Oleksandr Tsvetkov is a to Ukrainian contestant. He represented his country many times in European, World and other international championships. He lives and trains in Sudak, Ukraine, a small town famous for the few Vendetta events that took place on the castle located in this town. Oleksandr took part in a couple of Professional Armwrestling Galas organized by the Professional Armwrestling League and has competed in the World Cup.

Oleksandr divides his training into a few stages. First and foremost – strength training. Weightlifting is his basics here. Below you’ll find Oleksandr’s training registered by Armpower staff while visiting Kremlin. Notice that all equipment used here is available in any regular gym.

WARM-UP

Oleksandr puts a lot of focus on his forearm and wrist. That’s where he feels he lacks the most strength at the table. He performs the exercises shown below at least twice a week.

Oleksandr always starts his workout with a warm-up. One of his main warm-up exercises is the bicep curl. Elbow rested on knee or the inside of the thigh.

Small weights, 3-4 sets, 20-25 reps.

BICEP CURLS, HAMMER GRIP, USING JUDO BELT AND WEIGHTS.

Weights differ, depending on training day and trainee’s condition. Judo belt goes across all the finger-joints, so that the wrist is also activated in this exercise. Oleksandr works with medium-range weights. Start with 85-90º angle and go to 75-80º. This short-range movement gives him a strong alignment of the forearm – arm angle.

5-6 sets, 10-8 reps.

WRIST SUPINATION WITH JUDO BELT AND WEIGHTS

Wrist supination is one of Oleksandr’s weak spots, because he usually fights with hook. Wrist supination is very helpful when breaking up.

Performed with medium-range weights, body bent slightly forward. Go from 90 – 80 degrees angle. This short range of movement increases his supination strength.

4-5 sets, 8-6 reps.

SUPINATION USING PULLEY

Albeit similar to the previous exercise, this one also targets the biceps. Pulley bloc in low setting, using judo belt. Body is inclined slightly backward.

4-5 sets, 8-10 reps.

This is how to properly wrap a belt around your hand for wrist supination using pulley.

ONE-ARM BAR HOLDS

A seldom-mentioned and used exercise, but usually only because it needs a lot of preparation. Oleksandr is well prepared for this kind of strain, he can hold it for about 15 – 20 seconds, strengthening his back muscles, biceps, forearm, wrist and fingers. This is a static exercise.

Pull up first with one hand and hold. Notice the arm-forearm angle – 85-90 degrees.

3-4 sets, 10-15 seconds.

WRIST CURLS WITH DUMBBELL

A regular dumbbell is used here, such as can be found in any gym. Using a fat grip dumbbell the hand is positioned almost parallel to the ground – with a regular-grip dumbbell the angle should be much bigger. Practice on slightly bended knees, shifting weight from fingers to wrist.

5-6 sets, 8-6 reps.

WRIST PRONATION USING PULLEY

Using a regular gym pulley, attach judo belt in upper setting. This exercise targets forearm, but also chest and elbow fastenings. Notice that this exercise doesn’t require the half-table or any other typically arm-wrestling machinery.

5-6 sets, 8-10 reps.

SIDE PRESSURE USING BACK-WORKOUT MACHINE

A regular gym presents some difficulties to an armwrestler, but with a little imagination a back-workout machine can be used to train side pressure. This exercise targets elbow fastenings and chest.

3-4 sets, 6-8 reps.

TWO-HAND UNDERGRIP PULLDOWNS.

This exercise works just like the standard pull-up, with the added benefit of increasing weight, which is not always available in belt-and-added-weights form in a regular gym.

This exercise targets fingers, biceps and back.

3-4 sets, 8-10 reps.

PULLDOWNS USING REGULAR GRIP

Just like in working out with a fat grip, the main goal of this exercise is finger, wrist and forearm strength. However, those exercises need to start with finger movement. This exercise is the answer to a common “Train with Igor Mazurenko” section question – how to exercise fingers with a regular grip?

3-4 sets, 8-10 reps.

STRENGTH AND TECHNICAL TRAINING WITH SPARRING PARTNER

In a regular gym, a bench or a massage table can serve as improvised armwrestling table. You can practice pressure in angles on such a surface, but in order to do this you need to have some knowledge and experience. An improvised table limits your range of movement. Any real sparring in such conditions is prohibited, not to mention real fighting, as it can lead to serious injury.