Massive Arms, Crazy Biceps Part 1
BUILD HUGE ARMS BY TRAINING SMARTER
Developing a crazy set of arms requires intelligent development of both the biceps and the triceps. This article is devoted to the biceps, and we'll discuss building the triceps in part 2 next week.
In general the lack of well developed biceps is usually not for lack of effort, but rather for lack of intelligent training principles.
Here's the typical gym rat's biceps routine:
Barbell biceps curls 3x8
Seated dumbbell curls 3x10
Concentration curls 3x12
This routine isn't without merit as it does train through three different repetition ranges from lower to higher. This increases glycogen depletion and overall muscle fatigue--both of which are indicators for increased muscle growth, but the angles of arm flexion and therefore range of motion of the first two exercises are the same. Only the third exercise gives us some additional benefit by training into a position of peak contraction. But this routine misses a huge part of overall biceps development... the brachialis.
To understand how to make biceps training more effective, a little anatomy lesson is required.
As you can see the Brachialis is a thick muscle that lies in behind the Biceps Brachii. When most people train their biceps, they focus on the biceps brachii and completely neglect the Brachialis.
As you can see in the above diagram, the Brachialis is quite thick, and its development often makes all the difference between a good arm and a great arm.
Because of it's position in behind the Biceps Brachii, developing it not only physically adds bulk to the arm, but if you organize the training properly, you can elicit even greater growth of the Biceps Brachii by first training the Brachialis.
If you'll recall, the MOST important thing you can ever do to create muscle growth is to apply tension to a muscle while it is in a stretched position. Nothing else creates the same level of stimulus for growth.
So how might we optimize biceps training to achieve this?
Here's how:
Exercise 1: Barbell Curls 3x6
This exercise is heavy, to produce overload to all the structures.
Exercise 2: Prone Incline DB Hammer Curls 3x12
Because of the line of pull, this exercise really hammers the Brachialis without significantly fatiguing the Biceps Brachii. This exercise will also help with development of the Brachioradialis of the forearm. We keep the reps higher on this one to ensure the Brachialis is heavily pumped by the end of all your sets.
Exercise 3: Incline Dumbbell Curls 3x10
Due to the attachment of the long head of the Biceps Brachii at the back of the shoulder, the incline bench position puts the Biceps Brachii is in a very stretched position as the elbow reaches full extension.
Inclined Dumbbell Curls
Arnold Knew The Secrets
Compound the already stretched muscle with a heavily pumped Brachialis, which if you'll recall lies directly beneath the Biceps Brachii, and you've got an unmatched situation for loading the Biceps Brachii in a stretched position.
WARNING:
Due to the incredible stretch at the bottom of the incline dumbbell curl (especially after hammering the Brachialis), the biceps tendon attachments are more susceptible to injury from abuse.
For this reason, be sure to start with a weight that is light enough that you could do 20 reps with it normally, and just do your 10. Trust me your arms will be destroyed after this. And if not, go a little heavier on the next set. The point is, it's always better to be on the safe side than injure yourself.
And as always, please leave any egos at the door.
Give this routine a try and let me know what you think!
:)
