Need bigger biceps!

[beckie]

i've been blessed with short tendon insertions and this means I have no peak in my bi's

I need some ideas to build up some size to diminish my tricep dominance-preachers don't work for me and I don't want to have to do BB curls for the rest of my life!

Any ideas??

[chyna]

beckie said:

i've been blessed with short tendon insertions and this means I have no peak in my bi's

I need some ideas to build up some size to diminish my tricep dominance-preachers don't work for me and I don't want to have to do BB curls for the rest of my life!

Any ideas??

Hi Beckie,

Like any muscle group, variety is needed to stimulate growth and development.

You have your BB curls, Preacher curls, Ez curls, Hammer curls, Concentration curls, Spider curls and the mighty 21's, they cane, but they work.

Other exercises that incorporate biceps and make them work hard are back exercises like chins, you can vary the grip from an over hand to an under hand, with wide or narrow grip. Sure this is mainly a back move but with back exercises we use biceps also.

[beckie]

Thanks Chyna-I'm going to try some volume training tomorrow with BB curls and see how that goes. 6 sets of 6 reps ought to hammer those babies!

[Lisa]

I struggle to muscle soreness in my biceps, triceps no problem. Talked to a few others over the years about not feeling them being sore the next day like other body parts and they agreed with me. Anyone else find this?

[beckie]

Mine only get sore if I do lots of negatives especially on the BB and hammer curls. Volume training KILLS them thats why i'm giving that a go to see what happens!

[yarden]

I get that also Lisa...the only time I ever recall my bi's ever being sore was due to db curl supersets. But in saying that, they still grow so I guess being crippled the next day doesn't mean everything

[chyna]

The lack of soreness is because your muscles are use to doing the work. You don't have to be sore 2 days later to grow though. So long as you are still stressing the muscle, feeding it right and giving each area adequate rest it will grow.

I only get that soreness after coming back from some time off, it lasts about 2 weeks then it's back to normal.

If I do get this soreness, it's usually due to a newly introduced exercise technique or if I decide to add in some supersets or trisets but even then after 2 weeks the pain is gone.

[beckie]

Exactly. I'm 2 weeks into a new training regime and the soreness is only half what it was in the first week.

[chyna]

Are you winning with your biceps Beckie?

[beckie]

not yet! But I won't give up!!!

[chyna]

Good to hear

[pittbull]

beckie said:

not yet! But I won't give up!!!

Hey beckie, hope you're winning the battle! Can you outline your training at the moment for us please & I may be able to give you a couple of tips to get those guns looking like cannons ;D

[beckie]

Well my most recent workout consisted of drag curls 4 x 8,21's 4 sets and incline DB curls 4 sets(I usually shoot for 6-8 reps). My main problem is the short tendon insertions so I have the gap between the base of my bi's and the elbow. In the past I did lots of hammers to build up the brachialis so I'm thinking about trying those again and adding in the BB curls too..

any suggestions would be most welcome!

[pittbull]

This may look simple but give it a try, you may be surprised.

Train your arms on a separate day to back & chest as they get a hammering whit both of these body parts so allow time for them to recover, this way you’ll be utilizing two growth phases per training week for your arms!

Incline D/B curls (twist little finger towards thumb at peak contraction, palms up all time) 3 x 20-15 reps
Standing B/B curls 4 x 8-4 reps (4 second negative)
Seated D/B curls (alternate twisting) 2 x 8-4 reps
Standing D/B hammer curls (use straps to help with grip & go really heavy) 1 x 20-15 reps

[beckie]

Thanks so much-I'll give it a try next week and see how it goes!