Biceps won't grow

[caustin1986]

So I started my "journey" at the end of March. I workout 5 days a week, and eat a great bodybuilding diet every day. I'm getting the proper amount of protein, good fats, carbs, etc. Everything is growing EXCEPT my biceps! The one muscle I want to grow the most has done absolutely nothing for 1-2 months. My chest has grown about an inch and a half, my shoulders grew about an inch in a half, my calves about a half inch, and neck about a half inch. Why aren't my biceps growing with them? I don't over-train, as I only work each muscle group one day a week. My bicep workout is this:

Concentration Curls: 2 warmup sets 10-12 reps (moderate weight)
1 working set 6-8 reps or until failure

Preacher Curls: 2 w/u sets 10-12 reps (moderate weight)
1 working set 6-8 reps until failure

Barbell Curls: 2 w/u sets 10-12 reps (moderate weight)
1 working set 6-8 reps until failure

Hammer Curls: 2 w/u sets 10-12 reps (moderate weight)
1 working set 6-8 reps until failure


I always focus on the negative pull, and practice good form. I don't understand what I'm doing wrong with the biceps. They've been at 13.5 inches for 2 months now...any help?

[Sinergy2010]

Layne NOrtons Hypertrophy workout Produces great results all around.
Gregg plitts BIcepBlowout (hes annoying as hell but his bicep routine is killer)


Eat more, work out harder. Focus on the squeeze at the peak of the curl, Slow and controlled reps, form is god.

[caustin1986]

stupid question but when people say squeeze at the peak of the curl, does that mean to flex the bicep at the top or squeeze with your hand lol...ill check those workouts too. Thanks

[GBuch]

stupid question but when people say squeeze at the peak of the curl, does that mean to flex the bicep at the top or squeeze with your hand lol...ill check those workouts too. Thanks

Squeeze your bicep at the peak. Some people feel the need to tighten their grip, personally I don't find a difference either way.

Regardless, you should really be feeling it in the bicep when you squeeze.

[caustin1986]

Squeeze your bicep at the peak. Some people feel the need to tighten their grip, personally I don't find a difference either way.

Regardless, you should really be feeling it in the bicep when you squeeze.

So either way, flex, or tighten your grip at the peak right? So "the peak"....Where exactly is the peak? I tend to bring the dumbbell, or barbell, all the way to my chest/shoulder area. Is that the peak, or should I not lift that high?

PS: Can't find either of those workouts on youtube

[lectric_bill]

My football coach said his program in college for arms was supersetting bis and tris with preacher curls as heavy as possible for 8 reps and then heavy tri pulldowns for 8 for 3 sets with no rest. Adjust your weight as you get tired. Then do concentration curls to finish them off.

Worked well when I did it.

[selffirst]

Max out your weight and reduce your reps....Feed dem muscles by hittin your protein numbers...Lastly...be patient......Self

[magicdustinc]

My football coach said his program in college for arms was supersetting bis and tris with preacher curls as heavy as possible for 8 reps and then heavy tri pulldowns for 8 for 3 sets with no rest. Adjust your weight as you get tired. Then do concentration curls to finish them off.

Worked well when I did it.

I am going to try this.

[grunts_n_th_gym]

go to failure, then when you are at failure do negative reps. I have the same problem but I have finally seen some growth with failure and negative reps.

[caustin1986]

go to failure, then when you are at failure do negative reps. I have the same problem but I have finally seen some growth with failure and negative reps.

I've been doing that for a month or 2 now. Basically modeling my bicep workout after the Dorian Yates Blood and Guts training. Guess I have to just keep doing what I'm doing and hope for results.

[patrick4588]

triceps make up more of your arm that bicep. Maybe try hittin them harder

[caustin1986]

triceps make up more of your arm that bicep. Maybe try hittin them harder

My tri's seemed more cut/defined, but you bring up a good point. If my arm isn't getting bigger, it's my triceps AND biceps that aren't growing.

[mazza22]

Have you tried 21s I find they work for me .

[CHRIS925]

1) Eat

2) Overload with high weight / low(er) reps

3) Give it time

4) Thank me later

[drudixon]

You could gain more size on your arms doing starting strength. At 163 lbs you shouldn't be doing a 5 day training split. Look at HST / Staring Strength / Bill Starr. My arms went from 11.5" to 16" doing none or very little bicep isolation work.

[caustin1986]

You could gain more size on your arms doing starting strength. At 163 lbs you shouldn't be doing a 5 day training split. Look at HST / Staring Strength / Bill Starr. My arms went from 11.5" to 16" doing none or very little bicep isolation work.

I'll be sure to check that out.

1) Eat

2) Overload with high weight / low(er) reps

3) Give it time

4) Thank me later

K I'll be sure to send you a thank you card haha

Have you tried 21s I find they work for me .

What exactly are 21's? I've heard of them but never really looked into it. I'll have to do some research.

[Argetlam101]

It was said earlier but supersets and 21's have worked for me...

[Shrederator]

So I started my "journey" at the end of March. I workout 5 days a week, and eat a great bodybuilding diet every day. I'm getting the proper amount of protein, good fats, carbs, etc.

First off, please share your daily caloric intake as well as your macro nutrient requirements. What you believe to be a "great" diet could actually be not so great.

Second, are you training in a caloric excess?

Third, you have been at it for 2 months, you need to give it more time... but you should have seen some slight results by now.

Fourth, if your avi is recent, I would almost suggest doing a program such as Starting Strength to build a better base. You don't need to be in the gym wasting time doing 80 sets of curls.

If you truly have everything nailed down, the biceps will come.

[jjh4]

try weight chin ups...worked pretty well for me. Also, eat more...ive read it takes ~12-15lbs of total body weight gained to increase arms by 1 inch

[caustin1986]

First off, please share your daily caloric intake as well as your macro nutrient requirements. What you believe to be a "great" diet could actually be not so great.

Second, are you training in a caloric excess?

Third, you have been at it for 2 months, you need to give it more time... but you should have seen some slight results by now.

Fourth, if your avi is recent, I would almost suggest doing a program such as Starting Strength to build a better base. You don't need to be in the gym wasting time doing 80 sets of curls.

If you truly have everything nailed down, the biceps will come.

Here's a typical day of food for me:

Meal 1: 4 whole eggs, 1 piece whole wheat toast.

Meal 2: 6oz Talapia Fillet, 1 cup whole grain brown rice, half cup broccoli. With a Tbspn. Olive Oil.

Post W/O: 6oz lean chicken breast, 1 cup brown rice, 2/3 cup mixed vegetables.

Meal 4: 6oz lean steak, 1 cup pasta, half cup blackberries, Tbspn. Olive Oil.

Meal 5: 6oz Talapia Fillet, 1 cup brown rice.

Meal 6: 8oz Flank Steak, 2 cups salad.

Meal 7: 6oz Chicken, 1 cup pasta.

Right before bed: Half cup blackberries, 1 slice White bread.

Which translates to this:

Calories:2,952 Carbs:299g Fat:71g Protein:277g Cholest:1,326mg

Sodium:1,880mg Sugars:85g Fiber:23g

[Shrederator]

Here's a typical day of food for me:

blahblah

Calories:2,952 Carbs:299g Fat:71g Protein:277g Cholest:1,326mg

Sodium:1,880mg Sugars:85g Fiber:23g

Fat is borderline low... I would up those at least to 75g (I personally like more). Just adjust your protein intake to allow for the fat and go with that.

At what rate are you gaining weight?

[caustin1986]

Fat is borderline low... I would up those at least to 75g (I personally like more). Just adjust your protein intake to allow for the fat and go with that.

At what rate are you gaining weight?

My weight has been all over the place. If you look at my chart, I started at 165, went down to 162, and up and down, up and down, etc. Today I weigh 166.6 lbs. I weigh myself the same time every day (first thing in the AM) and eat right about the same amount of food and at the same times daily.

[cameronsutor]

I'm no trainer, so take my advice as my unprofessional opinion. With that said, its probably not necessary to do warmup sets for each exercise (as long as you are working the same muscle - I usually do a compound movement first, with 2 warmup sets) - do a couple of warmup sets for the first exercise and then 2 or 3 working sets for each exercise thereafter. I also take a little from the concept of fst-7 and stretch and/or flex in between sets. I would also recommend doing more compound movements (exercises) to build size - 21's, alternating dumbbell curls (regular or hammer; standing or seated), and barbell curl (better contraction at the top compared to a ez-bar) are some good ones. You said your food is in check, so I'll leave that alone. Rest is also an important factor, but you'll have to determine that by how your body responds. Good luck.

[caustin1986]

I'm no trainer, so take my advice as my unprofessional opinion. With that said, its probably not necessary to do warmup sets for each exercise (as long as you are working the same muscle - I usually do a compound movement first, with 2 warmup sets) - do a couple of warmup sets for the first exercise and then 2 or 3 working sets for each exercise thereafter. I also take a little from the concept of fst-7 and stretch and/or flex in between sets. I would also recommend doing more compound movements (exercises) to build size - 21's, alternating dumbbell curls (regular or hammer; standing or seated), and barbell curl (better contraction at the top compared to a ez-bar) are some good ones. You said your food is in check, so I'll leave that alone. Rest is also an important factor, but you'll have to determine that by how your body responds. Good luck.

Good advice...Rep'd. I need to do some research about 21's, super sets, etc. I hear ya on the warm up set thing too. I just missed that on the Blood and Guts trainer when Yates said you only do warmup's on the first exercise haha. It makes more sense because you're pushing the muscle harder, and to failure faster. Yeah, I noticed I get alot more of a pump with the barbell curl than any other exercise. Preachers aren't really doing much for me as far as a pump so I think I'll drop that from the routine for a few weeks. I'll probably go with Barbell curls, concentration curls, alternating curls, and 21's (once I look into exactly what those are haha) Thanks man.

[drummaboyyyy]

So I started my "journey" at the end of March. My chest has grown about an inch and a half, my shoulders grew about an inch in a half, my calves about a half inch, and neck about a half inch.

Did anyone not catch this?

[caustin1986]

Did anyone not catch this?

Sorry, had the dates wrong. I started at the end of February not March. Is that impossible to see those results? Each time I've been measured it's been by a personal trainer here on base. I highly doubt he screwed up that bad. I even went home and had my wife measure to double check. Then again, the guy is a Marine so ya never know...JK but had to throw that out there since I saw you're a Marine. I'm Navy so you know how that goes haha

[drummaboyyyy]

Where are you stationed at squiddy?

Looks to me like you're e-statin. unless you on dat celltech an have a fake avi I don't see those results possible.

[Cbrennan93]

Push your biceps beyond failure by incorporating drop sets, forced reps or partial reps to your sets.

[ectobruh]

try different workouts. mine stopped for a while but after my deload week, i started to do triceps on cables with heavy sets to fail and pump status was intense. also try other isolation exercises with curing outward, inward,etc. like it's probably because your arms are so used to the same movements. ex: i'll do regular hammer curls, then on different sets make patterns with the weights but keep the same reps.

[Uberknee]

Try this instead:

4*EZ or Barbell Curls 8-12
4*DB Curls 8-12
2*Hammer Curls 8-12

You should be struggling to hit the 12th rep, especially on your last set or 2 of an exercise. If you can get all 4 sets with good form then move up in weight. Working with low volumes for small muscle groups like bis isn't nearly as effective as higher volume work for me.