When starting on a muscle-building program, one of the key body parts that many people want to place a large focus on are the biceps. The biceps tend to be a highly noticed muscle group by others, so if you have nicely developed arms, people are going to know you're on top of your workout game.
It is important to keep in mind that in actuality the triceps muscle comprises a very large component of the arm, so you must not neglect your triceps work either, which will then give you the perfect balance of what you need to see optimal results.
When you are aiming for maximum size, another important point to note is that lifting heavy must be placed as a priority. Since building more size is a combination of a heavy surplus, enough volume, and plenty of calories, it's a wise decision to focus on exercises that will allow you to lift the heaviest weight possible.
Usually for most people this will be exercises such as rows and lat-pull-downs, both of which do target the biceps muscles as well. If you are including these regularly with your workout program and then adding in other exercises that are specifically targeted towards the biceps muscles you will be right on track for developing the best arms you can.
Here are the five best exercises that focus on the biceps to add after your rows and pull-downs.
Click To Enlarge. The Biceps Are A Highly Noticed Muscle Group So
Nicely Developed Arms Will Be Widely Appreciated.
1. Barbell Biceps Curls
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The first biceps exercise to perform is barbell biceps curls,
which will also allow you to overload those biceps with a heavy eight.
Most trainees are slightly stronger when lifting a barbell versus a set
of dumbbells, so this is a great one for maximum strength development.
When doing the exercise the primary thing to focus on is that you're not
cutting the movement pattern short at all and that you're not allowing
momentum to cause you to lean backwards as you hoist the weight upwards.
This is one of the most common mistakes with this exercise - momentum performs more of the work than your muscles actually do. If you perform it in a slow and controlled manner, that should reduce the chances of this happening significantly and allow you to place a higher intensity deep within the muscle fibers.
2. Incline Dumbbell Curls
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The second exercise to add is incline dumbbell curls.
This exercise is one of the best to help prevent that momentum issue
from happening as we just discussed since it essentially restricts the
movement of the back.
When doing this exercise you will feel maximum tension on the biceps
muscle belly, so don't be surprised if the weight is slightly lower. As
long as you're pushing yourself hard, using the lower weight but
maintaining proper form will be the way to go for results.
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Click Image To Enlarge.Incline Dumbbell Curl
Click Here For A Video Demonstration Of Incline Dumbbell Curl.
3. Cable Curls
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If you're looking to target the deep tissue muscle fibers, cable curls
are a good bet. Since the pattern of movement is less stable with this
movement, due to the constant tension provided by the cable, you will
call all the stabilization muscles surrounding the biceps into play as
you execute the exercise.
You can use a variety of different attachments to perform the cable
curls including a rope, a straight bar, or rotating cable handles that
allow you to work a single arm at a time.
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Click Image To Enlarge.Standing Biceps Cable Curl
Click Here For A Video Demonstration Of Standing Biceps Cable Curl.
4. Reverse Grip Rows
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After you've included regular straight rows within the program, you may also want to consider adding reverse grip rows
as well. These are going to place a slightly greater stress on the
biceps muscles as opposed to straight rows so they will be a better
exercise for strictly targeting the biceps.
Depending on what muscle group you think of contracting as you bring the
weights up to the body (the biceps or the back), that too will impact
the nature of the muscle stimulus.
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Click Image To Enlarge.Reverse Grip Bent-Over Rows
Click Here For A Video Demonstration Of Reverse Grip Bent-Over Rows.
5. Concentration Curls
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Finally, the last of the exercises to consider to blast your biceps into growth are concentration curls.
When done while sitting, these will also limit the degree momentum
plays in the execution of the exercise and place all the emphasis right
on the biceps muscle.
There will be no helper muscles called into play when doing
concentration curls (when done properly), so this is a good one to add
in at the very end of your workout when you're really looking to finish
off the biceps and fully exhaust them.
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Click Image To Enlarge.Concentration Curls
Click Here For A Video Demonstration Of Concentration Curls.
Sample Workout
It wouldn't be recommended to include all of these exercises in each and every workout you do, but by interchanging them from workout to workout you will keep the stimulus high while never allowing your muscles to get too adapted. This constant change in program is what prevents a plateau and helps push your strength levels to new extremes, so do make sure you are making use of a good variety.
Below you'll find a sample arm exercise that utilizes a variety of the exercises across a few different rep and tempo ranges to fully stress your arm muscles to the max.
Week 1-3Recommended Articles
- Barbell Biceps Curls: 3 sets of 6 reps at a 3:0:2 tempo
- Incline Curls: 2 sets of 6-8 reps at a 2:0:1 tempo
- Concentration Curls: 2 sets of 8-10 reps at a 2:0:2 tempo
Week 4-6
Get A Printable Log Of The Week 1-3 Workout. Printable Page
PDF Document
- Barbell Biceps Curls: 4 sets of 4 reps at a 3:0:2 tempo
- Superset:
Incline Curls: 3 sets of 8-10 reps at a 1:0:1 tempo
Concentration Curls: 3 sets of 8-10 reps at a 1:0:1 tempoWeek 7-9
Get A Printable Log Of The Week 4-6 Workout.
- Reverse Grip Rows: 3 sets of 6 reps at a 3:0:2 tempo
- Cable Curls: 2 sets of 6-8 reps at a 2:0:1 tempo
- Incline Concentration Curls: 2 sets of 8-10 reps at a 2:0:2 tempo
Week 10-12
Get A Printable Log Of The Week 7-9 Workout.
- Reverse Grip Rows: 4 sets of 4 reps at a 3:0:2 tempo
- Superset:
Cable Curls: 3 sets of 8-10 reps at a 2:0:2 tempo
Incline Concentration Curls: 3 sets of 8-10 reps at a 2:0:2 tempo
Get A Printable Log Of The Week 10-12 Workout.
I personally believe very much in
sticking to the basic exercises and just tweaking them to fit your
goals. Here are 4 exercises to build your biceps now!
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