The biceps, the carved masterpieces of our own physical form, indicating strength, power, and the ability to overcome every obstacle that comes our way.
You might be here wondering on how to get these guns of steel, well look no further because this article will show you exactly how to properly train your biceps to increase its size and strength.
Today we will show you many bicep exercises and training techniques that will allow you to increase bicep size as well as arm strength! We will also cover the bicep anatomy in order for you to have a much better understanding on how to get them big guns.
At the end we will also show you how you should make your bicep routine (my routine is also at the end in case you guys would like to use mine) so you can head to the gym with a proper plan.
Remember, muscles can only grow with proper nutrition and exercise.
Now, let's dive into how to build bigger biceps!
Anatomy
Before we head into the fun details on how to unlock killer gains on your biceps, lets give you a proper understanding of the various parts that make up the bicep.
Similar to a lot of other muscle groups, the bicep is composed of 3 major heads.
A "head" is just another word for the certain part of the bicep.
This is very important as there is not a single bicep exercise that trains all 3 heads at once, which is why there are many different exercises for the bicep!
The 3 heads are the long head, short head, and the brachialis.
The long head (red) is the head that you would see on the rear of your arm, it is also seen at the peak of your bicep when you flex it.
The short head (blue) is the bigger head of your bicep and it is the part of the bicep that is facing in front of you.
The brachialis (orange) is the part of the bicep that resides under both heads of the bicep and can barely be seen in your bicep. Many people skip this head but it is VERY IMPORTANT that you train this head as if you do not, your other 2 heads will not stand out very much and your tendons will be weaker.
In order to unlock bigger and beautiful biceps you must train each head to prevent muscle imbalances and to improve looks.
Training Techniques
Before we head into different training techniques on how to train the bicep, lets discuss bicep form.
Good form is subjective to different bicep workouts but here are some tips that you can use in almost any bicep exercise to maintain good bicep form:
Move your elbows as little is possible to ensure full range of motion and so you are not cheating how much you have to pull the weight.
Do not swing the weight, swinging the weight will use momentum to lift the weight which will not train the bicep at all, rather it would waste your time. Instead make sure you are controlling the weight when it comes down and when it comes up.
Try to picture the bicep being worked in your mind as you are working it, building a great mind muscle connection helps you with form
Anyway, here are my favorite training techniques when I train my biceps in the gym!
Regular Reps- This is where you do regular reps (while maintaining good form) on the bicep exercises. Although it is pretty simple it is effective!
Drop Sets- When I feel that I need an extra push when training bicep. Drop sets is where you start out the set with the weight you usually do, but instead of keeping reps in reserve you go to failure. Then after you max out the reps on the first weight, use slightly lighter weight and max out that as well. Repeat this another 1-2 times so by the end of the set you would have used 3-4 different weights to failure.
Eccentric Training- Eccentric training refers to focusing on the negative, so when you curl the weight, instead of lowering the weight and resetting the rep right away, you lower the weight very slowly to add more tension to the bicep.
Slow Reps- These are pretty self explanatory, just slow the reps down a lot. You will not be able to do as many as if you did them normal speed but you will be adding more tension to the bicep. This is what you call time over tension.
These techniques will ensure great muscular hypertrophy!
You do not have to do all of these techniques at once, try all of them out and whichever ones you feel train your biceps better, you should use them. I like to alternate between these techniques just to change things every now and then, this has helped me grow by bicep size and strength so much ever since I started exercising.
Bicep Exercises
Here are some bicep exercises that I think are the best and that I have gathered from many experienced lifters throughout my fitness journey.
NOTE: Long and Short head exercises are not exclusive to themselves, their exercises hit both heads but one is a primary muscle hit and the other is a secondary.
Example: If an exercise is in the short head group, it still hits the long head, just very minimally compared to the short head.
Here are some great bicep exercises, make sure you look up how to do them and proper form!
SHORT HEAD- Preacher Curl, Close Grip Barbell Curl, Concentration Curls, Bar Cable Curl LONG HEAD- Incline Dumbbell Curl, One Arm Facing Away Cable Curl, Wide Grip Barbell Curl BRACHIALIS- Dumbbell Hammer Curl, Cable Rope Hammer Curl |
DO NOT CLICK OFF YET, look at how to structure your routine below, this is where you will find out how many sets and exercises you should do, you do not want to under nor overtrain!
Routine
This is how you should structure your routine when training biceps to ensure maximum bicep growth. Pay attention to your volume as you do not want to undertrain nor overtrain your biceps.
Here is exactly what you want to do, if you are unsure which exercises to pick you can copy my routine which is the example at the end!
GENERAL GUIDLINE:
The term "in reserve" means the amount of reps think you can do before failure after already doing a certain amount of weight.
Example: If I can do 10 reps of a weight before failure, I should only be doing 8-9 reps for the set because I want to keep 1-2 reps in reserve to keep my energy.
Pick 1 exercise from each part of the bicep listed in the "Bicep Exercises" section.
You should have 3 exercises, do each exercise for 3 sets in the 8-12 rep range (The 8-12 rep range ensures the best growth for your biceps).
Pick weight for the exercises so you can do 8-12 reps with 1-2 reps in reserve.
If you have done 12 reps and still have a lot more than 1-2 reps left, RAISE the weight.
If you can not do 8 reps or can do 8 reps with zero reps in reserve then LOWER the weight
Focus on form, Form over weight!
Follow these guidelines if you want large and strong biceps!
MyFitnessHelper's Bicep Routine
Preacher Curls, 3 Sets, 8-10 reps
Incline Dumbbell Curl, 3 Sets, 10-12 reps
Dumbbell Hammer Curls, 3 Sets, 10-12 reps
Just as proof that this routine and the advice given above truly works, here are a picture of my very own biceps. Keep in mind that I have been in the gym for only 1 year and I am not on steroids (AND I NEVER WILL BE).
There still a lot of work to do but I am happy with the progress that I have made so far.
Before I finish, here are some additional guidelines for how to succeed in being fit! PLEASE follow these!
Additional Tips for Muscle Gain
Nutrition: Make sure to get a good protein intake as well as eating whole and healthy foods! Gains are made in the kitchen!
Sleep: Aim for about 7-9 hours of sleep every night for adequate rest and recovery.
Progressive Overload: Make sure you are doing either more weight or more reps than the last time you did an exercise in the previous workout. This will ensure your muscles are under a lot of pressure and will be the basis of your training.
Consistency: You must be consistent in your training, recovery and nutrition. If you are not consistent, you will not grow!
Rest and Recovery: Allow your muscles good rest in between workouts, do not train a muscle group if it is still sore from it's last workout. The golden rule is to wait 48-72 hours before training a muscle group again!
Form and Technique: As mentioned earlier, learning good form and technique (via peers or internet) is crucial to avoid injury and to get maximum benefit from your exercises
Variation: Switch up your routines every couple of months to avoid plateaus in your exercises.
I hope you enjoyed this comprehensive guide on how to grow, train and understand your biceps. Remember me when you have guns of steel!
Thanks for reading!
Just a young man trying to bring fitness to the world!
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