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Working biceps?

jumpshot903

jumpshot903

Well-known member
Ok i have been lifting for about a year i made good gains on biceps early but then focused more on chest back and legs recently ive never wanted huge biceps because im a pitcher in baseball but stronger toned ones would be nice. ive had trouble gaining size on them and there struggling behind the rest of my body. I recently changed up my bicep routine to this

Hammer curls - Lower weight 3x12 but go real slow focus on contractions and the burn these seem to work well
Angled prone curls (incline bench curls to isolate biceps)- Same as above
Chin ups- I recently started doing these so that should help

Any other exercises i can do at my home with limited db's once i start heading to gym more often i will do 21's and preacher curls but what should i focus on to gain more strength in biceps.
 
try weighting the chins if you can hit more than 10 reps :) you could also try cheating barbell curls, but make sure to keep tension on the bicep at all times.


additionally, at least with me, i can really increase the pump doing superset/dropsets, where you run the rack down in weights, while alternating between two exercises and no breaks.

pinwheel and hammer curls were what worked best for me, switching over to the next exercise at failure, then going back to the primary exercise with 5lb lighter dumbells.

just play around with your workout and see what works best for you - everyone responds differently to training.
 
heres some
standing barbell curls
db incline curls
cable curls
one arm preacher curls
21's
Chin ups
concentration curls
ez curl bar
 
towel pull ups
 
CopyCat said:
towel pull ups
Click to expand...

those are great. what suncloud said works well for me too. i start with bb curls up to 125 then dropset. Than db up to 65 than dropset. followed by weighted neutral grip chins Not a big fan of 21s. Alot of guys overwork biceps, they are a smaller muscle. It takes time to grow, and weight is not always the answer.
 
i thought hammer curls worked out your forearms more then your biceps? I've always seen it as the less effective cousin to normal standing db/bb curls.

Someone care to educate me? :(
 
walugi said:
i thought hammer curls worked out your forearms more then your biceps? I've always seen it as the less effective cousin to normal standing db/bb curls.

Someone care to educate me? :(
Click to expand...

I noticed that doing hammer curls at a normal pace or relatively faster doesnt really help biceps cause you get the momentum going but if you really go in sloooow motion you can feel the burn in the biceps.
 
yea hammer curls work ur forearms and bottom portion of ur bicep...

tru straight bar curls not barbell but straight bar its about 25 pound bar. heavy 21s where every rep is a strugle. cable curls. incline dumbell curls and for a burn try medium weight preacher and smith machine drag curls
 
Pleonastic said:
IMO nothing gets the biceps stronger or bigger than heavy straight barbell curls.
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I agree but i see too many people cheating and using there back or other body parts rather then getting full bicep workout. I dont see it as the more weight you put up the better some times but slower more controlled reps where you can really feel the burn work better then getting that "momentum" to finish a few reps at a weight you couldnt do slower. So rather then say oo i can put up 100 lbs 3 times where your probally cheating id rather do 50 lbs 10 times with slow nice reps.

EDIT** Take that back noticed you said barbell not dumbell
 
anything below 4 reps is not too usefull for biceps because your probably using too much of your other body parts.. say if i can curl 125 x 7-8 reps with 2 cheat reps , couple weeks or a month or so later i can get 125 x 6 reps clean.. i think sometimes people put too much emphisas sp? on the ROM. when i get put to 40 pounds on each side for barbell curls i use my back big time for the first rep but after that i knockout 5 clean ones before i maybe have to use my back again imo thats way more effective then powering it 20 pounds and makin sure my first rep is "Clean"
 
In my opinion, all you need for biceps would be heavy bar curls, incline DB curls, and chins. I do like mixing it up, but these are the biceps exercises I mostly stick with because they're effective. I usually start with heavy with the bar curls (6-8 reps usually, with great form and slow negatives) followed with incline curls (8-10 reps with slow negatives) and I might end with some chins with slow negatives. You can even superset the bar curls with the incline curls. To mix it up, instead of incline DB curls do cable curls, preachers, or whatever else. So in other words, I recommend doing bar curls (barbell or curl bar), any other biceps exercise, finishing with chins. Or written out:

Barbell or Curl Bar Curls 2 x 6-8
Incline DB Curls, Cable Curls, Preachers, Alternating DB Curls, ect.. 2 x 8-10
Chins 1-2 x to failure

After each set of biceps, stretch them out (by flexing the triceps) for a couple seconds, followed by flexing the muscles hard for a good 10-15 seconds or so, then letting them rest until your next set. Doing this forces more blood into the muscles, which allows you to be more intense on your following sets. Also, since I've been doing a lot of biceps flexing (inside and outside of the gym), I've gotten to the point where I can noticeably pop my outer biceps out further than I could less than a year ago. Stretch a lot after your workouts!

Right now I'm doing biceps after back. On back day I'm doing pullups, barbell rows, and heavy deadlifts, so I don't need a lot of biceps specific work. Less can be more! Especially when it comes to arms!!!
 
Joshua86 said:
In my opinion, all you need for biceps would be heavy bar curls, incline DB curls, and chins. I do like mixing it up, but these are the biceps exercises I mostly stick with because they're effective. I usually start with heavy with the bar curls (6-8 reps usually, with great form and slow negatives) followed with incline curls (8-10 reps with slow negatives) and I might end with some chins with slow negatives. You can even superset the bar curls with the incline curls. To mix it up, instead of incline DB curls do cable curls, preachers, or whatever else. So in other words, I recommend doing bar curls (barbell or curl bar), any other biceps exercise, finishing with chins. Or written out:

Barbell or Curl Bar Curls 2 x 6-8
Incline DB Curls, Cable Curls, Preachers, Alternating DB Curls, ect.. 2 x 8-10
Chins 1-2 x to failure

After each set of biceps, stretch them out (by flexing the triceps) for a couple seconds, followed by flexing the muscles hard for a good 10-15 seconds or so, then letting them rest until your next set. Doing this forces more blood into the muscles, which allows you to be more intense on your following sets. Also, since I've been doing a lot of biceps flexing (inside and outside of the gym), I've gotten to the point where I can noticeably pop my outer biceps out further than I could less than a year ago. Stretch a lot after your workouts!

Right now I'm doing biceps after back. On back day I'm doing pullups, barbell rows, and heavy deadlifts, so I don't need a lot of biceps specific work. Less can be more! Especially when it comes to arms!!!
Click to expand...

Alot of great advice thus far for sure.

As well all know. Everyone responds differently to the same thing, but I agree with this post the most.

Less can be more, if the proper compound lifts are being done.
 
Let us not forget he's looking for strength and endurance not size.
 
Joshua86 said:
In my opinion, all you need for biceps would be heavy bar curls, incline DB curls, and chins. I do like mixing it up, but these are the biceps exercises I mostly stick with because they're effective. I usually start with heavy with the bar curls (6-8 reps usually, with great form and slow negatives) followed with incline curls (8-10 reps with slow negatives) and I might end with some chins with slow negatives. You can even superset the bar curls with the incline curls. To mix it up, instead of incline DB curls do cable curls, preachers, or whatever else. So in other words, I recommend doing bar curls (barbell or curl bar), any other biceps exercise, finishing with chins. Or written out:

Barbell or Curl Bar Curls 2 x 6-8
Incline DB Curls, Cable Curls, Preachers, Alternating DB Curls, ect.. 2 x 8-10
Chins 1-2 x to failure

After each set of biceps, stretch them out (by flexing the triceps) for a couple seconds, followed by flexing the muscles hard for a good 10-15 seconds or so, then letting them rest until your next set. Doing this forces more blood into the muscles, which allows you to be more intense on your following sets. Also, since I've been doing a lot of biceps flexing (inside and outside of the gym), I've gotten to the point where I can noticeably pop my outer biceps out further than I could less than a year ago. Stretch a lot after your workouts!

Right now I'm doing biceps after back. On back day I'm doing pullups, barbell rows, and heavy deadlifts, so I don't need a lot of biceps specific work. Less can be more! Especially when it comes to arms!!!
Click to expand...
this is exactly right. I do almost same exact workout
 
jumpshot903 said:
Ok i have been lifting for about a year i made good gains on biceps early but then focused more on chest back and legs recently ive never wanted huge biceps because im a pitcher in baseball but stronger toned ones would be nice. ive had trouble gaining size on them and there struggling behind the rest of my body. I recently changed up my bicep routine to this

Hammer curls - Lower weight 3x12 but go real slow focus on contractions and the burn these seem to work well
Angled prone curls (incline bench curls to isolate biceps)- Same as above
Chin ups- I recently started doing these so that should help

Any other exercises i can do at my home with limited db's once i start heading to gym more often i will do 21's and preacher curls but what should i focus on to gain more strength in biceps.
Click to expand...
Short,quick to the point...You can curl till your nads fall off,but if your caloric intake is insufficient,your bi's will NOT grow!
 
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