how much is too much for biceps?

[yoamocuy]

Hey, I'm tryin to put together my bicep routine and was wondering how many sets total is good to go for? I was thinking of doing 3 sets of standing barbell curls, 3 sets of hammer curls, 3 sets of concentration curls, and possibly 3 sets of french curls. I'm not sure if I should add in the french curls or not because of the total amount of reps I'd be doing. Any thoughts?

[serval]

i think you should be good with the first 9 sets... i believe its only at the intermediate-advanced or advanced level that 12 sets are needed... i consider myself to be at the intermediate level and 9 sets works for me

[glwanabe]

Are you doing a split or a wholebody? Give more info.

I only do 1 movement for 3 sets for both bi's and tri's during a session.

[serval]

good question... i should clarify.... i do 9 sets total, 2 times a week

[yoamocuy]

I do biceps with triceps once a week. I was doing it with back twice a week but when I did it with back my biceps would already be tired by the time I got to my bicep workout. Now I just do back on a day of its own and use it as a secondary bicep workout

[BritishSoldier]

Wow why do new guys always get such a hardon for biceps, looking at your pic i'd recommend adding overall mass to your frame. People always seem so damn focused on the minutae when they're skinny and weak.

[zephed56]

Why are you curling when you're not even doing chinups? Priorities.

EDIT: I'm pretty sure britsoldier can curl your DL weights.

[jgreystoke]

Originally Posted by yoamocuy

Hey, I'm tryin to put together my bicep routine and was wondering how many sets total is good to go for?

I guess you are on a split. Not necessary at this stage of your development. But a good upper/lower split is great for both results, and for flexibility. Anything more complex is a waste of time until you are advanced. Then you can do what you damn well like.

Originally Posted by yoamocuy

I was thinking of doing 3 sets of standing barbell curls, 3 sets of hammer curls, 3 sets of concentration curls, and possibly 3 sets of french curls. I'm not sure if I should add in the french curls or not because of the total amount of reps I'd be doing. Any thoughts?

9 sets is perfect.

You don't have to mix it up to hit the bis "from every angle". That's great when your bis are already big and strong.

If you want to get some strength and size, which really do go together, in your bis, why not do lots of sets of just strict standing EZ curls. Best done with your back to rack or wall. That means you are not powering up the bar with body english. Your bis have to do all the work.

You can use low reps such as

8-10 sets x 3 reps

6-8 sets x 4 reps

5-6 sets x 5 reps

after warmups.

When you get every rep in every set in good form, you reward yourself by increasing the load 5lbs next session. That's the progression that will get you big guns. If you don't get every rep in good form, you punish yourself by keeping the poundage the same next session. That's the key to progress.

So you're not just messing around with the program with no concern for POUNDAGE PROGRESSION.

You're not going to see much in the way of big guns at a light bodyweight. Hence the old joke, if you want big arms, squat!

If you concentrate on poundage progression, as suggested above, in the big six exercises in your profile above your goals, you should pack a lot of mass all over, including your arms. The one caveat is that usually volume is kept very low in deadlift. Something like ramping sets of 3-5 reps, increasing poundage every rep, and avoiding failure. Poor form is much more dangerous in deadlift than heavy weight.

I like to superset curls with tri pushdowns. Or hammer curls with close grip bench. Or close grip chins with parallel bar dips.

Remember that tris contribute TWICE as much size to upper arm as bis. So hammer them as described for bis.

If you are not handling a lot more weight in curls for your favorite rep range next year, how the hell can you expect better biceps? Take the long term view. My forearms are now bigger than my neck and arms used to be. And I'm an old codger, avoid failure like the plague, and usually keep total volume low.

Best of luck.

[ictheway]

Originally Posted by jgreystoke

I guess you are on a split. Not necessary at this stage of your development. But a good upper/lower split is great for both results, and for flexibility. Anything more complex is a waste of time until you are advanced. Then you can do what you damn well like.



9 sets is perfect.

You don't have to mix it up to hit the bis "from every angle". That's great when your bis are already big and strong.

If you want to get some strength and size, which really do go together, in your bis, why not do lots of sets of just strict standing EZ curls. Best done with your back to rack or wall. That means you are not powering up the bar with body english. Your bis have to do all the work.

You can use low reps such as

8-10 sets x 3 reps

6-8 sets x 4 reps

5-6 sets x 5 reps

after warmups.

When you get every rep in every set in good form, you reward yourself by increasing the load 5lbs next session. That's the progression that will get you big guns. If you don't get every rep in good form, you punish yourself by keeping the poundage the same next session. That's the key to progress.

So you're not just messing around with the program with no concern for POUNDAGE PROGRESSION.

You're not going to see much in the way of big guns at a light bodyweight. Hence the old joke, if you want big arms, squat!

If you concentrate on poundage progression, as suggested above, in the big six exercises in your profile above your goals, you should pack a lot of mass all over, including your arms. The one caveat is that usually volume is kept very low in deadlift. Something like ramping sets of 3-5 reps, increasing poundage every rep, and avoiding failure. Poor form is much more dangerous in deadlift than heavy weight.

I like to superset curls with tri pushdowns. Or hammer curls with close grip bench. Or close grip chins with parallel bar dips.

Remember that tris contribute TWICE as much size to upper arm as bis. So hammer them as described for bis.

If you are not handling a lot more weight in curls for your favorite rep range next year, how the hell can you expect better biceps? Take the long term view. My forearms are now bigger than my neck and arms used to be. And I'm an old codger, avoid failure like the plague, and usually keep total volume low.

Best of luck.

This ^^

[happymatei]

Originally Posted by BritishSoldier

Wow why do new guys always get such a hardon for biceps, looking at your pic i'd recommend adding overall mass to your frame. People always seem so damn focused on the minutae when they're skinny and weak.

!!!!!!!!
focus on compound moves, forget these little things
the best gains i had in my arms were when i wasnt doing them directly

[glwanabe]

Originally Posted by jgreystoke

I guess you are on a split. Not necessary at this stage of your development. But a good upper/lower split is great for both results, and for flexibility. Anything more complex is a waste of time until you are advanced. Then you can do what you damn well like.



9 sets is perfect.

You don't have to mix it up to hit the bis "from every angle". That's great when your bis are already big and strong.

If you want to get some strength and size, which really do go together, in your bis, why not do lots of sets of just strict standing EZ curls. Best done with your back to rack or wall. That means you are not powering up the bar with body english. Your bis have to do all the work.

You can use low reps such as

8-10 sets x 3 reps

6-8 sets x 4 reps

5-6 sets x 5 reps

after warmups.

When you get every rep in every set in good form, you reward yourself by increasing the load 5lbs next session. That's the progression that will get you big guns. If you don't get every rep in good form, you punish yourself by keeping the poundage the same next session. That's the key to progress.

So you're not just messing around with the program with no concern for POUNDAGE PROGRESSION.

You're not going to see much in the way of big guns at a light bodyweight. Hence the old joke, if you want big arms, squat!

If you concentrate on poundage progression, as suggested above, in the big six exercises in your profile above your goals, you should pack a lot of mass all over, including your arms. The one caveat is that usually volume is kept very low in deadlift. Something like ramping sets of 3-5 reps, increasing poundage every rep, and avoiding failure. Poor form is much more dangerous in deadlift than heavy weight.

I like to superset curls with tri pushdowns. Or hammer curls with close grip bench. Or close grip chins with parallel bar dips.

Remember that tris contribute TWICE as much size to upper arm as bis. So hammer them as described for bis.

If you are not handling a lot more weight in curls for your favorite rep range next year, how the hell can you expect better biceps? Take the long term view. My forearms are now bigger than my neck and arms used to be. And I'm an old codger, avoid failure like the plague, and usually keep total volume low.

Best of luck.

I disagree with the volume for this person at this stage. 9 sets is appropriate for a more advanced lifter.

He should be working on big mass building moves:

squats
deads
rows
presses
bench
dips
chins

Utilizing the fact that his arms are already worked hard from these movements, he could simply add 2-3 sets of one move per session for Bi's, and Tri's. Thats plenty of work if he puts forth the intensity level required.

I work one hour a day, 3X a week, and see positive growth. I'm not saying splits are bad. There just not appropriate at this time for this person. IMO

See Grims, or Allpro's routines for something that would work well. Grimms has direct bicep included.

More is not always the answer.

[JeffKep]

Yea I used to blast my bis before I knew that triceps were the key to bigger arms. Ive always had trouble getting my arms to grow but since I started eating way more and switched my routine, Ive seen some pretty noticeable differences. Either way you gotta do pull ups. They are a must. I do 4 sets of weighted pull ups. But try them hanging from a straight bar, if they don't have one, use a smith machine and just move the bar up so you can hang. Keeps your hands close together and have your palms facing your face. If you extend fully you will involve more back, I do this just because that is how I was always shown to do pull ups, but you don't have to go all the way down and you should still blast your bis pretty well. Do the last set w/o weight and do as many as you can. Hope this helps man. Don't forget to hit the triceps.

[Hut*Hut]

Originally Posted by zephed56

Why are you curling when you're not even doing chinups? Priorities.

.^.

[james0566]

Originally Posted by serval

good question... i should clarify.... i do 9 sets total, 2 times a week

too much.

[yoamocuy]

Thanx for all the advice. I'll try some of it and see how it goes.

[serval]

yeah ur not going to get ur arms to grow just with compound moves man.... biceps are small muscle groups, they need volume... they need isolation after u hit them with a compound move

and theres not problem working them after a back workout even if they are fatiqued... in fact, it might be even better for a beginner to do it this way because u might be unable to fatique them sufficiently if u were working them out by themselves