Dana Linn-Bailey, a pioneer of bodybuilding for women, never misses a training session despite stepping away from the bright lights. In a recent YouTube collaboration, DLB joined Kristen Nun for a brutal arm day training session comprised of exercises for biceps and triceps.
There was no mistaking Dana Linn Bailey as a bodybuilding sensation. In 2013, she reached the pinnacle of her career, capturing the first Women’s Physique Olympia title. Her feminine features alongside her capped shoulders and impressive midsection carried her to success as an IFBB Pro but she was never able to win back the prestigious Olympia crown after surrendering it to Juliana Malacarne in 2014.
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Boasting millions of followers across social media in addition to lucrative sponsorships, DLB’s fame only grew since her on-stage departure. From exercise demonstrations to discussions about her natural status, fans love hearing from DLB on a variety of topics. While shoulders are her favorite body part to train, DLB made time for a laborious arm workout recently with Kristen Nun.
Dana Linn Bailey and Kristen Nun Test Their Arm Strength With Intense Workout
Check out the eight-exercise training session below:
- Close-grip bench press — 4 sets 12 reps 10 reps, 8 reps, 6 reps
- Bodyweight skull crusher — 4 sets 12 reps
- Close-grip push-ups — 4 sets 12 reps
- Dual cable concentration curls — 4 sets 12-15 reps
- Dual cable low to high curl — 4 sets 10-15
- Bent over curl to kick — 4 sets 10 reps
- EZ bar curl — 4 sets 10 reps
- EZ bar skull crushers — 4 sets 10 reps
Close-grip bench press
“Starting with close-grip bench. Starting around 12 reps and then we’re going to add weight for each set,” said Dana Linn-Bailey.
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Bodyweight skull crusher
“Bodyweight skull crusher, and you’re going to drop your elbows down head comes under the bar and you’re pushing back up,” said DLB. “Aim for 10 but you’re just kind of going to failure.”
Close-grip push-ups
“Elbows straight back, chest to the ground. This, you’re just repping out till failure.”
“Modification is totally fine. Modified version you’ll be on your knees. So maybe you only get five regular, if you want to get more, go to your knees, and then you’ll do it. It’ll just take a little bit of the weight off. We’ll see what we look like.”
Dual cable concentration curls
“Dual cable concentration curls up here. These are one of my favorites. This is another staple when I was competing I trained a lot more arms.
I trained arms, but this was one of my favorite exercises when I was competing because it replicates a front double bi — why wouldn’t you want to train something that you’re actually doing on stage, so doing this [front double bicep] of course it would make, it would have to make your front double bi look better.”
Dual cable low to high curl
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“We’re going to drop the cables. This will be a superset here. We will drop the cables to the ground and then we’re going to come forward at you kind of like the behind-the-back, you’re pulling this way [towards your body].”
“We might have to drop weight a little bit,” said Dana Linn-Bailey.
Bent Over Curl to Kick
“On shoulder day, I’m like oh my God, we’ll do this and this, for her, [Kristen Nun] this is her element [arms], You’re like a kid in the candy store. I’m saying I’m the same way on shoulder day.”
EZ bar curl
“Look at the size [of your arms],” DLB said. “I’m mad we didn’t measure and see how big your arms get in one workout.”
EZ bar skullcrushers
“I’m starting to get hyped up,” said Nun. “I want to come up like this and really focus like that. Sometimes I’ll do these and of immediately into like this [a different variation] and then I’ll actually go back, and then come up.”
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Detouring from the workout, Dana Linn Bailey looked back at her bodybuilding career and reflected on which body parts needed to be pumped before stepping on stage.
“There’s certain parts that we would purposely wouldn’t pump up like when you get on stage like you don’t pump your back up, you pump up shoulders, biceps, no triceps, like very very little, like you’ll just do little push-ups but it was mostly just shoulders.
You don’t want any blood in your legs because obviously when there’s blood in the legs. That’s the same, the lines go away when you start pumping them up. Shoulders, chest, and biceps are probably the only things that we would pump up because everything else looks better without blood in it.”
This wasn’t Dana Linn-Bailey’s and Kristen Nun’s first training session together. The duo joined hands for a blood-pumping high-volume leg day workout back in August of 2022. They emphasized that they prefer to pre-exhaust the muscles before moving on to bigger compound movements.
At 40 years old, it’s clear DLB hasn’t slowed down as she continues to test her physical limits with a range of workouts. Thanks to some tips from Nun, DLB walked away with one of the biggest arm pumps of her life.
RELATED: Dana Linn Bailey Shares Her ‘Simple’ & ‘Consistent’ Checklist for Nutrition and Meal Prepping
Watch the full video from DLB’s YouTube channel below:
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