hearted. As always if you have any questions please drop me a message and I will get back to you.

Now go build some Championship arms . . .

Good luck!

Nick Screeton – Lep Fitness