Biceps are one of the most worked body parts in the gym. Every day I go to the gym I see tons of people standing doing endless sets of biceps in the mirror. The problem is that the biceps do not need THAT much attention. Working a muscle more and more does not lead to more and more growth. They need time to heal. Your biceps also get worked doing a lot of other exercises so doing 20 extra sets is not really needed. This article is going to cover some of the basics in adding in some extra bicep work to your workout program. One thing to remember is that you can expect to gain size in your arms if you are not gaining weight. It’s important to eat according to your goals; if you are trying to gain size then you probably need to eat more. Also know that you can’t expect to see instant results on bicep growth, they take a long time to develop. With consistency and hard work you can be on your way to getting the guns you’ve always wanted.
Barbell Curls
If someone is just going to do one bicep exercise I would suggest that it is the barbell curl. This exercise allows for a decent amount of weight to be used, and puts your hands in a very good potion to target the bicep. Keep it simple when adding this exercise to your routine, you don’t need to go crazy and do 10 sets of bicep curls. Just a few sets at a weight that you can get 8-10 reps would be good. Once you can get all the reps, add some weight and keep going. It’s all about making progress in the gym. If you have wrist problems, is possible to use an EZ bar which takes some pressure of your wrist.
Dumbbell Curls
Dumbbells are very popular for working the biceps. This is the one that you see people standing in front of the mirror mindlessly curling the dumbbells. This is the image that we get as bodybuilders! Anyways, it’s to focus on isolating the bicep. Dumbbells are perfect for this purpose and can be used in a variety of ways to target the bicep. One of my favorite bicep exercises is the hammer dumbbell curl. This is performed with the dumbbells at your sides and brought twisting it 90 degrees and contracting at the top. When you are at the top of any of your bicep lifts, make sure to squeeze the contraction to get the most out of the lift.
Back and Chest Work
The biceps get plenty of work from various back and chest work. Any type of rowing movement that you do will indirectly work the biceps. Also deadlifting puts some stress on the biceps because they have to hold the weight. With that in mind, it’s not needed to overdo the direct arm work. Just a few simple sets can make the difference in the growth of your arms.
