No more curls, chin-ups for Biceps?

[kidkurious]

It's been said all the time that close-grip chin-ups work the biceps.

I've been doing this for a while, giving me a chance to take off isolaiton exercises and add more compund exercises.

However, I feel no soreness in my biceps. I get soreness from my lats, upper back, and forearms, but not my biceps.

I do the exercise with full ROM.

Am I doing something wrong? why do my other muslces get sore, but not my biceps?

Thanks

[superfunk]

I think your situation is pretty normal. My biceps never get sore either, i think they just repair quicker than other bodyparts.

Bodyparts for me that never get any soreness after training them: Bi's, calves, abs and side shoulders.

All the rest of my body gets quite sore after a workout.

[ryuten]

soreness does not equal growth.

[JCVP]

Honestly, I have found normal grip Chins to do more for my biceps than close-grip chins. I think close-grip chins are technically more of an isolator for the biceps, but they only focus on the outer section, which is where you don't feel the peak.

[BodybuildingMd]

Yes it is true soreness is generally not a good indication of muscle growth.

I do find it strange, however, that many people on this site prefer to not do any direct bicep movements whatsoever. What's wrong with some barbell curls or alternating curls? You can't build big biceps without doing a single curl. Well I suppose it is possible but definately not very efficient. Don't try to reinvent the wheel. Do your curls.

Keep the chins, fine, but add in some direct bicep mass builders such as barbell curl or alternating dumbell curls.

[kethnaab]

the idea is that the beginners want to do 4 different exercises for their biceps week in, week out, and as a result, never focus on the bodyparts that matter.

nothing wrong with single joint exercises, but there is something wrong with doing 16 sets for biceps and 12 for back, if you see what i'm saying.

[mardydagymjunky]

isnt the top half of the motion the major part where the bicep gets activated, so maybe just doing half reps would be more efficient for bicep growth??

[aiwass]

Chins are great for biceps, but you should still be doing some kind of curling movement as well.

[kidkurious]

Well.. I've been doing the exercise with different grips and still don't feel anything in my biceps.

Since soreness doesnt = to growth/progress, does that mean I should still expect progress from my biceps from doing the chin-ups?

[FarEastBeast]

Well.. I've been doing the exercise with different grips and still don't feel anything in my biceps.

Since soreness doesnt = to growth/progress, does that mean I should still expect progress from my biceps from doing the chin-ups?

Not necessarily. Everyone's different. Some guys can get big biceps from chinups, but they probably have good genetics for biceps. Ronnie Coleman says he built most of his from doing deadlifts when he started as a powerlifter. I think guys that grow big arms from chinups are mostly pulling with their arms and the price is back development. Focus on chins and pullups for back and curls for arms, that way all your bases are covered.

[rkh_nz]

hold the rep at full contraction for as long as possible. try wide and close grip

[Dominik]

It's been said all the time that close-grip chin-ups work the biceps.

I've been doing this for a while, giving me a chance to take off isolaiton exercises and add more compund exercises.

However, I feel no soreness in my biceps. I get soreness from my lats, upper back, and forearms, but not my biceps.

I do the exercise with full ROM.

Am I doing something wrong? why do my other muslces get sore, but not my biceps?

Like the others have said, I wouldn't get too caught up in temporary effects like delayed soreness. I've always preferred shoulder width underhand and hammer grips, and when I go close I like using the V-shaped chinning handle (hammer grip) which I slip over the chinning bar, but what you could try is doing partials where you contract the lats and then concentrate on the upper part of the movement for reps. Another idea is doing higher reps, like 10-12. Don't be afraid to experiment there.

If all that fails, there's no harm in throwing in a few sets of curls to finish them off.

[Uriel_da_man]

Chins are great for biceps, but you should still be doing some kind of curling movement as well.

^^^^

Also, if you're gonna use a compound as your biceps builder, chins are waaaaaay overrated. Underhand rows will build those bis much better.

[vegHead]

im confused do you mean you feel no soreness in the bi's while doing them? or the next day? I never have sore bi's the next day but while doing chins my bis burn.

[Train Hard]

^^^^

Also, if you're gonna use a compound as your biceps builder, chins are waaaaaay overrated. Underhand rows will build those bis much better.

underhand rows??

[DonnieHatfield]

I always do Deadlifts first and foremost, then sets of Wide Grip Pullups, and then regular grip chin ups (maybe a lil closer than shoulder with to ephasize BI's) then I hit Barbell Rows, One Arm Rows, and usually close grip curl or reverse curl...10-12 with 4 sets all the way around. Does the trick for me.

[Uriel_da_man]

underhand rows??

Yeah. Like bent-over rows using an underhand grip. Or cable rows using a straight bar attachment and an underhand grip.

[M4A1 Widowmaker]

At the peak of your chin-up, squeeze your bicep as hard as you can just as you would with any type of bicep curl.

[KopyKat]

Not necessarily. Everyone's different. Some guys can get big biceps from chinups, but they probably have good genetics for biceps. Ronnie Coleman says he built most of his from doing deadlifts when he started as a powerlifter. I think guys that grow big arms from chinups are mostly pulling with their arms and the price is back development. Focus on chins and pullups for back and curls for arms, that way all your bases are covered.

This is a very good post, i would love to comment:

"Everyone's different. Some guys can get big biceps from chinups, but they probably have good genetics for biceps."

Very true, i also think that depending on their body's structure (posture), it can either be very easy to put their biceps in a mechanical advantage, or that they just grow way beyond the rest because of a muscle fibre type that is responding very well to the rep range/volume they choose. 2 factors can be looked at there.

"I think guys that grow big arms from chinups are mostly pulling with their arms and the price is back development. Focus on chins and pullups for back and curls for arms, that way all your bases are covered."

I agree once again. This is more true than most people think, you can change almost any movement to work different parts and if done the same way year after year it will affect your structure (posture) to put those muscles at a mechanical advantage, which is why it seems to some people impossible to target the muscles they missed. This also helped me realize the part about covering all your basis, whether you do some isolation to hit them or modify your compound to hit them more effectively. Either way its very important to "grease the groove".

Bodybuilding is all about experimenting for YOUR body type and trying new things to see what hits those lagging areas. Everyone has things that easily grow, and some that never seem to get hit properly. This is why its important to have a balanced workout routine for YOUR body so that you don't let your CNS get better at something and suck badly at another. This will also usually help with any kind of chonic pains as well.