WEEK ONE :: What Is The Best Bicep Routine You've Used?

[admin]

TOPIC: What is the bicep routine you have used that gave you the absolute best results? Also, list any bicep training tips or exercises that you have used that worked for you.

Don't discuss any other topic in this section. ONLY discuss the question above.

The best response will get $50 in credit to use in our online store! The other good responses will be used in an article on the main Bodybuilding.com site, with the poster's forum name listed by it.

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EDIT! This week's winners have been chosen!

Here are the results:

1 - AJbuilder
2 - Titania
3 - UliqMadiq

The full article is located at:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/topicoftheweek.htm

It will be feature on BB.com today and tommorrow.

Please fill out the poll at the bottom so that we can put up the next topic. We will start updating this week by week. Thanks for your responses and good luck with the next topic of the week.
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Thanks!
Ryan DeLuca
Bodybuilding.com

[jay81]

I voted for 8 - 10 reps.

Standing barbell curls would be my exercise of choice for biceps. Make sure you pay careful attention to correct standing barbell curling form, although I agree with Arnold that it's fine and good to *sometimes* swing the weight a little on the last rep or two to help your progress along ...

I got the first post in this section after Ryan :D

[AYung]

i believe 4-6 reps stimulates the most overload. Thus increasing your gains. The best excersize is and probably will always be Standing Barbell Curls, with good form and a good training routine, your biceps will be huge in no time!

[Harland]

I'm a high rep guy. I gained more size and weight using a 10-12 rep range then I did using a smaller 4-6 rep range.

If you still use the highest weight you can handle, and each set last the optimal range of 35-50 seconds. Then you are sure to grow over only having each set last 10-20 seconds.

I love changing it up, so one week you could do standing BB curls first, then do alternating DB curls. Then the week after that do the DB curls first and BB curls second. This way you always keep your muscles guessing.

[SavesTheMuscle]

I believe, along with others in periodization, that it depends what your goals are.I know mine chane from cycle to cylce placing Intensive bodybuilding emphasis to Exentisve bodybuilding. Lyle Mcdonald described in his article "Periodization for Bodybuilders Part I, II, and II" that it all depends on your goal (well he didn't exactly say that but one can assume so). Taken from his article:


Strength training: The goal of pure strength training is to improve the neural components of strength production. Weight should be 85% of 1 repetition maximum or higher. Sets should last 20 seconds or less. Generally 5 reps or less done with a 2-3 second negative. Lift as fast as possible. Typically compound exercises such as squats, bench press, power clean, deadlift, etc. are chosen. Isolation exercises can be used for this type of training but your form has to be perfect or you'll probably get hurt. Strength athletes commonly do many, many sets (6-10 sets of 2-3) but they are usually only focusing on a handful of lifts. A bodybuilder may need to hit more bodyparts which would mean cutting the total number of sets done.

Intensive bodybuilding method (or power bodybuilding): The goal of this zone is to increase myofibrillar size and muscle density. This zone also increases maximal strength although not to the degree that pure strength training does. Weight would be in the 80-85% of 1 RM range. Set length ranges from 20-30 seconds. A generic approach might be repeat sets of 4-6 reps (think Max-OT) on a 3-4 second down, 1 up tempo. Rest periods should be about 3 minutes between sets. Depending on volume tolerance and the number of exercises performed, anywhere from 2 to 8 sets per bodypart might be done. As with strength training, compound exercises are usually preferred; isolation exercises can be done but only with picture perfect form.

Extensive bodybuilding method: The goal of this zone is a combination of myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic hypertrophy with the lower end of the range (6-8 reps) being more geared towards myofibrillar growth (with some strength gains) and the higher end of the range (10-12 or even 15 reps) geared towards more sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. Due to glycogen depletion, there will be an increase in glycogen and water (pump growth) storage, especially in the higher rep ranges. Weights should be in the 70-80% of 1RM range with set length lasting from 30-45 (or 60) seconds. Rest periods are generally 1-2 minutes. Anywhere from 6-12 repetitions or so on a 3 down, 2 up tempo. Anywhere from 3-6 sets might be done. Anal compulsive bodybuilders could probably subdivide this category into two different ranges, one spanning the 6-8 rep range and the other spanning the 12-15 rep range. A mix of compound or isolation exercises can be done in this zone.

Really extensive bodybuilding method (I'm not good at thinking up clever names for training like the other writers in this field): The goal of this zone is purely sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, with the emphasis on capillarization and mitochondria more so than on the other components such as glycogen. As I mentioned above, I think the best approach to this type of training is to forget about reps and do 1 or 2 timed sets of 1-2 minutes with the goal being continuous movement. I would generally recommend isolation exercises above the compounds on this one. Admittedly, you'll see god if you try to squat continuously for 2 minutes (which I once had a mountain biker I was training do) but you tend to fatigue cardiovascularly when you use those types of exercises.


So depending on what your looking for, be it pure sarcoplasmic hypertrophy or myofibrillar size and muscle density, you choose the appropriate rep scheme.

That being said, I cannot simply choose a 1 rep scheme as it can change accordingly to ones goals.

I voted other.

For BB Curls, one also has to make sure that their elbows do NOT move from their sides as that will recruit other muscles into play and take the 'intensity' off of the target muscle (bicep). Keep your back straight and elbows at sides without them moving to the side for that extra last rep.

[Harland]

Originally posted by SavesTheMuscle
That being said, I cannot simply choose a 1 rep scheme as it can change accordingly to ones goals.
True that is why I work with a high rep range(10-12) for about three months, then use a smaller rep range(4-6). Always keeping my body guessing.

[ILBB]

21's W/ a barebell or curl bar. you do 7 reps curling the bar half way (bottom-mid way) then without stopping do 7 the other half (mid way-top) then without stopping 7 regular full barbell curls. It can hurt like hell.

[AJbuilder]

I voted other.

It is ridiculous to assume that any rep range will work for a given individual all the time and for all lifters. It's in total contrast to the principle of individual differences. The principal states that the capacity for a given individual to adapt to exercise training is genetically determined on a degree of basis. Recovery abilities, response to the exercise stimulus , muscle-fiber makeup, and on a lesser scale, the tolerance of certain macro and micro nutrients all fit into the principle. One person might do well with 8-10 reps while another will grow best with 4-6 reps using higher tension methods and loads because that person is more able to recruit a large number of motor units synchronously and asychronously. But no one will ever do best by using just one single rep range .When we are doing bicep work, it's very often that a beginner will train with less intensity due to the fact that he/she is able to recruit a minimal number of motor units to stimulate growth. The person would obviously use higher repetitions( 10-12 reps) to do more work and in the case of using this higher density method , the lifter will be able to overload the muscles to grow. With proper nutrition, that person will experience dazzling newbie gains.


But as the person gets more advanced , he/she will be able to recruit motor units at a higher threshold which mirrors maximal and anaerobic strength gains as well. Now the person will and should employ repetition ranges in the 4-6 bracket and will soon find that works best at that point in his/her training career. After a while of training with 4-6 reps while using various free-weight exercises like incline db curls and standing bb curls , the body will gradually get accustomed to the 4-6 range. And the reason for your body adapting to this rep range is due another principle: the principle of accomodation. The principle states that your body will accomodate and adapt to the training stress if you continually apply the routine over and over again. The routine of doing 4-6 reps will eventually be less and less challenging for your body because it has already become a habit . Habituation results in plateaus . When the habit kicks in, there is a gradual reduction of response coming from the body. The body stops responding. Of course the next step would be to do micro-loading and increase the weight on the bb curls every week so you can progressively overload. But then we have to come back to the principle of accomodation. Your body accomodates to the overload and soon you'll hit dead on into a plateau. The 4-6 rep range will not be effective anymore. And that's why we must jump back to a different rep range for your body to get out of the rut and grow again. This explains why growth isn't exactly a linear process all the time. It's got it's ups and downs for most of us.

It's much wiser to use different rep ranges for cycles of your training. On a hypothetical 8 week cycle of training you may employ an volumization phase in which you do high volume work with standing bb curls as in using more reps(10-12 or 12-15) with the load kept moderately in range of 60% -70% of 1RM or so. Then after the 8 weeks are up you may switch to an intensification phase in which you do loading sessions using higher intensity , intensity with respect to the loads 1RM. You may now do more sets of bb curls and lift with 80-90% of 1RM using the 3-6 rep range. The body actually responds quite well this way as it keeps the body from the accomodation and habituation trap. This is just one example of Periodization and there are many different ways to set up training cycles while employing different rep ranges.

One way to really get the biceps to grow is actually through doing heavy compound back work. The biceps get worked very heavily on close grip chinups, pullups, lateral pulldowns, barbell bent over rows, db rows, seated rows, and all its variations. You do close grip chinups and you will definitely involve the biceps . Apply this to common sense and you'll start to think that if you can strap 135lbs. to a chinning waist belt and do chinups for 5 reps, you'll have a big back and also big biceps. You can't have just 12 inch arms and be able to do chinups with so much weight. And you don't see a guy that can chin 135lbs. having small puny flat biceps either. A big back usually comes with big biceps . Direct work on the biceps are not always needed. Most guys often do insane amounts of sets and reps for the bis day in and out. Before they sleep, they've already overtrained big time, creating a deficit that needs to come back to a base level. But that's not to say that we should always eliminate bicep work completely. It's nice to have a delicate balance in which one would focus on the heavy compound back movements, especially the lifts that require the person to move through space(chinups) , and supplement with some direct work using curls. The key area here is to watch out for excessive volume of the bb and db curls. Most folks will not benefit from the overload of too much volume in a given session, except for those of the genetically superior and gifted.

In the past i've had periods where I do direct work for the biceps as well as no direct work at all, relying just on heavy back compound lifts . When I started lifting I would do lots of reps with bb and db curls and shortly my biceps grew but eventually I fell into the accomodation trap like all of us do and plateaued . I started using different rep ranges, rep speeds, different exercises as well. The biceps grew little by little but didn't respond much at all in terms of measurable progress. With some message board advice I decided to drop direct bicep work for a while and focus on heavy back work. I'm still not working the bis directly as of today and have seen almost a fourth of an inch growth already. The gains are coming in slow but at least that just proves that you don't really need direct work all the time for the biceps to grow. A lot of us may very well be overtraining our biceps anyway so by eliminating some direct work, you will be able to let the body catch up to prior training stimulus and overcompensate to recover and grow again. This is just one tactic to consider as well as the periodization technique I mentioned above.

Changing the mechanics of an exercise can also do wonders for bicep growth.

-Use underhand grip on bb bent over rows
-with bb rows, row to the chest and you may feel the biceps getting more worked.
-instead of conventional shoulder-width chinups or pullups, do close grip chinups/pullups to place more stress onto the biceps
-maintain a more upright position when doing chinups and pullups
-on the eccentric(lowering) portion of a curl, try tensing and contracting the triceps as you resist against the lowering of the weight. Tense the whole body , squeeze in the buttocks, grip the bar tightly. You'll most likely be able to hammer out one or two more reps this way. This is the employment of tensile strength and hyper-irridation popularized by Bruce Lee and former Russian Special Forces Trainer Pavel Tsatsouline.

Those are just some of the creative ways to get the most out of your exercises. It's fun.

One great tip for the newbie is to learn proper form on all exercises. If you want your biceps to grow then you must learn the proper form to maximize tension through a sound muscle range of motion. The key to doing a proper bb curl is to monitor your elbow placement. When you lift the weight on the concentric phase, make sure your elbow does not travel more than 2 inches forward. If it does , you will be redirecting the stress onto your connective tissues and anterior deltoids rather than your biceps. The biceps brachi fibers are what you're trying to stimulate so watch that elbow and make sure they don't travel too far forward. The movement , from the bottom eccentric position to the top contraction position should be a slanted straight line rather than a half circle so take good note of this observation. When I started perfecting my bb curl form, I used a peice of equipment called the arm blaster . The arm blaster straps around your neck and chest and minimizes elbow placement to teach the newbie lifter proper form on execution of free-weight curls. It was a good investment for me since I work out at my own home gym.

One bicep exercise that , in my opinion, is most effective is the incline db curl. When performed correctly, it will hit both the biceps brachii muscles and the underlying brachialis muscles to a great extent. Incline db curls also allows for a greater stretch. It gives an awesome pump as well and who doesn't love a pump? Most lifters don't do this exercise anyway so it's a nice change of pace for the body . If you haven't been using incline db curls and haved just switched to it, the biceps may grow again because the body just isn't used to the stress applied at the incline position. It's well worth a try. An effective school of thought to consider is to do exercises that you've never done before or do something unconventional for certain periods of time. That will get your biceps or any other body parts to grow again. Incline db curls are also fun. If one were to just stick to bb curls year round then the accomodation trap will kick in and that spells P-L-A-T-E-A-U. :)

[gumby51cm]

My rep range normally stays from 10-12 on almost every exercise for biceps, some days i go heavier for more overload and so i dont plateau. The best exercise i have found to be is overhead cable curls, they allow me to get the best contraction with the heaviest weight, I feel a burn as soon as i begin the exercise.

[DaIceman]

Standing DB 3x8-10 reps
Incline Sitting DB 3x8-10 reps
Concentrations 2x12

It kills me every time.

[short_dude]

From my four years of serious lifting experience, I have come to realize that the majority of problems with people's bicep routines is simply overtraining. Biceps are a small muscle and are easily overtrained if not rested adaquetly, hence doing too many exercises and sets will stall your progress. I have tried several routines: low reps, high reps, low volume, high volume and the truth is that while I was doing 12-15 sets for biceps I never gained any size. Ever since I swtiched to hitting the biceps heavy for 6 sets of 5-7 reps, my arms began to grow. I gained an inch and a half on my arms in the past year and a half because I finally realized that the "pump" you feel from doing rep after rep with your biceps doesn't mean anything at all and is not an indication of a good workout.

21's, and pyramids on a preacher curl bench (start with 25 lbs. on e-z curl bar and do 10 reps, then do 20 lbs, 15, 10, 5, bar, then back up) were classics in high school and the pumps I felt were great, but the gains weren't coming. Bluntly these exercises don't do jack but give you a pump and lead to overtraining.

The best workout I ever did was simple:

Even weeks: (2nd and last of month)
3X 5-7 Straight barbell curls (strict form of course)
Current weights: 115, 125, 130
3X 5-7 Incline dumbell curls
Currrent weights: 40, 45, 50

Odd weeks: (1st and third of month)
preacher e-z curl bar 3X5-7
Current weights: 110, 120, 130
Standing DB curls: 3 X5-7
Current weights:
50, 55, 60

The main lesson is not to overcomplicate a simple matter and not to become obsessed with your bicep training...there are other bodyparts you know that deserve equal attention. Biceps will grow along with everything else.

[jay81]

Originally posted by AJbuilder
I voted other.

It is ridiculous to assume that any rep range will work for a given individual all the time and for all lifters. It's in total contrast to the principle of individual differences. The principal states that the capacity for a given individual to adapt to exercise training is genetically determined on a degree of basis. Recovery abilities, response to the exercise stimulus , muscle-fiber makeup, and on a lesser scale, the tolerance of certain macro and micro nutrients all fit into the principle. One person might do well with 8-10 reps while another will grow best with 4-6 reps using higher tension methods and loads because that person is more able to recruit a large number of motor units synchronously and asychronously. But no one will ever do best by using just one single rep range .When we are doing bicep work, it's very often that a beginner will train with less intensity due to the fact that he/she is able to recruit a minimal number of motor units to stimulate growth. The person would obviously use higher repetitions( 10-12 reps) to do more work and in the case of using this higher density method , the lifter will be able to overload the muscles to grow. With proper nutrition, that person will experience dazzling newbie gains.


But as the person gets more advanced , he/she will be able to recruit motor units at a higher threshold which mirrors maximal and anaerobic strength gains as well. Now the person will and should employ repetition ranges in the 4-6 bracket and will soon find that works best at that point in his/her training career. After a while of training with 4-6 reps while using various free-weight exercises like incline db curls and standing bb curls , the body will gradually get accustomed to the 4-6 range. And the reason for your body adapting to this rep range is due another principle: the principle of accomodation. The principle states that your body will accomodate and adapt to the training stress if you continually apply the routine over and over again. The routine of doing 4-6 reps will eventually be less and less challenging for your body because it has already become a habit . Habituation results in plateaus . When the habit kicks in, there is a gradual reduction of response coming from the body. The body stops responding. Of course the next step would be to do micro-loading and increase the weight on the bb curls every week so you can progressively overload. But then we have to come back to the principle of accomodation. Your body accomodates to the overload and soon you'll hit dead on into a plateau. The 4-6 rep range will not be effective anymore. And that's why we must jump back to a different rep range for your body to get out of the rut and grow again. This explains why growth isn't exactly a linear process all the time. It's got it's ups and downs for most of us.

It's much wiser to use different rep ranges for cycles of your training. On a hypothetical 8 week cycle of training you may employ an volumization phase in which you do high volume work with standing bb curls as in using more reps(10-12 or 12-15) with the load kept moderately in range of 60% -70% of 1RM or so. Then after the 8 weeks are up you may switch to an intensification phase in which you do loading sessions using higher intensity , intensity with respect to the loads 1RM. You may now do more sets of bb curls and lift with 80-90% of 1RM using the 3-6 rep range. The body actually responds quite well this way as it keeps the body from the accomodation and habituation trap. This is just one example of Periodization and there are many different ways to set up training cycles while employing different rep ranges.

One way to really get the biceps to grow is actually through doing heavy compound back work. The biceps get worked very heavily on close grip chinups, pullups, lateral pulldowns, barbell bent over rows, db rows, seated rows, and all its variations. You do close grip chinups and you will definitely involve the biceps . Apply this to common sense and you'll start to think that if you can strap 135lbs. to a chinning waist belt and do chinups for 5 reps, you'll have a big back and also big biceps. You can't have just 12 inch arms and be able to do chinups with so much weight. And you don't see a guy that can chin 135lbs. having small puny flat biceps either. A big back usually comes with big biceps . Direct work on the biceps are not always needed.

In the past i've had periods where I do direct work for the biceps as well as no direct work at all, relying just on heavy back compound lifts . When I started lifting I would do lots of reps with bb and db curls and shortly my biceps grew but eventually I fell into the accomodation trap like all of us do and plateaued . I started using different rep ranges, rep speeds, different exercises as well. The biceps grew little by little but didn't respond much at all in terms of measurable progress. With some message board advice I decided to drop direct bicep work for a while and focus on heavy back work. I'm still not working the bis directly as of today and have seen almost a fourth of an inch growth already. The gains are coming in slow but at least that just proves that you don't really need direct work all the time for the biceps to grow. A lot of us may very well be overtraining our biceps anyway so by eliminating some direct work, you will be able to let the body catch up to prior training stimulus and overcompensate to recover and grow again. This is just one tactic to consider as well as the periodization technique I mentioned above.

Changing the mechanics of an exercise can also do wonders for bicep growth.

-Use underhand grip on bb bent over rows
-with bb rows, row to the chest and you may feel the biceps getting more worked.
-instead of conventional shoulder-width chinups or pullups, do close grip chinups/pullups to place more stress onto the biceps
-maintain a more upright position when doing chinups and pullups
-on the eccentric(lowering) portion of a curl, try tensing and contracting the triceps as you resist against the lowering of the weight. Tense the whole body , squeeze in the buttocks, grip the bar tightly. You'll most likely be able to hammer out one or two more reps this way. This is the employment of tensile strength and hyper-irridation popularized by Bruce Lee and former Russian Special Forces Trainer Pavel Tsatsouline.

Those are just some of the creative ways to get the most out of your exercises. It's fun.

One great tip for the newbie is to learn proper form on all exercises. If you want your biceps to grow then you must learn the proper form to maximize tension through a sound muscle range of motion. The key to doing a proper bb curl is to monitor your elbow placement. When you lift the weight on the concentric phase, make sure your elbow does not travel more than 2 inches forward. If it does , you will be redirecting the stress onto your connective tissues and anterior deltoids rather than your biceps. The biceps brachi fibers are what you're trying to stimulate so watch that elbow and make sure they don't travel too far forward. The movement , from the bottom eccentric position to the top contraction position should be a slanted straight line rather than a half circle so take good note of this observation. When I started perfecting my bb curl form, I used a peice of equipment called the arm blaster . The arm blaster straps around your neck and chest and minimizes elbow placement to teach the newbie lifter proper form on execution of free-weight curls. It was a good investment for me since I work out at my own home gym.

One bicep exercise that , in my opinion, is most effective is the incline db curl. When performed correctly, it will hit both the biceps brachii muscles and the underlying brachialis muscles to a great extent. Incline db curls also allows for a greater stretch. It gives an awesome pump as well and who doesn't love a pump? Most lifters don't do this exercise anyway so it's a nice change of pace for the body . If you haven't been using incline db curls and haved just switched to it, the biceps may grow again because the body just isn't used to the stress applied at the incline position. It's well worth a try. An effective school of thought to consider is to do exercises that you've never done before or do something unconventional for certain periods of time. That will get your biceps or any other body parts to grow again. Incline db curls are also fun. If one were to just stick to bb curls year round then the accomodation trap will kick in and that spells P-L-A-T-E-A-U. :)

You're *really* trying to win the $50 worth of credit, eh? :D

[Dorian_Yates]

Wow you guys are trying to hard!

[need2bulk14]

8-10 reps are great for me.It makes me work harder and I have seen great results doing every bicep workouts doing 8-10 reps.I'll go with most of the guys that I seen the best results from standing bb curls and I will follow this workout with this one.I don't agree with some people saying that sometimes it is good to swing the barbell at the end of the reps I mostly push myself to finish my reps.I'll always like to finish my workout without cheating.And when I feel that the exercise is getting easier I always change my reps.I hope this helps people that visit this sticky.




Mike Kramer,14

[Lee_5]

The best rep range for me is 4-6. Though the rep range will vary from person to person. Every 4 weeks i then chnage the rep range to 8-10 and every 8 weeks i do 2 sets of 21s.

This is good fpr keeping thingd fresh. You dont want the muscle to adapt.

I train biceps with chest. So they then get worked with back 2 days later. I have recieved best reults from doing it this way rather than biceps with back.

When doing bicep exercises i focus hard on the biceps imagining them exploding the size. (this is also a trcik Arnold used to do ;))
Lower the weight all the way down (not just halfway or 3 quatres like a lot of people do) and curl the weight all the way to the top and hold it theyre for a second or 2 and really flex the bis hard and imagine them massive.

[AWILD]

I find that if I go in the 4-6 rep range I put too much stress on my wrists and forearms. Even with wrapped wrists I get shooting pains all the way to my elbow. I have lowered the weight and started a 6-8 sometimes 10 rep program that seems to be working just as well.

[skimask]

Originally posted by ILBB
21's W/ a barebell or curl bar. you do 7 reps curling the bar half way (bottom-mid way) then without stopping do 7 the other half (mid way-top) then without stopping 7 regular full barbell curls. It can hurt like hell.


Bump to that. I've only ever really done that for my biceps. my current arm measurements are 19 1/2 and I owe it to 21's/ I can attach photo for all non believers.

[DaIceman]

Originally posted by skimask
Bump to that. I've only ever really done that for my biceps. my current arm measurements are 19 1/2 and I owe it to 21's/ I can attach photo for all non believers.

Noob here.....

What are 21's?

[skimask]

Originally posted by SullIce
Noob here.....

What are 21's?


I quoted the guy who explained how to do them. 7 reps bottom to halfway 7 reps halfway to top and 7 full reps for a total of 21. Your arms will be burning by the time you are done three sets. Use strict form and make sure to use a weight you can do 21 times.

[kingdd]

I have never been a believer in 21's. If you can do 21 reps with the weight, then you may as well just do full reps and get the full range of motion.


The routine I use now works well for me. I will usually use an iso excercise (concentration, preacher DB, Cable) to get my biceps in a grove and then do sets of 10 and 8 as warm-ups and a work set of 6 reps to failure of standing barbell curls.

My work is not done after that. To get a hyperintense pump, I like to go above and beyond with my bicep workouts. Once I have failed at ~6 reps with my workset, I will do two forced reps with a spotter and then two negative reps. Still not done though. Immediately after my negs, I'll decrease the weight to ~five pounds less than my first warm-up set of 10 and then go to failure with that weight. After all of this, my biceps are done for the week. (If I am feeling extra adventurous, I'll do 2 forced and 2 negs with the lesser weight too.)

[UliqMadiq]

I voted 'Other' as I believe I've personally had the most benefit from a pyramid routine. Of course you cannot stick with this the whole time without plateau-ing, but running it three-weeks-on/three-weeks-off has helped me put on a little over two inches since I began.

The idea is from a personal trainer friend of mine who has used it highly successfully with all his clients. Here's a rough outline of the routine, which may be altered slightly each time you run the cycle:

-----------------------------------------------------

(1 set Warm Up)

1 set One Arm Cable Curls - 15 reps
1 set One Arm Cable Curls - 10 reps

1 set Bar Cable Curls - 8 reps
1 set Bar Cable Curls - 8 reps
1 set Bar Cable Curls - 4 reps

1 set Cable Crossover Curls - 8 reps
1 set Cable Crossover Curls - 12 reps

1 set Preacher Curls - 12 reps
1 set Preacher Curls - 15 reps

-----------------------------------------------------

The benefits that I have noted are:
1. Volume of cable curls allows constant muscular tension
2. You can hardly cheat on any of the exercises in this routine
3. You definitely notice some 'bicep peak' development

The only drawback I can see is:
1. Volume is relatively high for a beginner (10 sets)

However, for an intermediate to advanced bodybuilder looking for better biceps, I think it's a definite winner.

Now where's my $50? :D

[AJbuilder]

Originally posted by kingdd
I have never been a believer in 21's. If you can do 21 reps with the weight, then you may as well just do full reps and get the full range of motion.






On paper, 21s don't sound too good because you are not using full muscle range of motion for each rep. But up to this date, there is no direct and clear proof that a full range of motion is needed to stimulate the most microtrauma for growth. In other words, you may or may not recruit more motor units(or the same amount) when using partials, isometrics , statics, eccentrics depending on your neuromusular coordination and efficiency. Some advanced bodybuilders may even benefit by doing partials for a period of time, but usually they won't know for sure because they haved not put the method to the test.

21s seem to be a great way to get out of a size plateau. To grow and continue growing , you have to eventually exhaust all training efforts and using 21s shouldn't be an exception. Using the basics is good but using more "awkward" and unconventional ways of training and exercises once in a while wouldn't hurt.

[soufi]

Well I think the best option for me that triggered the best gains for me was a pyramid routine.

You chose two compound exercises, and every six weeks you change and switch around the exercises.

Set 1- 12 reps
1 minutes rest
set 2- 10 reps
1 minutes rest
set 3- 8 reps
1 minutes rest
set 4 -6 reps
1 minutes rest
set 5-10 reps
immediately after the 5th set, you switch the exercise and do 10 reps.

I find that pyramiding is a good way to hit each and every muscle fiber in order to receive maximum gains. I don't like just staying in a certain rep zone.

At the top of the concentric part of the rep, I would squeeze my biceps as hard as I could, in order to receive a huge pump. I find that really getting the biceps to grow takes a huge pump.
although it really is a killer, I find that it is a good way to put the muscle in shock.

Fascia stretching between sets4-6 was very effective as well. I found that between this time period is the best time to employ this technique, seeing as this is when you have the biggest pump.

I found that the best exercises for mass gains were standing barbell curls and close handed chin-ups. Maintaining proper form when training biceps is essential in order to produce maximum gains.

before each bicep workout, I planned out each set with the desired weight I was going to use.

Each set has 1 minutes rest except for the last set

Ex: set one-standing barbell curls- 12x115
set two- " " " - 10x120
set three- " " " -8x125
set four- " " " -6x130
setfive- " " " -10x120
(immediately following set five) close grip chin ups-10xbw.

If I did all the desired reps with the desired weight, I would up the weight in the next workout. I feel that constant progress is a must, the muscle needs a reason to grow. Every six weeks I will do a brief week of light bicep training in order to prevent overstraining, seeing as biceps are a smaller muscle and are easier to over train.

-Soufi

[Imperfections]

Cannons, guns, biceps, one of the most noticed and sought after bodyparts a bodybuilder can have.

For me personally, 4-6 reps have worked best for my arms. I always do at least 4 excersizes and no more than 6 max, so 4-6 is literally a key number in my game. By keeping your reps considerably low, you're sure to push yourself as hard as you can. Typically I aim for 6, because with 4 you may end up cheating too much for your own good. Be sure that your 6th rep is your last rep - if you feel like you can squeeze of a 7th, then up your weight!
Biceps, like most muscle groups, respond well to compound movements. Barbell curls, cable curls, hammer curls, and dumbbell curls are all key components of building massive arms. Preacher curls and doing your curls on an incline bench all the time is not a good idea, because it will cause you to resort to less weight, and less gains! It's important to stay consistant - if starting your workout with barbell curls works for you, then train like that consistantly! However, it's also important to change your workouts every three or four weeks too in order to keep your muscles in check. This gives you a great opportunity to try out new excersizes and time lenghts for your workout!
You always need to warm up your biceps - there's nothing embarassing about starting with 20 pound dumbbells to get ready for a 100 pound bar! Form has always been a trouble area for anyone with biceps, how much cheating is okay, and how much limits your efficency? It's okay to bend your back a little bit when curling, but don't swimg the weight like a mad man, and if you're staring straight up at the celing by the time you're done, chances are your biceps are not getting worked well! I don't advise standing against a wall because the movement should be natural, the bicep curl, after all, is not an isolation excersize.
It's important to have good biceps for a number of reasons, and I feel that symmetry in your biceps is also a hard issue to tackle. If you're new or even an iron ager with bodybuilding, you should know that keeping your arms even in size can get pretty difficult. What worked for me when I found my right bicep peaking higher than my left was to use only dumbbells for a month. I always started my excersizes with my left hand, too, to make sure my right arm wouldn't wouldn't outperform my left.
Stick with these ideals and set good goals for yourself, and you should have killer biceps in no time! Remember, your biceps, like every other muscle, need a week off every week or so, too.

[ravadongon]

You'll often see people in the gym training biceps for 40 minutes or more - no wonder they haven't added even a half an inch to their arms in a year! Short and and INTENSE is the best training protocol to use to build big biceps quickly.

To build big biceps, here are a few time-tested training principles.

1. Train them hard. To build big biceps, you need to overload them by periodically training them to failure and beyond. Don't just go through the motions. Prepare yourself for some high intensity sets and really squeeze out every last rep.

2. Train them fast. If you're primary goal is to add muscle mass to your arms, your entire biceps routine should take you 15-25 minutes tops! Building muscle is not running a marathon. It requires short, intense effort.

3. Let them recover. Don't underestimate the importance of allowing your biceps to recover fully from an intense training session. If you're really training your biceps to the max, than 24 or even 48 hours recovery time isn't enough. Allow at least 5-7 days before training them again. More is definitely not better.

Here's a basic biceps routine that you can use to blast your arms to more mass quickly and effectively. Remember the 3 principles mentioned above and you'll be well on your way. This biceps program calls for performing just 2 sets of three exercises. After warming up your biceps with a couple light to moderate sets, jump right in.

Exercise #1: Standing Barbell Curls
These are an old standard but a still a favorite mass builder. I suggest a fairly narrow grip-approximately 8-10 inches apart-and a slow, controlled movement throughout the range of motion. Be sure to squeeze hard at the top and for extra intensity emphasize the negative, eccentric portion of the movement. Shoot for 8-10 reps with a moderate to heavy weight.

Exercise #2: Incline Dumbbell Curls
Do this movement with both arms simultaneously rather than in an alternating manner. Use only a slight incline to fully emphasize the biceps. Be sure to squeeze the biceps hard at the top of the movement, and get a full stretch at the bottom position. Work in the 8-12 rep range for 2-3 strong sets.

Exercise #3: Cable Hammer Curls with Rope
Use a rope attachment on the low cable of a pulley machine. Grasp the rope extensions with your palms facing each other. Curl the weight up to your chin, squeeze hard, and lower slowly. Two heavy sets of 8 reps each should do the trick. This one will really bring out your brachialis, adding overall mass to your arms. If you're looking to add more mass to your biceps quickly, then give this simple but effective program a try.

Of course, the gains in strength and size will be that much greater when you finish your workout with a high-carbohydrate, high-protein drink

[sando]

the best bicep routine is simply preacher arm curles followed by standing barbell curls. It is important that u do not sacrafice weight for form and that you concentrate more on lowering the weight. In my opinion u should concentrate more on the triceps as they r two thirds of ur arm.

[sando]

the best bicep routine is simply preacher arm curles followed by standing barbell curls. It is important that u do not sacrafice weight for form and that you concentrate more on lowering the weight. In my opinion u should concentrate more on the triceps as they r two thirds of ur arm.

[PROVERBS]

I hit biceps only once a week, so my regular bicep routine looks like this:

*Standing barbell curls w/ EZ bar - 4 sets / 8-10 reps

*1 arm preacher curls - 4 sets / 8-10 reps each arm

*Dumbell curls(standing or seated) - 4 sets / 8-10 reps

*Reverse barbell curls w/straight bar - 4 sets / 8-10 reps

* Hammers - 4 sets / 8-10 reps

I use the gym at my office and since I work an early shift I have the gym all to myself. This gives me the ability to move from exercise to exercise with more freedom. I do one set of each exercise instead of completing one exercise all at once. This routine has given me the best gains so far, I do switch up now and then and add in variations but this is pretty much my template.

[Natbornthrilla]

I believe in tiring out the bi's as quickly as possible. Absolutely thrashing them.. What I do is this....3 sets of 7/21's 7 bottom half, 7 top half, 7 full range of motion. Then after a minute of rest I do dumbbell curls at a medium weight for about 8 reps and after each set I grab a 10lb or a 15lb weight and do as many hammer curls as I can (usually 40) I rest about 1 min and repeat dumbbell curls and hammer curls for about 3 sets. Then I do 4 last sets of barbell curls ultra slow to feel the burn. I do about 4 sets of 8. That is usually when my bicep routine is over

[hate]

dumbell curls 8-12 4 sets 2 minute rest

barbell curls 12,11, 10.8-9 <--- 4 sets 45 second rest


preacher curls 4-6 then from 6-12 are forced reps 4 sets 2 minute rest

this gave me the most size, it was great, it was very intense, but training this way helped me break through to new a new level of training...

i credit the following to Jeremiah Forster (beverly international)

if you want to add some size to your arms, you might try this once a week. This does not count as an arm workout, but is best done 3 days after your arm workout...

20 reps straight bar curls, superset with 20 rep tricep dips/straight bar pushdowns. wait 30 seconds... repeat.

perform 5 sets of this superset, choose the weight so that your first set is a LITTLE bit of a challenge to get to 20.

a friend of mine did this and went from 15' to 16 in four weeks, he wasn't taking anything illegal either. for me, it's kept size while i've cut down this summer. oh, what are people trying to win on this thread again?

[hate]

dumbell curls 8-12 4 sets 2 minute rest

barbell curls 12,11, 10.8-9 <--- 4 sets 45 second rest


preacher curls 4-6 then from 6-12 are forced reps 4 sets 2 minute rest

this gave me the most size, it was great, it was very intense, but training this way helped me break through to new a new level of training...

i credit the following to Jeremiah Forster (beverly international)

if you want to add some size to your arms, you might try this once a week. This does not count as an arm workout, but is best done 3 days after your arm workout...

20 reps straight bar curls, superset with 20 rep tricep dips/straight bar pushdowns. wait 30 seconds... repeat.

perform 5 sets of this superset, choose the weight so that your first set is a LITTLE bit of a challenge to get to 20.

a friend of mine did this and went from 15' to 16 in four weeks, he wasn't taking anything illegal either. for me, it's kept size while i've cut down this summer. oh, what are people trying to win on this thread again?

[regopsp22]

Originally posted by PROVERBS413
I hit biceps only once a week, so my regular bicep routine looks like this:

*Standing barbell curls w/ EZ bar - 4 sets / 8-10 reps

*1 arm preacher curls - 4 sets / 8-10 reps each arm

*Dumbell curls(standing or seated) - 4 sets / 8-10 reps

*Reverse barbell curls w/straight bar - 4 sets / 8-10 reps

* Hammers - 4 sets / 8-10 reps

I use the gym at my office and since I work an early shift I have the gym all to myself. This gives me the ability to move from exercise to exercise with more freedom. I do one set of each exercise instead of completing one exercise all at once. This routine has given me the best gains so far, I do switch up now and then and add in variations but this is pretty much my template.

Just the 20 sets then?

[RadStar]

I do Biceps on Tuesdays which is Back/Bicep day. I have found that my best bicep routine does not necessarily include the best exercises but rather the approach. The approach is to do everything in proper form in order to really BLAST my biceps.

I do my Back first because I want my Back to be worn out and unable to assist the biceps when I do my Bicep workout.

The most important thing I have is: a form spotter. The form spotter's job is to make sure I excute my exercises with the best form possible without "cheating".

Using weights that will allow me to do 6-9 reps, I do 3 sets of: Standing Bicep Curls, Alternating Incline Dumbbell Curls, and Preacher Curls.

With each set, my form spotter tells me if I am cheating by doing things such as:

-Swinging the barbbell up when doing Standing Curls
-Stamping or Shaking my feet when doing Alternating Incline Dumbbell Curls
-Arching my back when doing Preacher Curls
-Shrugging, using my traps and shoulders to help complete the rep
-Using gravity to lower the weights too fast

*And Most of all.. he yells at me if I decide and TRY to rest at top of a rep. At the top of each rep I have to contract my Bicep to it's fullest to ensure that the bicep works at its fullest.*

After listening to my spotter and doing everything in perfect form, my biceps are rock solid!! I have done a different mix of exercises for the biceps and still get the same results by applying the same principle: PROPER FORM! Doing exercises in proper form really maxmizes results like nothing else.

[Romac]

i think the way in which this poll is answered is affected by the way in which you have historically trained.

If you have historically trained with 8 to 10 reps then that will give you the best results. The reason for this is because you have trained the biceps and supporting muscles to support this rep range. If you suddenly try to go for 4 to 6 reps, since the biceps are such a small muscle, you may not be able to achieve a maximum overload in the biceps because the supporting muscles will 'give out' before the biceps can achieve a maximum pump.

Now if you change the question to read 'what is the best rep range for maximum hypertrophy and fastest growth', then there will only be one correct answer...5 to 8 reps. ;)

[Gold]

The fascination of biceps is overrated in my point of view (i just lost 50$).

My bicep burnout routine which i do once a week is simple:

4*8 DB Curl
4*8 Incline seated DB onearm curl
3*8 Cable Preacher Curl ( seated with 30 degree angle)
3*8 Cable Preacher Curl ( standing no angle)

I almost believe i can avoud working the biceps, since lot of the backtraining is going for the bicep too.

And remember, biceps is only a 1/3 of your armsize - the rest is triceps - so instead of focusing on that little muscle that hard, concentrate on the back instead.

[need2bulk14]

When does the next topic begin?

[Denion_Jr]

I do 21 reps, this might also be known as simply 21's, or 3 part curls.

Purpose of Exercise: This is basically to develop and shape the entire biceps area. This exercise, a combination of partial- and full-range movements, is a great test of endurance. Because of the combination of 3 sets of 7 repetitions each, this exercise is also known as 21's (as I said above).

EXECUTION: (1) From a seated or standing position, take a dumbbell in each hand, holding the weights at arm's length down at your sides. (2) Curl the weights upward but stop halfway, when your forearms are about parallel to the floor, then lower them again to the starting position. Do 7 repetitions of this movement. Then, without stopping, (3) curl the weights all the way up but stop halfway down and do 7 repetitions of this partial movement. At this point, even though exhaustion will be setting in, finish off the set by doing 7 full-rage Dumbbell Curls. I like to do this exercise in front of a mirror (so that I can really be sure of lifting in exactly the proper range.

I suggest doing it seated also, this prevents from cheating.

[thickjerk]

I like to super set bicep exercises:

Standing BB curls
Alternate DB curls
Preacher curls

10-12 rep range, 3 times through this super set. If you don't grow from this you ain't human.

[Natbornthrilla]

who won?

[Denion_Jr]

I did for my post above ^^^^^.

[Defiant1]

Biceps:

Close grip BB curls (ez bar)-5 x 12-5 or 6, 15-20
Close grip Preacher (ez bar)-4 sets, fast 10 reps
Bent over concentration curls (Arnold style) 3 x 12-15, reducing weight if nec.
One arm cable curls 2x 20 each arm

1 x per week.

Getting pumped just thinking about it.

[ferretmusic7426]

the biceps got HUGE when i did this

3 sets of standing barbell curls with reps going 12, 10, 8 and adding 5 pounds each set...or ten if you want
3 sets of seated hammer curls 10 reps
3 sets of preacher curls 12 10 8 and once all the weight is on there after your third set, you get the weight up and have a partner pull it down as you tyr and pull it back up, and the partner will bull it down 1/4 of the way, then 1/2 of the way then all the way down and you try and pull it pack up the whole time but don't do so until he lets go....****ing shreded my biceps

[ferretmusic7426]

the biceps got HUGE when i did this

3 sets of standing barbell curls with reps going 12, 10, 8 and adding 5 pounds each set...or ten if you want
3 sets of seated hammer curls 10 reps
3 sets of preacher curls 12 10 8 and once all the weight is on there after your third set, you get the weight up and have a partner pull it down as you tyr and pull it back up, and the partner will bull it down 1/4 of the way, then 1/2 of the way then all the way down and you try and pull it pack up the whole time but don't do so until he lets go....****ing shreded my biceps

[Denion_Jr]

Obviously this whole idea was handled very professionally.

[usman664]

The best of the best bicep training are these as follows:

For Bicep Curls

3 sets compromising of 6 / 4 / 2 reps

Begin with heavy weight doing 6 reps each lasting 3 seconds.

With 4 reps on the second set make it heavier allowing yourself now 2 seconds of repetition movement.

With the last set that compromises of 2 reps...you have to use such hard weight that when you drive the weight up it is mannered in motion according to its high intensity. you should feel intense burn in this, the pump, the second rep should be much harder than the first..it may last 10 seconds or more just to complete that last intense rep...After the work out stretch the biceps and drink some water. you should really feel the blood flowing in to the bicep area...this is a real manouvre for hardcore bicep growth.

[da rel hogan]

Originally posted by AJbuilder
I voted other.

It is ridiculous to assume that any rep range will work for a given individual all the time and for all lifters. It's in total contrast to the principle of individual differences. The principal states that the capacity for a given individual to adapt to exercise training is genetically determined on a degree of basis. Recovery abilities, response to the exercise stimulus , muscle-fiber makeup, and on a lesser scale, the tolerance of certain macro and micro nutrients all fit into the principle. One person might do well with 8-10 reps while another will grow best with 4-6 reps using higher tension methods and loads because that person is more able to recruit a large number of motor units synchronously and asychronously. But no one will ever do best by using just one single rep range .When we are doing bicep work, it's very often that a beginner will train with less intensity due to the fact that he/she is able to recruit a minimal number of motor units to stimulate growth. The person would obviously use higher repetitions( 10-12 reps) to do more work and in the case of using this higher density method , the lifter will be able to overload the muscles to grow. With proper nutrition, that person will experience dazzling newbie gains.


But as the person gets more advanced , he/she will be able to recruit motor units at a higher threshold which mirrors maximal and anaerobic strength gains as well. Now the person will and should employ repetition ranges in the 4-6 bracket and will soon find that works best at that point in his/her training career. After a while of training with 4-6 reps while using various free-weight exercises like incline db curls and standing bb curls , the body will gradually get accustomed to the 4-6 range. And the reason for your body adapting to this rep range is due another principle: the principle of accomodation. The principle states that your body will accomodate and adapt to the training stress if you continually apply the routine over and over again. The routine of doing 4-6 reps will eventually be less and less challenging for your body because it has already become a habit . Habituation results in plateaus . When the habit kicks in, there is a gradual reduction of response coming from the body. The body stops responding. Of course the next step would be to do micro-loading and increase the weight on the bb curls every week so you can progressively overload. But then we have to come back to the principle of accomodation. Your body accomodates to the overload and soon you'll hit dead on into a plateau. The 4-6 rep range will not be effective anymore. And that's why we must jump back to a different rep range for your body to get out of the rut and grow again. This explains why growth isn't exactly a linear process all the time. It's got it's ups and downs for most of us.

It's much wiser to use different rep ranges for cycles of your training. On a hypothetical 8 week cycle of training you may employ an volumization phase in which you do high volume work with standing bb curls as in using more reps(10-12 or 12-15) with the load kept moderately in range of 60% -70% of 1RM or so. Then after the 8 weeks are up you may switch to an intensification phase in which you do loading sessions using higher intensity , intensity with respect to the loads 1RM. You may now do more sets of bb curls and lift with 80-90% of 1RM using the 3-6 rep range. The body actually responds quite well this way as it keeps the body from the accomodation and habituation trap. This is just one example of Periodization and there are many different ways to set up training cycles while employing different rep ranges.

One way to really get the biceps to grow is actually through doing heavy compound back work. The biceps get worked very heavily on close grip chinups, pullups, lateral pulldowns, barbell bent over rows, db rows, seated rows, and all its variations. You do close grip chinups and you will definitely involve the biceps . Apply this to common sense and you'll start to think that if you can strap 135lbs. to a chinning waist belt and do chinups for 5 reps, you'll have a big back and also big biceps. You can't have just 12 inch arms and be able to do chinups with so much weight. And you don't see a guy that can chin 135lbs. having small puny flat biceps either. A big back usually comes with big biceps . Direct work on the biceps are not always needed. Most guys often do insane amounts of sets and reps for the bis day in and out. Before they sleep, they've already overtrained big time, creating a deficit that needs to come back to a base level. But that's not to say that we should always eliminate bicep work completely. It's nice to have a delicate balance in which one would focus on the heavy compound back movements, especially the lifts that require the person to move through space(chinups) , and supplement with some direct work using curls. The key area here is to watch out for excessive volume of the bb and db curls. Most folks will not benefit from the overload of too much volume in a given session, except for those of the genetically superior and gifted.

In the past i've had periods where I do direct work for the biceps as well as no direct work at all, relying just on heavy back compound lifts . When I started lifting I would do lots of reps with bb and db curls and shortly my biceps grew but eventually I fell into the accomodation trap like all of us do and plateaued . I started using different rep ranges, rep speeds, different exercises as well. The biceps grew little by little but didn't respond much at all in terms of measurable progress. With some message board advice I decided to drop direct bicep work for a while and focus on heavy back work. I'm still not working the bis directly as of today and have seen almost a fourth of an inch growth already. The gains are coming in slow but at least that just proves that you don't really need direct work all the time for the biceps to grow. A lot of us may very well be overtraining our biceps anyway so by eliminating some direct work, you will be able to let the body catch up to prior training stimulus and overcompensate to recover and grow again. This is just one tactic to consider as well as the periodization technique I mentioned above.

Changing the mechanics of an exercise can also do wonders for bicep growth.

-Use underhand grip on bb bent over rows
-with bb rows, row to the chest and you may feel the biceps getting more worked.
-instead of conventional shoulder-width chinups or pullups, do close grip chinups/pullups to place more stress onto the biceps
-maintain a more upright position when doing chinups and pullups
-on the eccentric(lowering) portion of a curl, try tensing and contracting the triceps as you resist against the lowering of the weight. Tense the whole body , squeeze in the buttocks, grip the bar tightly. You'll most likely be able to hammer out one or two more reps this way. This is the employment of tensile strength and hyper-irridation popularized by Bruce Lee and former Russian Special Forces Trainer Pavel Tsatsouline.

Those are just some of the creative ways to get the most out of your exercises. It's fun.

One great tip for the newbie is to learn proper form on all exercises. If you want your biceps to grow then you must learn the proper form to maximize tension through a sound muscle range of motion. The key to doing a proper bb curl is to monitor your elbow placement. When you lift the weight on the concentric phase, make sure your elbow does not travel more than 2 inches forward. If it does , you will be redirecting the stress onto your connective tissues and anterior deltoids rather than your biceps. The biceps brachi fibers are what you're trying to stimulate so watch that elbow and make sure they don't travel too far forward. The movement , from the bottom eccentric position to the top contraction position should be a slanted straight line rather than a half circle so take good note of this observation. When I started perfecting my bb curl form, I used a peice of equipment called the arm blaster . The arm blaster straps around your neck and chest and minimizes elbow placement to teach the newbie lifter proper form on execution of free-weight curls. It was a good investment for me since I work out at my own home gym.

One bicep exercise that , in my opinion, is most effective is the incline db curl. When performed correctly, it will hit both the biceps brachii muscles and the underlying brachialis muscles to a great extent. Incline db curls also allows for a greater stretch. It gives an awesome pump as well and who doesn't love a pump? Most lifters don't do this exercise anyway so it's a nice change of pace for the body . If you haven't been using incline db curls and haved just switched to it, the biceps may grow again because the body just isn't used to the stress applied at the incline position. It's well worth a try. An effective school of thought to consider is to do exercises that you've never done before or do something unconventional for certain periods of time. That will get your biceps or any other body parts to grow again. Incline db curls are also fun. If one were to just stick to bb curls year round then the accomodation trap will kick in and that spells P-L-A-T-E-A-U. :)

AJBuilder - I agree with your points but the questioned asked was

"What is the bicep routine you have used that gave you absolute best results? Also, list any bicep training tips or exercises that you have used that worked for you."

[AJbuilder]

Originally posted by da rel hogan
AJBuilder - I agree with your points but the questioned asked was

"What is the bicep routine you have used that gave you absolute best results? Also, list any bicep training tips or exercises that you have used that worked for you."



I gave out so many tips that haved worked for me, and it's stated in the second half of my post: hyper-irridation popularized by Tsatsouline and Bruce Lee, chinups, heavy back work, maintaining straight arc in curls, incline db curls, eccentrics. Just because i did not state that i have specifically used them doesn't mean i haven't practiced them. I used all those tips and i even stated my arms progressed, but slowly, on only heavy back work alone. Of course my arms grew initially really quickly but that was considered initial newbie adaptations and doesn't fit into the scheme of progress when one gets to the intermediate stage. And it is also nonsense to provide a specific routine detailing exactly how many sets and how many rest between sets, how many reps . Each routine does not do everyone equally well all of the time. Now we jump back to law of individualization, as stated in my post, and you'll see why a routine that worked for me may not work as well for you . Only the principles are to be applied and the specific nature of a routine depends on the person if he/she wants to improve on strength and development. For all you know I can be a genetic freak and will do lots of sets with high frequency. Then when some skinny guy follows it they overtrain on it given the nutrition and rest variables are similarly comparable. Now that routine will be useless for him but good for me. So outlining a very "specific" routine for the masses is quite useless for some of the time, especially when the readers of the article are innately angular, skinny, ectos with short muscle bellies and have less than average recovery abilities. When routiens are provided, it should always be made as a guideline, not as a formula in which one has to follow to a T.

[RougeQC21]

Alright, this is what I have found to work best for me

After about six months of toying with different routines, I believe I have found my "holy grail" of bicep routines. It allows me to feel the blood rushing into my arms and the insane pump that is associated with great gains.

Here it is. My routine :-D

Monday:
3 sets of 6-8 Spider Curls
Use two seconds to curl the bar, another two on your declanation and hold for one. All the while make sure to keep your wrists straight, enhancing the contraction of your bicep.

Take 2 minutes of rest between each set.

3 sets of 6-8 Alternating Hammer Curls
Take two seconds on the positive curl and one on the negative. Be sure you keep your elbows locked at your side as this helps to isolate the contraction to your bicep thus maximizing your workout.

Take 1 minute of rest between each set.

Thursday:
3 Sets of 5-8 reps Standing Inner Bicep Curls
While doing these, keep the rep time slow taking care to focus on the contraction of the bicep. Make sure that your forearm stays in line with your deltoids.

Take 1 and a half minutes of rest between each set

3 Sets of 7-9 reps Close Grip EZbar Curls
Just make sure that your hands are on the inside of the curve on the bar, causing them to face towards each other. Also, use two seconds to curl the bar, another two on your declanation and hold for one at the bottom.

Take 2 minutes of rest between each set.


That is it for the routine; I know it will work just as good for you as it does for me. A few tips I'd like to add: use enough weight so that your "struggling the last 2 reps". These last two reps are critical to the stimulation of new muscle fiber growth and repair. Also, focus on the timing of your reps, the slower the rep the more mass you will put on (if that is one of your goals of course)... Not necessarily strength, but mass. Oh, and lastly, always, ALWAYS, stay true to proper form as this will give you an incredible boost in the time it takes to realize your goals.

My 5 cents!
Alex

[Leancut99]

I'm not sure if I overlooked it, but I do not think I did. Did everyone fail to mention Pull-ups for Bi's?? Or does no one here use them?
That is the first and most intense exercise I use to develop my bi's. After a hardcore back workout, I hit bi's up with

3 sets of 8-10 Pull-ups
3 sets of 8-10 Hammer Curls
2 sets of 8-10 Reverse Cable Curls

After an intense back workout of deadlifts, barbell rows, and chin-ups, it is not necessary to hit the bi's so hard.

[bradp]

Weighted Chins 2 sets 4-6
Heavy Barbell cheat curls 2 sets 4-6
Cable Curls 2 sets 8-15, honestly I only do this last one for the pump, i know it's not an indicator of muscle growth but still, **** I love that pump

[jayvee]

theres one i like to use for a change from time to time that doesnt take all that long, and smokes your bis. call em whatever, i simply call them 8's. stand face to face with a partner. use a barbell or EZ bar with about 75-80 percent of your max weight for a barbell/EZ bar curl. do 1 rep. pass to your partner. he does one rep, passes back to you. then you do 2 reps, and pass it on. he does two reps and passes back. keep this sequence going for 3,4,5,6,7 and 8 reps passing after you complete every number of reps. once you hit 8 reps, work your way back down from 7,6,5,4,3,2 and 1 rep. you can put some pulses or negatives in right at the end for some added madness if you like. one set of this is usually sufficient as youll be doing 64 reps each, only resting long enough for you partner to finish his number of reps. sounds a little confusing, but is actually very easy to execute and gives the bi's a hammering! peace!

[Titania]

After 12 years of experimentation, here's what I've found to work best for me:

Thumbs down EZ bar curls
Hold the bar with a regular grip then turn it around 180 degrees so your thumbs are at a lower height than your little fingures. This will feel a little odd at first but try a few reps. You'll really feel it isolate the bi's.
Make sure to keep your elbows firmly locked into your side (this grip will help do this anyway).
This is a MUCH better exercise then regular EZ curls. Great for overall mass.

High pulley double bicep cable curls
Do these with a cable crossover machine with pulleys as high above your head as possible.
Place a bench in the middle and curl (as if you're doing a double bicep flex), seated on the bench. Keep your elbows still when curling and don't bring them forward.

Low pulley double bicep cable curls - see pic
Do these with a cable crossover machine with pulleys at floor level, in a standing position. With arms straight at your sides, curl the weight until your hands almost touch at the top of the rep (they should end up at the centre of your chest).
Once again, keep the elbows still.
This is a great exercise to bring out your bicep peak.

My rep range is usually something like this:

Increasing weight each set:
Set 1 - 12 to 14 reps,
Set 2 - 8 to 10 reps,
Set 3 - 6 to 8 reps,
Set 4 - 4 to 6 reps.

[London_Guy]

Alternate CB curls 3 x 10
DB Hammer curls 3 x 10
DB Preacher curls 2 x10

[BigTruckGuy3500]

I devote a whole day to arms, and on arm day, this is what I do for biceps:

Reps x Sets

Alternating Bicep Curls: 6 x 2
Preacher Curls (keeping my triceps on the vertical side and chest on the bent side): 6 x 3
Standing EZ Curl (alternating between outer and inner grip): 8 x 4

I think a whole day to arms is the best since it lets you work out a specific muscle without worrying about saving energy for isolating it in another exercise. Then I think working your biceps till you can't even flex them anymore is the way to go. Tear your muscle down as much as possible, then give it a long time to recover.

[JC17]

I have great peaks in my biceps, but I need to work on those hammer curls, because the length in the overall heads is short the front and back double bicep pose. But for the peaks, I got the greatest pump and actual growth from the medium rep range...

[lionheart21]

I do 4-6 reps and my biceps have done great with it.

[mr_pakistan]

I revolve all of my workouts around free weight, compound exercises. Free weight exercises allow you to achieve more overload and more overload equals greater muscle growth stimulation.

The two biceps exercises I like the best are barbell curls and standing alternate dumbbell curls. They are the back bone of my biceps training and have been for some time.

You need to scale back and train biceps one time per week only. This will give them time to fully recover and respond to the stimulus of heavy training before they are subjected to another workout session with maximum overload and intensity.

If you train too frequently you will actually impede your results because you are not allowing for adequate recovery time. You need to remember more is not better when it comes to training volume.

For maximizing your bicep development I suggest following the training with a low volume of total sets while overloading the muscle in a 4-6 repetition range.

Don't get too fancy and try a bunch of specific biceps isolation exercises. Isolation movements limit the amount of overload you can achieve and thus limit muscle growth stimulation.

I don't think it is productive or necessary to try and come up with a magic combination of exercises that will work your biceps from multiple angles. Training your biceps from various angles will not stimulate maximum strength and muscle development, overloading them will.

One of the problems people create when they try to get too fancy with their exercise selection is they end up limiting the amount of overload they can use by choosing isolation exercises. Isolation movements equal less overload and less overload equals less muscle and strength development.



Here is an example of an effective biceps workout:

Barbell Curls....3 sets 4-6 reps
Dumbbell Alternate Curls....2 sets 4-6 reps


Don't make the process of building muscle more difficult than it has to be. Stick with the basic lifts and train heavy. This will create the best stimulus for growth and lead to greater results in a shorter span of time.

Mr_Pakistan
Hassan_madni@bodybuilders.com

[Clive Jones]

This routine is what ive been using for awhile now and I believe it works extremely well and I am seeing very good strength gains week to week.

1 warmup set of Standing BB curls w/ straight bar-12 reps
3 sets 4-8 with strict form Standing BB curls w/ straight bar

3 sets 4-8 pullups ( nice and slow, full contraction)

3 sets 4-8 single DB preacher curls ( nice and slow as well, full contraction)

Thats all ya need. try it out.

[mr_pakistan]

How stupid is that? Why 21's and not 18's or 24's? Because there is no reason other than it has been passed along through the ages as a "bicep killer" and an exercise "you can really feel". People continually confuse muscle fatigue with muscle stimulation. Don't fall into that trap because the only thing exercises like that will kill is your progress.

I will not argue that 21's will fatigue your biceps but I will say without a shadow of a doubt, they will not maximally stimulate your biceps to grow. That is because maximum stimulation for growth is achieved by overload, NOT muscle fatigue.

Avoid getting too creative with your training or trying some "advanced techniques" that have no physiological basis. Stick with the low rep system that is 4-6 and basic compound exercises like barbell and dumbbell curls that allow you to achieve maximum overload. That will be the key to bicep growth.

mr_pakistan.

[rizay]

Avoid getting too creative with your training or trying some "advanced techniques" that have no physiological basis. Stick with the low rep system that is 4-6 and basic compound exercises like barbell and dumbbell curls that allow you to achieve maximum overload. That will be the key to bicep growth.

mr_pakistan.Agreed.

Take it from me, desi's have poor genetics for bicep growth...Gotta shock them with heavy weights.

[morphicus]

ezze bar curl 3x8 & 1x10 as heavy as you can with good form. ( 40kg)

Dumbell Preacher curl 3x8 with squeeze at top (24kg dumbells)

Cable curl 3x8-10 ( 75kg ) keep good form.

Hammer curl & cable curl dropset ( 8 hammer curl / drop set 4,4,6,6,12) x2

I superset the whole routine with Triceps.

[the answer]

I have said this before, you must learn what kind of training your body responds to. Everybody reacts to training differently, take the best arms in bodybuiling that of Lee Preist and Kris Dim. Lee Preist trains with heavy weight for 6-8 reps and about 4-5 exercises and 4 sets each, while Kris Dim sticks to a lighter weight and does fewer sets and higher reps like 3 sets of 20 or more reps. The point is this they both have incredible arms and they both train completely different. Put it this way if you are not a pro try different training until you find what works best for you.

[AJbuilder]

Agreed.

Take it from me, desi's have poor genetics for bicep growth...Gotta shock them with heavy weights.


correct term is overload them with heavy weights, not necessarily "shock".

whatever you do with the biceps or any other muscle for that matter, progressive overload that results collectively is priority. Whatever they do, if progressive overload ( be it volume or intensity with respect to RMs) must be there for growth.

[DPNZ]

In my experience I've found that throwing in Brother Curls every second arm workout really shocks the crap outta your bi's.

If you haven't heard of these, they basically work like this:

You and your training partner grab an Ez-Bar and load it with enough weight so that you can both get 10 reps relatively easily. Then you start it off by doing your set of 10 then once finished hand it over immediately to your partner for his set. He does the same then you, then him and so on...

The idea is that you should go until failure, but around 5-7 sets generally fries my biceps.

My arms started really responding when I brought these into my routine.

[morgansd12]

This works well for me, for now.

1.
Hammer curls
Start out with some hammer curls for the bracchialli head (spelling).
Three sets weighted for failure at 12 for warmup, 10 then around 8 reps.

2.
Heavy B-bell curls
I go real heavy for growth, hitting from 4-8 reps trying to use a weight about 5 #'s heavier than the last week. 2-3 sets.

3.
Concentration curls
This is high rep. 2-3 sets, at 12-20 reps. Going for maximum pump and burn. Walk the weights back to the rack, do a few more extra reps before placing them down.

next....

[rizay]

correct term is overload them with heavy weights, not necessarily "shock".

whatever you do with the biceps or any other muscle for that matter, progressive overload that results collectively is priority. Whatever they do, if progressive overload ( be it volume or intensity with respect to RMs) must be there for growth.I don't think it is necessary to point out jargon...Spend that time for an extra couple reps.

[r0dxx]

In my opinion the best rep scheme is ALL 3...A variation of rep schemes is the best for the biceps. For 1 month ill do all 3-6 reps next month ill jump to 10-12 then go back to 6-8 the next month etc...They love the change trust me 18" arms dont lie :)

[AJbuilder]

I don't think it is necessary to point out jargon...Spend that time for an extra couple reps.


Progressive overload is jargon??? It's just a better way of saying "spend that time for an extra couple reps" since progressive overload means just that and only comprise two words.

people get confused with "shock" and overload. It's easy to confuse them. When most use the term "shock" , they think they can magically get the muscle growing but doing something confusing or special, but to really get it to grow, you would have to lift more weight or do more reps with the weight, or in some cases do more sets in the same time period(density). In other words, keep it basic. But there are special little tidbits that one can try at times for variation and specific purposes. In the end, overload is what dictates results.

[bass generator]

i always had trouble with my biceps until i gave up concentrating on heavy barbell curs and switched to dumbell exercises.

my current routine is this
btw,i train with low volume,heavy weights trying to increase the weight or reps each week,if i cant increase the weight or reps for 2 workouts in a row i choose a different exercise and get as strong as possible,progresiveley on that exercise.

anyway to the workout

one arm,supinating dumbell curls 1x12
i like one arm at a time as i can really concentrate on the movement,keeping it slow for a 4+ second negative
after reacing failure i take several deep breaths then try for a few more reps to failure,then a few deep breaths again and as many reps as peossible.

dumbell hammer curls 1x15
i do thes like a concentration curl,elbow braced against inner thigh.
i use the same methot as above,slow negative,deep breaths then reps after failure ect.

thats all i do,progessivley hevier weights are more important than volume to me.

[wolfie5368]

I use them all, if you want to hit your bi's try this,
Warm up with 3 sets of 10-12 reps same weight 20sec rest per set on the barbell put it to the side then get your preacher and the dumbbells for 4 sets of 8-10 1min rest per set then go for the seated dumbbell at 4-6 reps then go get the barbell and hit it for drop sets of 10-12 reps 4 sets :
Gentleman/ladies: if your not bringing you muscle to failure you will NOT recruit muscle fiber slow twich or fast twich... when your so tired you cat do 1 more rep you grow when you make that 1 more rep.........
THank you

[bubba g]

ok here is my contribution.... biceps are a small muscle, compared to back, legs, chest, or triceps. so in my opinion they do not require alot of sets to grow... I have had the most success doing 3 excersizes 2 sets each excersize.... my favorite excersizes for biceps are weighted chin ups, e-z spider curls, and close grip preacher e-z curls. for tempo I explode on the positive and 3 - 6 second negatives....... I warm up with half of the weight I will use on my heavy set.... 2 sets of 10 with that weight.... then go straight to my heavy weight.. no pyramid... once I can get 12 reps on my first set I add weight..... I keep time between sets to 2 minutes.... until I plateau on a weight. then I increase it to 3 minutes.... strict form is very important mainly to avoid injury. but also to acuratly track progress. if you use 100lbs one week with strict form and then use 105 the next week and swing the weight up odds are you are not overloading the muscle as much as you did the previous week using the 100lbs with strict form... though your log book would not reflect that.... and progressive overload is the key to growth.... good luck and keep growing..

[neophyte22]

I voted for 8-10 reps. Personally, I feel as though that this is the most effective for me for my personal goals. Also, the type of exercise with depend on your goal for your biceps. For mass and strength, I will have to say Chin-ups are excellent because it's a compund exercise that makes you work harder. For definition, I'd have to say concentration curls or EZ Bar Curls. These exercises, I found are the simplest yet the most effective. As they say, the simpler the better.

My two cents worth.

[UliqMadiq]

TOPIC: What is the bicep routine you have used that gave you the absolute best results? Also, list any bicep training tips or exercises that you have used that worked for you.

Don't discuss any other topic in this section. ONLY discuss the question above.

The best response will get $50 in credit to use in our online store! The other good responses will be used in an article on the main Bodybuilding.com site, with the poster's forum name listed by it.

------------
EDIT! This week's winners have been chosen!

Here are the results:

1 - AJbuilder
2 - Titania
3 - UliqMadiq

The full article is located at:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/topicoftheweek.htm

It will be feature on BB.com today and tommorrow.

Please fill out the poll at the bottom so that we can put up the next topic. We will start updating this week by week. Thanks for your responses and good luck with the next topic of the week.
------------

Thanks!
Ryan DeLuca
Bodybuilding.com


Thanks very much for selecting me as one of the winners, Ryan and mods. I appreciate it a lot.

[Titania]

Thanks very much for selecting me as one of the winners, Ryan and mods. I appreciate it a lot.
Bump that, UliqMadiq :D
Thanks heaps guys. I had no idea my post had been chosen too until I read UliqMadiq's reply. That's made my day. :D

[Titania]

Great post too, AJbuilder. Very informative. A totally well deserved win. :D

[AJbuilder]

Great post too, AJbuilder. Very informative. A totally well deserved win. :D



thanx!:D:D

[GentlemanBadBoy]

Straight bar curls 6x8
Seated Ez Bar curls 6x8
Seated Alternate Dumbbell curls 6x8
Close Grip Bench Press 6x8
Tricep Pushdowns 6x8
Skull crushers 6x8

I do this once a week it works for my body give it a try if you like

[UliqMadiq]

thanx!:D:D

Absolutely, man!
Out of curiousity, what do you intend to spend your prize money on?

[AJbuilder]

Absolutely, man!
Out of curiousity, what do you intend to spend your prize money on?


probably just ON whey and flax oil, or maybe some psyllium fiber. I've got plenty of creatine and bottles of multis i still haven't used yet, and i'm not that big into fancy supps anyway.

[chionardo]

15,12,10,8,6 reps but not always 5 sets on all exercises, it depends on how I feel, I may only do 2 sets for something if I feel my arms are pumped enough and have been worked enough.

Standing DB Curls to 30Kg

Straight Bar Curls to 45kg

Incline 2 Arm DB Curls to 22.5kg

Wide Grip EZ Bar Preacher Machine Curls (plate loaded) to 20Kg for 10 reps

One I've made up myself - get a flat bench and place it in the middle of the cables (crossovers) put a handle (same as you use for crossovers) onto one side and put it to the bottom if it is adjustable or just put it on the bottom cable if there is one there thats fixed, then sit on the floor with legs under the bench and take the handle and use the bench to put your arm on, it ends up being like a Flat One Arm Cable Preacher exercise.

[Erikpdx]

When I'm doing a Bicep/Back day for example I usually start off with biceps and then move to a back exercise and so on until I finish my day. Is this best or should I be doing all of my bicep exercises first and then move on to the back? thanks.

[MrGrayson]

I am just starting out (about 3 months into it) and 8-10 is the best with the right resistance.

[Veeshmack]

When I'm doing a Bicep/Back day for example I usually start off with biceps and then move to a back exercise and so on until I finish my day. Is this best or should I be doing all of my bicep exercises first and then move on to the back? thanks.

what convinced you to bump a thread from 3 1/2 years ago?

[rickdz]

This principle is actually very simple and anyone with training experience with years of training lifters and Him or Her self (and I'm not talking about some BS personal trainer certif) should know compound exercises which utilize multiple muscle groups low reps. Isolation which exercise single muscles high reps. very simple if you use high reps on compound exercises you' ll get very limited if any results. Use low reps on isolation exercises in time you''ll need joint replacements.

[KingLeonitus]

After reading the first page of this thread, its obvious we all have our own opinion and own experiences in what reps/sets/excercises has yielded them the best gains. I'll throw in my .02....

I feel that there is no 1 best excercise and no such thing as a proper # of sets to live by and stick to while in the gym. People are thinking into this topic way to hard, it's not rocket science. If you lift hard and your workouts are intense, changing up your routine a bit here and there to keep your body guessing, your going to grow, Period! ( metabolism/genetics aside I realize there are some who have a hard time growing).

I personally like sets of 10-12 reps for biceps, but i change my workout month to month. I may do simple 4 x 10-12 workout, or I may superset. I may feel like doing low reps and piling on the weight, or i may feel like throwing a lighter day in there. INTENSITY is the key! Stay aware and don't slack during any part of your set wether on the way up or on the way down with the weights. Watch your form, to many people do a proper curl up, and then let the weight fling back down, or rock and use their shoulder to curl the weight up, this is improper and asking for injury. If the weight your using is too heavy, for GOD SAKES stop trying to impress the dude next to you in the gym ( who is probably laughing at you anyways for looking rediculous at your attempts) Put the weight down and go lighter, start lower and work your way up. Someone using pitiful form and then bragging about the weight they can do irritates me. You will accomplish nothing except looking like an ass using improper form. You need to isolate the muscle your are attempting to tear down, this is the whole point in weight lifting.

[qualitywah]

It is my training philosophy to stay in the rep range of 8-12 for biceps. Often times, I employ several muscle "shocking" techniques such as supersets, drop sets and forced reps to spur new growth. I constantly switch up my training because muscles adapt to training and by switching up the rountine, your muscles can never adapt to any routine. Thus, resulting in your arms never reaching a plateau.

[sunyatasamsara]

Standing curls are king! Reverse pyramid works wonders.