Biceps Excercises

[Feifei1986]

Hi, i'm a semi-newbie at weight lifting and i've asked people about building my biceps, right now they're pretty small for my size with some fat surrounding them. My friend, who is a hardcore weight lifter says that the excerices i'm doing right now should only be barbell curls/preacher curls, but i think that's too little. Does anyone else have suggestions on what excercise i should do if i want to build mass and make them bigger, and not shape them, which he said should be later.

Btw-6'1 190 Pounds
Thanks alot

Andy

 

[view]

barbell curls and preacher curls are a sure-fire way to build big biceps.

now you just have to eat enough food to make them grow.

 

[Lee]

for biceps do 2 seperate lifts with 3 sets. since your new, 3 sets of 8 is your best bet.

if i were u i would do standing barbell curls, and then seated dumbell curls.

 

[Scotsman]

Heavy rows and deads are the key to bigger bi's. Curls are only an auxillary lift.

Cheers,
Scotsman

 

[kcpmeo22]

There are 3 different angles you can hit your biceps to work the different muscle fibers:

1. Elbows by your side (ex. barbell curls)
2. Elbows behind you (ex. laying on the incline bench and doing dumbell curls keeping elbows in place)
3. Elbows in front (ex. preacher curls)

There are more exercises with each lift. I usally alternate between the many. Oh, and hammer curls help add separation.

 

[Illuminati]

hey bro, are you doing curls because you want bigger arms??? if so, think about it for a minute. your bi's consist of 2 muscles. your tri's consist of 3 muscles. a massive set of tri's will do more for appearance than big bi's. but on the same note, its is always nice to be able to flex and have a softball in there. what im saying is, dont neglect your tri's.

 

[gjohnson5]

Here is an alternate view. I have to disagree with most all here.

The bicep is not 2 muscles it is 3. 2 heads of the bicep brachii and the brachailis
You can use back excersizes such as rows or pull ups to build biceps. The problem with this is that you cannot supinate. Supination is your friend, therefore I believe in dumbell curls standing or lying on incline bench. I think someone mentioned preacher curls. Yes those are also good for building biceps. Someone also sais hammer curls build separation. Hammer curls build the brachailis muscle which is just below the bicep on the outside of the arm and just above the tricep.

As far as the work "lift" goes, I don't consider curls a "lift" Curls are an isolation movement. Well alot of people don't perform them like and isolation movement as they use back sway to get the weights up. Those people "lift" when doing curls. These people can also hurt thier backs with way. People who "train" use good posture when doing standing curls.

 

[InTraining]

As someone with pretty bad bis I can only offer what has worked for me to improve them...

1.Barbell Curls- I consider these the #1 mass movement for the Bis...I like to stick in the 6-8 rep range or do them for 15-20 reps DC style with 3 RP mini sets....

2.Dumbell Curls-as said previously supination is another role of the Bis....and that is what you are doing with a DB curl...Arnold said these improved the peak..not so sure about that but personally I did notice an improvement after adding these

3. Reverse Curls or Hammer Curls-Building the brachialis is said to "lift" the biceps, which can cause a greater illusion of a peak....

 

[bigdho]

One other point to mention is biceps are a bi product of everything else. Meaning they grow as the rest of you gets bigger. Think about it you dont see guys with 20 inch arms and everything else sucks. I have an artical on this from muscle mag Ill see if I can find it

 

[TheOak84]

cheat curls are good for gaining a lil more strength. try them a few times a month

 

[kcpmeo22]

Here is an alternate view. I have to disagree with most all here.

The bicep is not 2 muscles it is 3. 2 heads of the bicep brachii and the brachailis
You can use back excersizes such as rows or pull ups to build biceps. The problem with this is that you cannot supinate. Supination is your friend, therefore I believe in dumbell curls standing or lying on incline bench. I think someone mentioned preacher curls. Yes those are also good for building biceps. Someone also sais hammer curls build separation. Hammer curls build the brachailis muscle which is just below the bicep on the outside of the arm and just above the tricep.

As far as the work "lift" goes, I don't consider curls a "lift" Curls are an isolation movement. Well alot of people don't perform them like and isolation movement as they use back sway to get the weights up. Those people "lift" when doing curls. These people can also hurt thier backs with way. People who "train" use good posture when doing standing curls.

Well put GJ! Everything you said mirrors what I mentioned in greater detail and explanation. Although I would add barbell curls, as they allow you to use heavier weight (the combination of 2 arms), in turn giving you a more intense pump. Considered to be a mass builder.

 

[kcpmeo22]

Super setting with a couple of exercises once a month isn't bad either!

 

[philipusmcr]

The bicep is a small muscle, I wouldnt go with more than 4 or 5 sets (heavy).

As far as I have seen it is usually only the experts who do curls safely, and efficiently. I believe its not an isolation exercise, so dont use a preacher bench, or that bullcrap where you have ur back and head on the wall. But then once again dont use your lower back. When you curl dont isolate your biceps, recruit your shoulders, and upper back ( NEVER your lower back). If you use your lower back, you wont be going to the gym in a while if you do it too hard.

Also, like some have said above, do back. such as cable rows, cable pull downs, and Pull ups. PULL UPS are the ultimate upper body workout in my own opinion. And dont forget your tris (its 3 muscles), this contributes to big arms as much as your bis, like said above.

FYI: Workout your LEGS. Your legs have more muscle than any other part of your body. Your Quads are your biggest muscle. Exercising your muscles stimulates protein assimilation, increases the release of Gh, and helps nitrogen retention. With your legs being the biggest muscle group, you should take working your legs out seriously. With your Bis being so small ( in comparison ) they do little of the above.

 

[gjohnson5]

The bicep is a small muscle, I wouldnt go with more than 4 or 5 sets (heavy).

As far as I have seen it is usually only the experts who do curls safely, and efficiently. I believe its not an isolation exercise, so dont use a preacher bench

I'd say your arms are probably 15 inches at best... That may be your philosophy but I bet it doesn't work.

 

[kcpmeo22]

I'd say your arms are probably 15 inches at best... That may be your philosophy but I bet it doesn't work.

Agreed

 

[kcpmeo22]

You must spread some Karma around before giving it to gjohnson5 again.

 

[philipusmcr]

I'd say your arms are probably 15 inches at best... That may be your philosophy but I bet it doesn't work.

Actually its not my philosophy, its just one I agree with. Its the guys at AST, their biceps are around 22+ inches. You are right though, they are about 15.5. But hey, in comparison to most of you who are 6 feet or so, that isnt bad.

 

[gjohnson5]

Actually its not my philosophy, its just one I agree with. Its the guys at AST, their biceps are around 22+ inches. You are right though, they are about 15.5. But hey, in comparison to most of you who are 6 feet or so, that isnt bad.

I need a tape measure , but they were 18in 2 years ago, so mine aren't 22 prolly 20.75 to 21. BTW, I'm only 5'9

I bomb my biceps! 4 -5 sets. Laugh. I'll probably do 5 sets just on a bicep machine, and that would be part of a superset of standing barbell curls.

But anyway keep at it and keep making gains in the gym since it appears that your job is to whoop peoples asses.