Rate my bicep workout

[heartwork]

Im in the bulking phase, and do each of these exercises every wednesday for 3 sets and 6 reps

Reverse Barbell Curl
Barbell Curl
Cross Body Hammer Curl
Alternate Hammer Curl
Preacher Curl

Doesnt that sound right, do about 4 or 5 exercises per muscle group to make them big?

[wf2tm51]

I would say thats a bit to much, i would do three exercises tops.
Something like this
Barbell Curl 3@12,10,8
DB Curl 3@10-12
Inc Curl 2@10,8 and then grab 50lbs asap after that last set at Inc Curl and hold them untill in the inc position untill you drop them to the ground. This works the forearms and stretches the bicep allowing more blood flow.

However i wouldn't do any of this unless what your doing is giving you great results.

[Da Main Man]

i would opt for a mass builder first - Barbell curls 3 sets of 8 maybe
then maybe some concentration curls, for height
the run the rack with alternating DB curls - OR incline curls

whatever works myfriend, however overloading biceps to the extreme is not the way to go......remember most exersizes your already using them....so give em a break :P

i have seen HUGE armed guys in the gym and some rarely have a dedicated bicep routines.....

[powerman2000]

I don't mean to be rude, but both previous posters are mistaken. The biceps, being a small muscle group, can recover much more quickly than our larger muscle groups. That is just a fact. You can beat the hell outta them, which is what it takes to make them grow, and they come back quickly for more. I think 5 exercises with 3 sets a piece is a very good starting point as far as you volume goes. I would highly recommend that you periodize your reps from one workout to the next. 6 reps 1 week, 12 reps the next, then 8 reps, then 5 reps, then 10 reps. That is just an example of what I am talking about. I train my biceps 2x per week. I also train my triceps and traps 2x per week. Abs and calves also get it 2x per week. There are even valid training protocols such as 'Dual Factor Training' where you will train everything 2x per week without lowering your volume much at all.

[VegasBabyVegas]

I think taht's way, way too much.

I'm a big advocate of doing biceps the same day as back.

do your heavy back work and then 6 sets for biceps after that.

[powerman2000]

Originally Posted by VegasBabyVegas

I think taht's way, way too much.

Please tell me why.

Originally Posted by VegasBabyVegas

I'm a big advocate of doing biceps the same day as back.

I'll agree with you there.

[Da Main Man]

Originally Posted by powerman2000

I don't mean to be rude, but both previous posters are mistaken. The biceps, being a small muscle group, can recover much more quickly than our larger muscle groups. That is just a fact. You can beat the hell outta them, which is what it takes to make them grow, and they come back quickly for more. I think 5 exercises with 3 sets a piece is a very good starting point as far as you volume goes. I would highly recommend that you periodize your reps from one workout to the next. 6 reps 1 week, 12 reps the next, then 8 reps, then 5 reps, then 10 reps. That is just an example of what I am talking about. I train my biceps 2x per week. I also train my triceps and traps 2x per week. Abs and calves also get it 2x per week. There are even valid training protocols such as 'Dual Factor Training' where you will train everything 2x per week without lowering your volume much at all.

sorry i really dont agree with that....

biceps recover fast but also tire very quickly...but they are a small muscle group and should not be worked in isolation more than once a week. NO MORE then 12 sets in your workout....

but hey, try overloading them, and getting very disheartened when they dont change, or even get SMALLER

my opinion....

[powerman2000]

Originally Posted by Da Main Man

sorry i really dont agree with that....

biceps recover fast but also tire very quickly...but they are a small muscle group and should not be worked in isolation more than once a week. NO MORE then 12 sets in your workout....

but hey, try overloading them, and getting very disheartened when they dont change, or even get SMALLER

my opinion....

What does tiring have to do with it? Last time I checked that is how you force your body to grow more muscle tissue, by overloading the fibers. I do 15 to 20 sets every week between 2 workouts and it wasn't until I switched from what you are prescribing that they started to grow again. If a person's diet was right on they'd have to train their biceps at least 4-5 days a week before they'd actually start to get smaller from overtraining them.

[Da Main Man]

Originally Posted by powerman2000

What does tiring have to do with it? Last time I checked that is how you force your body to grow more muscle tissue, by overloading the fibers. I do 15 to 20 sets every week between 2 workouts and it wasn't until I switched from what you are prescribing that they started to grow again. If a person's diet was right on they'd have to train their biceps at least 4-5 days a week before they'd actually start to get smaller from overtraining them.

like i said, my opinion.....you dont agree with me, i dont agree with you.....from what i have read and seen, over training your biceps, more than once a week (im not talking about quads, im not talking about calves,not talking about pecs.....but your biceps is a NO GO

both dorian yates, and Gunter schlierkamp have both on numerous times stated they keep there bicep routine as short as possible, hit them hard, then leave it for a week

QUOTE - Dorian Yates
training twice a week for any body part is MORE than enough for ANY body part, particulary biceps, which is a small muscle group, in fact, to my way of thinking, hitting biceps 2 times a week constitutes overtraining. if you truelly fatigue a muscle during a workout, you really need a week to recuperate adequetly.

he trains his arms for 10 mins a week.

now im not using him as my sole arguement for this, you do a poll of people who actually have thier training methods intact, and have some experiance in muscle mechanics, and the smart ones will tell you, Once a week is plenty, the dickhead keyboard warriors, or those on extra "substances" may disagree, but for the sake of a "newbie" who actually asked the question in the first place, ONCE IS ENOUGH,

good luck with your training, and do some real research.

peace

that dickhead remark wasnt aimed towards you powerman, i respect most of your opinions, just this one, i have studied for a while, coz my arms suck ass, and i need to know why :P

[powerman2000]

Originally Posted by Da Main Man

like i said, my opinion.....you dont agree with me, i dont agree with you.....from what i have read and seen, over training your biceps, more than once a week (im not talking about quads, im not talking about calves,not talking about pecs.....but your biceps is a NO GO

both dorian yates, and Gunter schlierkamp have both on numerous times stated they keep there bicep routine as short as possible, hit them hard, then leave it for a week

QUOTE - Dorian Yates
training twice a week for any body part is MORE than enough for ANY body part, particulary biceps, which is a small muscle group, in fact, to my way of thinking, hitting biceps 2 times a week constitutes overtraining. if you truelly fatigue a muscle during a workout, you really need a week to recuperate adequetly.

he trains his arms for 10 mins a week.

now im not using him as my sole arguement for this, you do a poll of people who actually have thier training methods intact, and have some experiance in muscle mechanics, and the smart ones will tell you, Once a week is plenty, the dickhead keyboard warriors, or those on extra "substances" may disagree, but for the sake of a "newbie" who actually asked the question in the first place, ONCE IS ENOUGH,

good luck with your training, and do some real research.

peace

that dickhead remark wasnt aimed towards you powerman, i respect most of your opinions, just this one, i have studied for a while, coz my arms suck ass, and i need to know why :P

Well my friend, RC hits his biceps 2x per week.

http://www.getbig.com/articles/biceps2.htm

[Da Main Man]

im sure he does, but im also sure he doesnt do it for size, but instead for shapping and getting overall hardness,

my comment again about a newbie beginning a bicep routine for overall mass, 1 day a week is fine....2 days with possability of poor form, and the probability of a newcomer using too much weight will hinder his progress.

heartwork im not having a go at you mate, but the fact your asking the question makes me feel you are relativly new to weight training....as we all are, we learn new things everyday, and we have to adjust to those changes....

hence we have forums, to discuss our point of views and share what experiance and knowledge we have.

[micky c]

thats too much, the bicep is a small muscle and is easily overworked and not forgettin u work it on back days. stick to 2 main exercises and a third exercise if need be

[Big_Jake]

Originally Posted by VegasBabyVegas

I think taht's way, way too much.

I'm a big advocate of doing biceps the same day as back.

do your heavy back work and then 6 sets for biceps after that.

If you do biceps with your back you wont be able to hit your biceps as hard if you did them with like your triceps since tricep moves won't tire out your biceps like back exercises will. I used to do back and biceps together and I didn't get as much progress in my biceps as I wanted. Then I switched it so that I did biceps with triceps and my arms got much better progress.

[Big_Jake]

Originally Posted by powerman2000

Well my friend, RC hits his biceps 2x per week.

http://www.getbig.com/articles/biceps2.htm

But that's RC. He is an IFBB Pro, his routine should be different than ours. He doesn't train for size anymore, its all about density, hardness, and definition for him. He doesn't need to train biceps 2x a week to get good results. Doing high volume, intense training once per week is enough for a beginner.

[adoniscomplex]

can someone explain how you train for density vs size
this seems like the toning myth to me

[monkeydan]

Something to do with sarcoplasmic vs myofibrillar hypertrophy?

Anyone?

[VegasBabyVegas]

Originally Posted by Big_Jake

If you do biceps with your back you wont be able to hit your biceps as hard if you did them with like your triceps since tricep moves won't tire out your biceps like back exercises will. I used to do back and biceps together and I didn't get as much progress in my biceps as I wanted. Then I switched it so that I did biceps with triceps and my arms got much better progress.

I disagree. I used to do bis and tris together, I feel I get better results doing bis and back together.

I'm gonna cite this article as my backup on this:

http://www.ironaddicts.com/forums/sh...ghlight=biceps

After your back work is the time to do biceps. People try to do biceps after back and after they find out they can’t move much weight then, instead of coming to the conclusion that their biceps are already worked and just need to be finished, they usually move them to a completely different day. That means a couple days later, BEFORE they are recovered, they are hammered again. Now I am not saying this method does not work well for some. Because it does. But if you are having problems getting them to grow, it’s likely because of overuse, not under use.

[Jesin]

wish i had 4 thumbs....cos id give that 4 thumbs down.

6-8sets MAX

DB/BB Curl
Hammer Curl
Incline Curl

[WAYSOUTH]

Originally Posted by wf2tm51

I would say thats a bit to much, i would do three exercises tops.
Something like this
Barbell Curl 3@12,10,8
DB Curl 3@10-12
Inc Curl 2@10,8 and then grab 50lbs asap after that last set at Inc Curl and hold them untill in the inc position untill you drop them to the ground. This works the forearms and stretches the bicep allowing more blood flow.

However i wouldn't do any of this unless what your doing is giving you great results.

My thoughts exactly.

[drjjg]

4-5 heavy sets(after warmup) is PLENTY.

You could do 2 sets of barbell curls, then 2 sets of alternating DB curls. A set of hammer curls every now and then would be fine.

[heartwork]

thanks for all the replies. You guys prefer incline curls over preacher curls? Dont they do essentially the same thing?

[adoniscomplex]

Originally Posted by monkeydan

Something to do with sarcoplasmic vs myofibrillar hypertrophy?

Anyone?

i honestly dont think the orignal poster is correct in even saying its possible
have you ever heard some one knowledgeable say they are training for defintion ..no
they say they are cutting , which are too diff things cutting brings out defintion but when you are doing it you are not training for it

i would like to learn more about the diff types of hypertorphy though
i am reading that hypertorphy-research page right now

[heartwork]

Heres a diff question - since the biceps are a small muscle, most people are suggesting 3 different exercieses at 2-3 sets per exercise. Since a muscle group like your chest is much bigger than biceps, should you do more than 2-3 exercises to get optimal growth?

[Da Main Man]

Originally Posted by adoniscomplex

can someone explain how you train for density vs size
this seems like the toning myth to me

it does, but ronnie trains different then he used to, he uses the higher rep range like he stated in the above link.....

Pro's train different to the rest of us Period!

they have the size, they have the time, they have the "gear" they have the support, they also DONT have to go to fukin work GRRRR lol

so dont model your workout to what the pro's do.....spend the time and effort in the gym, see what works for you, and continue to fine tune and upgrade your routine.

and as for this bulking, then cutting nonsense? (just kidding :P)

Lift Hard MOFO!!!

[paingame]

Originally Posted by Jesin

wish i had 4 thumbs....cos id give that 4 thumbs down.

6-8sets MAX

DB/BB Curl
Hammer Curl
Incline Curl

what about chin ups they would have to be the greatest bicep builder.

[mp906]

Unless youre on the juice that is too much.

[powerman2000]

Originally Posted by mp906

Unless youre on the juice that is too much.

That is a popular myth that I used to believe too.

Lets do this, why don't we all take a pic of our biceps and give our measurements and see just who has the biggest and best bicep among the posters in this thread. If you don't have at least an 18" upper arm you better just bow out gracefully.

[mp906]

I'm about 18"

I have tried high volume. It does not work, for me.

[Da Main Man]

Originally Posted by powerman2000

That is a popular myth that I used to believe too.

Lets do this, why don't we all take a pic of our biceps and give our measurements and see just who has the biggest and best bicep among the posters in this thread. If you don't have at least an 18" upper arm you better just bow out gracefully.

your inabilty to listen to what everyone....EVERYONE else has said and the fact your dont change your opinion is great!

However

genetics have a lot to do with how big you say your arms are, your age might say you have been training a long time......but for the sake of the arguement, once a week is enough 6-9 sets max for beginner to intermidiate, let it rest now.

you keep training you way, let everyone else train there way.

peace out, good luck with the bulking mate, go with what seems the most consistent.

[powerman2000]

Originally Posted by Da Main Man

.
genetics have a lot to do with how big you say your arms are, your age might say you have been training a long time......but for the sake of the arguement, once a week is enough 6-9 sets max for beginner to intermidiate, let it rest now.

You're right.

I can't ever seem to get my mindset out of advanced mode. Been doin this since H.S.