[Help] Unable to Workout Biceps Effectively

[GosuSheep]

I have been lifting weights for over two years and feel that I have gotten a reasonable understanding of the fundamentals of exercise. One area that I feel I'm lacking is pushing my bicep workouts to the max. I always do biceps and triceps together and tend to spend probably 60%/40% on biceps/triceps respectively. After every single arm workout, however, my triceps are always deliciously sore, and my biceps feel as if I hadn't worked them at all.

Here is an example of what I might do for biceps:

• Warmup of 40lb barbell bicep curls
• ~12 reps of 50lb
• ~10 reps of 60lb
• ~7 reps of 70lb
• ~5 reps of 80
• ~2 reps of 90
• Dropset: ~3 for 60lb

I would then do similar progressions for the rest of my exercises. Some I'd pick depending on my mood would be:

• Reverse grip barbell curls
• Hammer curls
• Preacher curls
• Concentration curls

I always push myself to failure, doing only partial reps on the last 2.

I know that workout is not extreme, but here's where I'm confused. I don't work my triceps any more rigorously. In fact, I'd say I'm far more lax in the effort. But my triceps are always more tight during the workouts, and my triceps are always way more sore for a couple days after.

Because bicep workouts have always felt like they give lack-luster results, I have tried many different ways of doing a single rep. 1-second positives with 2-to-3-second negatives, 1-second up and down, 3-second up and down. Sometimes with what I'd say is perfect form but lighter weight, sometimes throwing my body around a little bit, but doing heavier weight than I should be able to do. The results always appear to be the same: my biceps just don't feel like I've worked them out enough.

Can anyone provide any suggestions or insight to how to alleviate this issue? I want my biceps to burnnnnnnnnnn after a workout. Not tingle a bit.

I know I'm not giving much information, but I hope people can identify with my situation or recognize something that might be happening.

Thanks for your time.

[Lowpala]

Quit focusing on your biceps and start doing some heavy pulling exercises.

Feeling sore is not an indicator of a good workout.

[InsanelyFit]

You are probably swinging from the shoulders. Are you using full ROM? Arms straight at the bottom? Curling up as your elbows allow you to?

[hanger1989]

Biceps are quite a hard muscle group to get Doms in. I find I get it a lot better in my truces to. Doms though aren't an indication of a successful or unsuccessful workout. So I would quit worrying about wether you get Doms.

I think your doing far to much volume for your biceps. Plus your doing low rep work aswell which is not a normal way to train biceps.

I train biceps after back twice a week. I do 3 sets of regular curls for 10 reps each, and 3 sets of hammer curls for 10 reps each to.

More doesn't always mean more, your biceps are only a small muscle group, so doing all the work your doing on them could be counter productive. You also don't wanna have your reps any lower than 8 IMO. Quit doing the drop sets too, all your doing is beating them down to much if your doing them all the time. So they won't recover fully for your next workout.

[GosuSheep]

Thanks for the replies.

@Lowpala: I typically train Back individually. Would you suggest mixing back and biceps in this case?

@InsanelyFit: Most of the time, I focus on form. Sometimes I go out of form to get more weight in, but more often than not, my form is in check. Elbows in correct spot, full range of motion, bending at the elbow only, etc. I don't think it's my form.

@hanger1989: For quite some time, I stayed in the 10-12 rep range. It is for this reason that I have decided to mix in higher weight with lower reps; I feel that my bicep strength is a little lacking and I'd like to improve it. Like all other muscle groups, I think it is important to have a variety of rep ranges and from some research, I think my rep count and drop set methods are reasonable. Furthermore, as stated earlier, I focused on 10-12 reps for a good chunk of time and received similar results. No DOMS.

Although I understand DOMS is not an indication of a successful workout, I feel that it's somewhat safe to assume that I likely got a better deal out of a workout if I'm a little sore rather than not sore at all. I suppose I will keep searching for a way to get that soreness.

[Coccodrillo747]

Although I understand DOMS is not an indication of a successful workout, I feel that it's somewhat safe to assume that I likely got a better deal out of a workout if I'm a little sore rather than not sore at all. I suppose I will keep searching for a way to get that soreness.

This is self-contradictory, since by definition it is an indication of success if you a get a better deal.
If you want more soreness try getting less sleep & crappier nutrition.