Growing Your Biceps: Breaking Through A Plateau

[ace]

well... i've been working out for almost 3 years now (not continuiously though) .. and i see the trasformation that i got.. pretty convincing for my age and time i spent at the gym.. but i've always had a problem.. my arms .. especially my biceps, no matter what exercises i do or how intense they are. or how heavy i lift they seem to be growing really slow! the tricpes are kind of defined.. but size is what i aim for..

sooo any suggestions ?

[PlacentiaBay]

If you havent already, change up the exercises. Don't stick to the same exercises you body adapts to them quickly. Keep it guessing about the next workout.

[TheSailorMan]

Try changing up your rep scheme every month.

[karmazon]

Try to do slower, more controlled reps, and emphasize negatives. I am a firm believer in the whole "time under tension" thing. There's no way your muscles won't grow that way.

[ItsSteveBlack]

i agree on this one as well, try shocking the shit outa your arms as well try the armory workout in the training section just to switch things up its a pretty high intensity supersetted arm workout, like already mentioned you have to be switching things up as well as trying not to over train your arms stick toi just 3 exercises for your biceps and 3 for your triceps its very easy to overtrain such a small muscle group because theyre getting destroyed on back days and chest days as well..........

Black

[Hellreaver]

In my opinion, the best exercises for growing bigger biceps is the basics. Barbell curls. If you have to cheat a little, so be it. Some people swear to cheating, some vehemently deny it. For me, cheating can be useful, but don't overuse it. Heavy-ass barbell curls. Personally, I love preacher machines also, because with the added leverage I can go super-fucking heavy. Just like these guys are saying, change up your exercises. Change your routine. Hell change your rep scheme. Sometimes I'll shoot for a weight that allows 8-12 reps, but sometimes you gotta load that fucking bar and pull out 3 or 4 reps. One thing I constantly do in between sets is flex and stretch, allowing more blood flow to the muscles. Keep us posted on your progress bro. Peace out.

[ace]

..that's what i've been doing for a while now.. biceps twice a week.. saturday three exercises and on wednesday another three..
do you think i should use the less-weight but slower form technique? you know go easy on the weight but concentrate more like while i'm going back to the starting postition of the dumbell/barbell , i'd do it a little slower?

[Ammotroop]

Cheat to win!!

[HELLYEAH60]

You really need to mix up what excercises you do. I have finally gotten my biceps up to 18 inches simply because i have never done the same trainning scheme in continuous weeks. I always mix it up and try to keep my muscles guessing. Thats really all you can do. Just try that and be patient. It takes time, but at the same time it takes persistance and dedication. STAY STRONG BROTHA YOULL GET THERE!!!!!

[Iron_Man]

well... i've been working out for almost 3 years now (not continuiously though) .. and i see the trasformation that i got.. pretty convincing for my age and time i spent at the gym.. but i've always had a problem.. my arms .. especially my biceps, no matter what exercises i do or how intense they are. or how heavy i lift they seem to be growing really slow! the tricpes are kind of defined.. but size is what i aim for..

sooo any suggestions ?

dude..i had the same problem..until then my body was like at 205lbs n my arms were only like 15.5 inches...basically my arms got bigger by doing this thing called xrep. it works. yall might have heard it. xrep.com. yeah in 2 months time my arms grew bigger. n if you choose to try it. id advise to it with cable curls.

[NASH]

well... i've been working out for almost 3 years now (not continuiously though) .. and i see the trasformation that i got.. pretty convincing for my age and time i spent at the gym.. but i've always had a problem.. my arms .. especially my biceps, no matter what exercises i do or how intense they are. or how heavy i lift they seem to be growing really slow! the tricpes are kind of defined.. but size is what i aim for..

sooo any suggestions ?

Are you training your forearms too? This helps with your bicep gains. And also remember to do different techniques such as Negatives, or 21's. If you have any questions just PM me. Biceps has always been my strongpoint.

[Hatred]

More importantly. What have you discovered that HASN'T worked over the last three years?

I've been capped at 18's for a year. Basically because I am a pussy.
I kept addding weight but stayed with relatively low reps.(8/10)
Know what the definition if insanity is?
"Doing the same things over and over and expecting different results."
I'm now doing 15+ reps and about 12 work sets.
Ive added a half inch to my arms in a month.
I'm talking about going til it is excruciating and the burn travels up the side of your neck and makes your thoughts puke.

[spartan300]

Might I be so bold as to suggest working your arms once every every 8-10 days. Don't get me wrong Annihilate 'em when you do. 20 sets bi's, 20 sets tri's, 6-10 reps with all the basic barbell and dumbbell movements (no machines!) Bump your protein up and try to maintain a positive nitrogen balance by taking in a steady stream of protein daily. I personally mix up a quart of protein at a time and sip it throughout the day when I'am not consuming whole food meals. Oh yes it would probably be a good idea to work them together and follow them up with a leg day.

[ace]

.. soo when it comes to biceps, weight doesn't matter as much as the reps and the form do ?
well right now what i'm doing is that i do the barbell curls with a 15LB plate on each side (6-8 reps) and right after that i drop down the weight to say around 5LB plates and do another 10 reps, actually 'till the point where i can't move the bar another inch.. any comments?

[karmazon]

.. soo when it comes to biceps, weight doesn't matter as much as the reps and the form do ?
well right now what i'm doing is that i do the barbell curls with a 15LB plate on each side (6-8 reps) and right after that i drop down the weight to say around 5LB plates and do another 10 reps, actually 'till the point where i can't move the bar another inch.. any comments?

Well yes and no. You always want to either increase the weight or reps from workout to workout. I am a firm believer in good form, and lifting using the muscle NOT momentum. Try doing slower negatives, they are very helpful in overcoming plateaus.

[viperman]

i had the same problem. i said "had", but i wouldn't mind to have bigger arms anyway ;)
the funny thing was - they were small, but damn strong.
my solution was - less is more.I droped number of working sets for biceps from 10 to just 5-6, but various range of reps. Also went heavy on supplements.

[TheNaturalG]

Whats your weight, height and size of your arms to give us an idea. So many of my friends talk about how small there arms are meanwhile it is because they are small and there arms are really in proportion to their bodies. If you want bigger arms you really just gotta gain weight throughout your whole body.

[okiron247]

Make sure you are not just doing isolation exercises. Hit the heavy compund movements and get a good solid foundation for those arms. Also, make sure you're not overtraining them.

[WaNNaBeSoLDieR]

What worked for me? Train 'em twice a week...both biceps AND triceps. Never, EVER forget your triceps work - they account for about 2/3 of your arms' size. Day one, do exclusively barbell work (close-grip bench, skulls, etc)...Day two, do exclusively dumbbell work...and don't leave the Big Three outta the rest of your program. Compound lifts will help you add size all over.

[Wolf Man CHG]

different stokes for different folks on this one....the main tip you should take from all the advice is to make sure when you are training biceps......it's your biceps that are taking the grunt of the stress and strain.....so going really heavy and heaving the weight up does little good.... focus on the keeping the stress on the bicep muscle and not the joints

[IntensityJT]

i used to have the same problem and heres what i think you should do that helped me out a lot...

if you arent already...leave a separate day for Arms (biceps, triceps) this will make sure they are being worked first and this will help to strengthen both..

also, go nice and slow, especially on curls...make sure its a controlled motion

changed your rep range...and the order of your exercises

last but not least....superset biceps and triceps...this will give you a great pump that im sure will help you


best of luck

[DWARFx10]

Bro, If you want hugh Biceps, get a Job where you do a lot of lifting or box moving or whatever, this plus going to the gym, your arms will mutate!


Peace

[Ironone]

ok i'll put my 2 cents in. Try running the rack. Start with a db that you can get an easy 15 reps with each arm. drop em and pick up the next lightest. for example I will start with 45 then 40,35,30,25,20,15,10 all with no rest. when you finish with the 10s take a short break and now go up the rack,10,15,20,25,30,35,40,45. This counts as one set. now do it 2 more times and watch you arms explode.

[pdiesel]

full range of motion..i have crazy arms and its bc ive always gone the full way down on my exercises..its a lot harder and you wont be going as heavy, but it stretches the hell out of your muscles..

[Demolitionist]

Ok so lately ive been lookin at the mirror and my arms almost seem like they are smaller then they were 3 months ago. I'm really liking everything else, but its really bugging me and I dont know what to do because I cant put arms in my sched a second time considering rest = growth. What the hell do I do?

[Fury317]

Arms are tough for me too (calves as well). Not all of us are blessed with pipes like Wrath. What I do is superset everything adn that seems to get a great pump. Make sure youre getting full range of motion too. And for limit swaying, ie use your arms and not your back. Heres basically what I do

BB Curls s/s Skulls
DB Curls s/s Pressdown
Concentration Curl s/s Extensions
Hammer curls s/s Overhead extension
Forearms at the end

My arms have grown quite a bit since I started supersetting everything. Im sittin at a little over 18 inches and they feel like they grow little by little every week. Hope this helps, good luck bro.

[Budsbythebeach]

work some arms into your regular routine. I have small arms vs. the rest of me, although it was mostly my fault for not working them with intensity.

Now i really attack tris when i work shoulders, and bi's when i work back or legs.

Even only one hard excersice for arms after your main workout would help.

[JB69]

Yeah like fury said supersets they have really helped me. i like to do supersets every other week and each time switch which part of the arm you train first e.g 1 week superset bi's with tri's next week superset tri's with bi's

[TwoTon]

Help me! Whats the problem heres my stats

I started lifting..Well I dont even know when 3-6 months tops ago

Bench started at 180-200ish max now its 250 max

Dead lift started 240 with horrid form to 300+ with good form

Squat started about 200 now is about 300

BB curl Started about 120-130..And now its about the same

Arm size started at 14.5 unflex and 16.5 flex..and its the exact same..

im 6'1 210-220 lbs I do 5 day split Chest back legs arms shoulders

ive tried mark rippetoes SS for a while then went to the 5 a week I can really smash my arms and no matter what its rare they even feel tight next day I take lots of protine i take creatine I eat eggs and all that fun stuff..What can I do? should I try shocking them with random craziness or what? they just wont change shape or anything..or strength im broken! lol help me out brothers i know someone must of experianced something simalar and has a trick or 2 thanks to any and all who respond!

[dominatetheiron]

need to see what your diets like and how you train your arms man.

[hjayss]

How much cardio you doing...what supps you taking a lot envoled bro..fill us in we got you...

[WillWest]

is the lack of growth out of proportion to the rest of your body? Chest etc?

[Space Cowboy]

1) Whats your bodyfat like before you started and now?

2) Whats your arm routine like?

Maybe you had excess fat/water to make your arms the size they wer before lifting, you could have lost size in fat/water reduction and replaced with muscle to go back to the same size. Kinda like when people jus read the scales but dont realise losing weight/building muscle evens weight out at a point.


EASI

[king1]

Either your blessed with arms or you arent. You can find how other people work out their arms, and how they diet to grow. You will get the most growth out of your tris from heavy pressing (especially lockout) and free weight extensions. Your biceps will get biggest from heavy pulling and free weight curls. THATS ALL THERE IS TO IT. EAT AND THEY WILL GROW

[in_traning]

hey, i was wondering if any one could give me some advise on thickening the biceps , i am blessed with a natural skinny physique ive been eating lkike a dog have put on a few kilos of muscle body fat is still very low but yeah my biceps need to thinking up
peaccceeee

[ironshaolin]

use the search, there's tons of threads already on here about getting bigger biceps. The real secret? Its not doing more curls. For biceps, start doing heavier barbell rows. Try to add 5lbs or 2 reps on every single week. Curls are secondary.

[ghost]

hey, i was wondering if any one could give me some advise on thickening the biceps , i am blessed with a natural skinny physique ive been eating lkike a dog have put on a few kilos of muscle body fat is still very low but yeah my biceps need to thinking up
peaccceeee

oh, and the other secret in addition to searching for it around here,....EATING more than you currently are.

[Spikes079]

Reverse Curls and Hammer Curls, thoose will make your arms appear wider and more full

[ChandlerXJ]

i think doing heavy ass BB curls, mixed in with light ass BB curls works wonders, especially if you're getting a good squeeze and your form is on-point.

This weekend I was curling 135 for 3 solid reps, then I would drop down to 115 for 10, then for 2 sets I think I did 65 for 20, then maybe a quick 10 with just the bar.

Mix it up, keep your arms guessing!!! EAT BIG!!

[Brutus_515]

ive heard that every 10lbs of wieght you gain is about an inch on your arms...i think that is on the new real gains add

[MetalAsh12]

i think doing heavy ass BB curls, mixed in with light ass BB curls works wonders, especially if you're getting a good squeeze and your form is on-point.

This weekend I was curling 135 for 3 solid reps, then I would drop down to 115 for 10, then for 2 sets I think I did 65 for 20, then maybe a quick 10 with just the bar.

Mix it up, keep your arms guessing!!! EAT BIG!!

Heavy ass combined with light ass...sounds good Chandler.. lol

[osiris]

If its bigger arms you after, focus more on your triceps. That sucker's the biggest muscle in the upper arm, he'll make your arms look bigger when your arms are hanging at your sides.

[simpleguy]

yup, these are all good tips, but just like it has been mentioned, the most important thing is eating all the time big... eat even when you're full, or whatever, just throw the damn food into your throat... make sure you get plenty of carbs , mostly complex... eat every 2-3 hrs, protein at every meal... add some peanut butter or olive oil, whatever ... good luck

[HOLLYWOOD2]

all of this is true, just make sure your form is good so you can isolate your muscles. and remember to gain the most hypertrophy aim for 6-12 reps

[MassMonster]

food, Chins, Rows, curls, repeat.....

[Riesjs]

Heavy rows, BB curls, and cable preacher curls. oh yea...eat till you cant anymore...then have a snack

[hjayss]

I just typed in bicep...
http://forum.animalpak.com/showthread.php?t=486&page=11&highlight=bicep

[cviewmike851]

Now, I just started--after a lot of research and what Big Al and I spoke about, I do 2 exercises-2 sets of tri on chest day and 2 exercises-2 sets of bis on back day...very very heavy, low reps 6-8 using machines...my arm day workout is a bit higher reps using basic compound exercises...reps 8-15

If I where you...try just training them alone one day a week, using the compund exercises..close grips-dips-skull crushers-barbell-dumbbell and hammer curls reps 6-12....

Try for 5-7 weeks-get plenty of carbs the day before arms and use vey good form and train heavy after a very good warm up!

---This is what BigAnt said to me when I asked him how to get bigger arms. Hope this helps bro

[DMH56308]

Find and read Big Ant's "Armed and Ready" article. I have switched that routine and has been going great!!!!!!!!

[RoJoHen]

For the last couple days that I've done biceps, they just haven't been feeling it. The first time I said maybe I was just tired. It happens. Everybody has a bad workout every once in a while. Then it happened the next 2 arm workouts, and I realized I had hit a plateau.

Today I tried something new. I could tell from my past few workouts that my biceps weren't responding to barbell curls anymore. As this was my main bicep workout, I was a little concerned. I still did a few sets out of habit, but at the end of my workout I added a new exercise that I hadn't tried before. I'm not exactly sure if these have a name, but they are...

Hammer Dumbbell Preacher Curls

Holy crap! I got such a pump from these it was insane. I don't know if they'll work out for me in the long run, but for now it's something I'm willing to experiment with.

[Roland]

Yea, keep experimenting bro...you have to switch the exercises up once in a while to shock the muscles and also to keep you motivated, because your body adapts to the same shit, so it is good to switch it up.

[violator]

Love those hammer scott curls bro, they pump up the brachialis like no mans business....keep changing it up.....

[Stovall]

I've been having the same problem. I'll give it a try and see how it works.

[ghost]

Holy crap! I got such a pump from these it was insane. I don't know if they'll work out for me in the long run, but for now it's something I'm willing to experiment with.

i love to throw these in every few weeks.

a lot of people get complacent in their workout and forget that your muscles ADAPT to what you are doing to them over a period of time, so it works best to throw in some new shit every few weeks.

[-D$C-]

uhm.....not being a dick, but do you really have a day set aside for biceps?

[Ronnie Chop]

uhm.....not being a dick, but do you really have a day set aside for biceps?


Every body is different. Franco Colombo once trained only arms for two months straight to get them on par with the rest of his body. And I think the Sandow speaks for itself.

But everybody has a body part they want to improve, and they should assign a day just for it...

[-D$C-]

Every body is different. Franco Colombo once trained only arms for two months straight to get them on par with the rest of his body. And I think the Sandow speaks for itself.

But everybody has a body part they want to improve, and they should assign a day just for it...


why not just do BB rows, pullups... and work your body as a whole?

[Pizzalamp]

yeah ive found by always changing my main bicep exercise every few weeks or so my arms seem to respond very well
i love doing the seated barbell curl every so often deep burn

[RoJoHen]

uhm.....not being a dick, but do you really have a day set aside for biceps?

With my current routine, I have a set day for arms. I usually superset biceps with triceps.

I also use arm day to do abdominal work.

[-D$C-]

With my current routine, I have a set day for arms. I usually superset biceps with triceps.

I also use arm day to do abdominal work.

what does your current routine look like?

if you want bigger arms, focus more on your triceps since they make up more of the arm mass. also drop the curls (or atleast limit) and replace with rows, pullups, pulldowns...

also don't forget that diet is the key to growing.

[RoJoHen]

what does your current routine look like?

if you want bigger arms, focus more on your triceps since they make up more of the arm mass. also drop the curls (or atleast limit) and replace with rows, pullups, pulldowns...

also don't forget that diet is the key to growing.

Rows and all that go on Back Day. Not to step on your toes, but I am aware of how to lift. I wasn't really looking for advice in this thread so much as I was just expressing my excitement at finding a new exercise. However, since you asked...

I usually do 3-4 sets of each exercise for 6-12 reps.

Barball curls supersetted with Skullcrushers
Alternating DB Curls supersetted with Tricep extensions
Preacher curls supersetted with either Dips or Close-Grip Bench

I usually do this the day after I do Back. I've just been doing this arm routine for almost 3 months and need to change things around.

[LegendKillerJosh]

I agree Preacher Dumbell Curls KILL my biceps. Combine that with some heavy cable curls/cheat curls and some Incline Dumbell Curls and you got a KILLER bicep routine.

[prowrestler]

i hardly ever directly train my biceps anymore. they are getting great stimulation from my back day, i may throw in some dumbell curls at the end of back day to finish them off. but before i found doing heavy cheated curls with a barbell for a max of 4 reps plus a few partials drop setted to db curls with a down the rack style plus partials on each drop fucks you up pretty good and sends a wake up call to the biceps. also, negatives on a preacher curl machine, not the free weight version is great for me. i prefer the machine because on the free weight style half the range of motion is lacking any gravity. i think i will try some of your hammer preacher curls after nbext back day.

[Tron]

You just gotta mix it up. Variety. Stale routines kill the improvement.

[Hoffdogg]

Yeah, mix it up. I have a dedicated arm day too, and Superset Biceps and Triceps every week! One of my favorite days in the gym.

[-D$C-]

^^ i give up lol

[bobbymart]

I have a set day for arms as well i do bi's on back day and tri's on chest day then I hit them again at the end of the week the last day I lift in a week I hit arms and calves there is nothing wrong with doin it that way if it works for you

[leafs43]

Recently on bi's ill just go old school style grab a light weight barbell towards the end and do the 21 gun salute 3 times, hence why I use a lighter weight.

Its a tried and true method for shocking those bi's

[PECK88]

hey everyone, does anyone have any suggestions on how to get your arms bigger, i train all week
monday-chest
tuesday-back
wensday-shoulders
thursday- bis and tris
saturday- legs

and the next day i am sore with all days expect for thursday, the arm night. i wake upo friday and it feels like i never touched my arms, and i train them just like the rest of my body. open for suggestions on everything as in arms lifts and maybe a change in the routine.
my current stak is PAK,TEST,PUMP. and ofcourse i eat like a horse, i try and take in about 250-300 grams of protin a day, i eat about every 2 hours or so.thanks bros

[ironshaolin]

progression, homeboy. Keep a log book. Don't change your routine until it goes stale. my suggestion is to keep track in a notebook of not just your arm stats, but your back stats as well. Heavy rows and chins will help beef up your arms, as heavy benches and presses will help your triceps. Make sure that every single week you either add weight, or reps. Once you can't add weight or reps, then change excersises. Eventually, you will get ridiculously strong and the size will come with that. I've never known anyone that can curl 135 with good form for at least 8 reps that had small arms.

The other piece of the pie is make sure you eat like a fiend, lots of protein so those babies got what they need to grow. Just remember, you can use every schock tactic possible; dropsets, negatives, rest/pause, supersets, whatever but if you aren't getting stronger, you aren't getting bigger.

[Testpolska]

How many sets are you doing for them? You might be doing too many. I used to do 9-12 sets for tris and 9 for biceps. Now I do 3-4 sets each tops. Arms are hugely a genetic thing, Some people are blessed, others cursed.

[StockRock]

My Split:
Mon - Legs
Tue - Chest
Wed - Back
Thu - Arms
Fri - Legs

Arm Day
Standing BB curls
Standing DB curls
BB Preacher curls
Standing Hammer curls
Single Arm DB Preacher curls
Tricep Cable Pulldown
Skullcrushers
Overhead DB Extension
Dips

Alternatives:
Cross body hammergrip curls
EZ Bar Preacher Curls
EZ Bar Standing

I can barely reach my head to wash my hair, if that gives you any incetive how intese the split is.

I normally do three sets of each and differ reps as i go on.
To add an inch to your arm you need to put on 8-10lbs of quailty mass.

Eat often.

[Torque757]

You are giving them to much attention, thats why they arent growing. Biceps are the most overanalyzed, overemphasized muscle on the body, yet it is one of the smallest. All bis need is a few sets of bb curls, and possibly followed by a few of a db movement. As for tri's, dips and skullcrushers.

Try doing bi's after chest and tri's after back. This will give you an extra day of growing instead of the extra day of tearing down you have now. Go heavy and intense on these and your arms will grow. As mentioned earleir, KEEP A LOG BOOK, this is very important. To grow, you must get progessvely stronger. Not a killer pump(although you most likely will get one), not being really sore the next couple days, but every workout getting stronger by doing more reps, weight, or both each workout.

[Ronnie Chop]

Just because pros do it like that doesn't mean you can. Their splits are tough and not for everyone. You probably need more recovery time than you think

[ItsSteveBlack]

wellllll you could try a differet split but like someone said already not really until it goes stale...

Chest/Biceps
Back
Shoulders/Triceps
Legs

EZ Bar Curls
Preacher Curls
Seated Dumbell Curls
Standing Hammer Curls

V Bar Cable Extension
Skull Crushers
Seated Dip Machine
Seated Over Head EZ Bar Extension

my .02

[PECK88]

thanks alot everyone, that was some good advice i will consider all that.


i just started keeping a log book this week and i will continue to do so. i started the book when i started my new stak. and i usally do 3 to 4 exercises for bis, and tehn 3 to 4 exercise for tris. and i uesally do 3 to 4 sets for each. is that doing to much?

[Giant Killer]

Change what you're doing...if I could wager a guess you've been doing the same comfortable exercises, switching it up a little bit, but not enough to really stimulate new fibers. Totally change your perspective, pick a handful of arm exercises that you've never done before, change your rep range, number of sets, decrease sets before increasing sets which sounds like it doesn't make sense, but trust me it might just work. Put them on a different day in a different grouping you've never used before.

Switch it up and force those bitches to evolve.

[Tron]

Maybe try this 5-day split:

Monday - Arms
Tuesday - Legs
Wednesday - Chest
Thursday - Back
Friday - Shoulders

This'll hit your arms first thing in the week, making you less overall fatigued. Also with the legs in between you have more rest and don't hit your arms 4 days in a row like you have been. That's a suggestion to try.

And EAT and SLEEP.

[Roland]

progression, homeboy. Keep a log book. Don't change your routine until it goes stale. my suggestion is to keep track in a notebook of not just your arm stats, but your back stats as well. Heavy rows and chins will help beef up your arms, as heavy benches and presses will help your triceps. Make sure that every single week you either add weight, or reps. Once you can't add weight or reps, then change excersises. Eventually, you will get ridiculously strong and the size will come with that. I've never known anyone that can curl 135 with good form for at least 8 reps that had small arms.

The other piece of the pie is make sure you eat like a fiend, lots of protein so those babies got what they need to grow. Just remember, you can use every schock tactic possible; dropsets, negatives, rest/pause, supersets, whatever but if you aren't getting stronger, you aren't getting bigger.

Well said.

[LHS Monster]

maybe try the search button it will make your arms bigger

[simpleguy]

maybe try the search button it will make your arms bigger

hahaha

[Torque757]

thanks alot everyone, that was some good advice i will consider all that.


i just started keeping a log book this week and i will continue to do so. i started the book when i started my new stak. and i usally do 3 to 4 exercises for bis, and tehn 3 to 4 exercise for tris. and i uesally do 3 to 4 sets for each. is that doing to much?

I would def go with 1-2 lifts for bi's and 2-3 for tri's. Concentrate on good basic lifts and progressing strength wise to add size.

[EBO13]

i have hit a Plateau on my bi workouts... i have been pushing the same weight for 4 weeks now and cant seem to bust it... im doing standing EZ curls with 4 sets or 10-6, standing hammer curls with 3 sets of 10-6, cable curls with 4 sets of 12-8, and concentration curls with 3 sets of 8-6(really slow coming up and down).... what i can i do to bust past it... and im doing something wrong? overtraining?...

[Mindaugas]

try using the tension band on bb curls

[EBO13]

i will sub in the preacher hammer curls... ill do it at the end of my workout... ill grab like a 15 or 20.. something light and do them super slow and i get this massive burn and pump and it feels amazing... i just cant seem to move up in weight... i guess im gunna have to just change up my bi workout... throw in some new stuff....thanks fellas....i have another question about stretchin but ill post another topic....

[malink]

ok guys i just went from 14'' to 15 '' in a month and that size for me looks really big

this workout was done with a buddy of mine to keep the aggression and focus...the diet did do a major role too :P

monday....chest then biceps

ok first off....a good 5 to 10 minutes to stretch your arms real good

#1 3 sets of bb curl,6-8 reps
#2 3 sets of incline db curls, 6-8 reps
#3 3 sets of 21's

now to kill the bicep...when we did the 21's me and friend, I do one set and when im done I give him the bar and vice versa (ur break is when your friend is doing is set )and believe me...you'll be dead if you push yourself to the limit

thursday: back and bicep

#1 3 sets of alternating db curls, 6-8 reps
#2 3 sets of concentration curls, 6-8 reps
#3 3 sets of chin up till failure

now i know that training bicep twice a week isnt that good but i was at a point where i needed to shock them....there is no way they can adapt to that if you push yourself and if you want result...SLEEP AND EAT LIKE AN ANIMAL

peace

malink

[Pizzalamp]

i will try this out
thanks!

[musclealchemist]

nice stuff bro

[jeff00z28]

my arms grow as everything else grows. I have never rly been able to target arms

[RoJoHen]

Lately, my arms are the ONLY thing I can get to grow. I'll keep this in mind for later, though.

[sanga]

Thanks for sharing this with us malink.

[squattingtillipuke]

nice post. I have noticed that when I hit ruts there is nothing that my bi's like more then to do some 21's and then run the rack.

One thing is don't forget that the other side of your arm (tri) is just as important to develop as your bicep...beat those fuckers up really good too.

[krazyassmexican]

you guys are gonna start bashing me and i dont care, but i have done it all light weight, heavy weight, super sets, giant sets drop sets, 21s and my fuckin biceps are still flat, that is why i gave up and dont give a fuck about them anymore

[Big Rich]

you guys are gonna start bashing me and i dont care, but i have done it all light weight, heavy weight, super sets, giant sets drop sets, 21s and my fuckin biceps are still flat, that is why i gave up and dont give a fuck about them anymore

#1 The tricep is the laregst muscle in your arm and will make them look huge if well-developed. Don't overwork the bicep.
#2 Arms will grow by themselves from working other muscle areas particularly the chest and back.

[krazyassmexican]

#1 The tricep is the laregst muscle in your arm and will make them look huge if well-developed. Don't overwork the bicep.
#2 Arms will grow by themselves from working other muscle areas particularly the chest and back.

right now i am doing a powerlifting template and my triceps are looking great and gettin strong

but biceps are the problem

[speedster00]

I did a similar routine and realized that I was overtraining arms. I do arms once a week due to chest and back days working them as well. I think its easy to overwork them if your not careful. Below is my routine...

Staight BB curls- 4sets HEAVY
lying Skull Crushers- 4 sets- very heavy then close grip bench it until failure
Hammer Curls- 4 sets 8-10 reps
push downs- 4 sets 8 reps
rope curls- 4 sets light- 12-14 reps, heavy burn
rope pull downs- light 4 sets 12-14 reps.

By the time I've done all that, my arms are completely toast. And its done a great job of adding size on me.

[Enforcer]

http://www.animalpak.com/html/article_details.cfm?ID=27

Read Oct.21st gives great insight on training your biceps.

[simpleguy]

you guys are gonna start bashing me and i dont care, but i have done it all light weight, heavy weight, super sets, giant sets drop sets, 21s and my fuckin biceps are still flat, that is why i gave up and dont give a fuck about them anymore

I hear you krazy... my arms are one of those parts that grow extra-slow... now I can't say they are the same like when I started lifting but I got a long way to go

[Torque757]

Biceps are way too overated. Tris are (SUPPOSED to be) 2/3 of the arm, but all you ever hear about is biceps...

[malink]

keep in mind that i did that routine for just under a month to shock the bi's and if you do it you have to take care of everything else to...i slept one to two hours more and made sure i could get a lil more calories....

right now im just doing a basic routine

bb curl 3 sets 8 reps
preacher curls 3 sets 8 reps

there is no need to train your arms with a gizilion sets...just get a good pump and make sure you do over do it

peace

malink

[V23]

Sounds like a great routine! Nothing wrong with shocking
the muscles twice a week for a while. Especially supinating
DB curls, whether seated or standing. A lot of people forget
an action of the biceps is to supinate the forearm.

[RogueLion]

Congrats on the new growth. My arms get a sick pump when i do the animal arm workout in the AOM. Its crazy good. I add my shit in of course, but I just pound at away at Bi's and Tri's with mindless abandon. I won't even guesstimate about my arm size, with or without pump, but they are enourmous veiny limbs when pumped post arm workout. Peace

[jeff00z28]

Biceps are way too overated. Tris are (SUPPOSED to be) 2/3 of the arm, but all you ever hear about is biceps...

but who doesn't want to have big biceps too?

[Torque757]

but who doesn't want to have big biceps too?

Everyone, obviously... But alot of peaple are far too focused on them, giving them way to much attention... and for some peaple, thats the reason they arent growing enough in the first place.

Big biceps+mediocre tris= shitty arms.
Big tri's + mediocre bis=pretty good arms

[Ricky P]

#1 The tricep is the laregst muscle in your arm and will make them look huge if well-developed. Don't overwork the bicep.
#2 Arms will grow by themselves from working other muscle areas particularly the chest and back.

Not only is the tricep the biggest muscle in the arm, the bicep is the smallest.

Like Big Rich said, don't overwork the biceps. It's very easy to do that because it's such a small muscle and people place such a large emphasis on them.

[Devoted 2 Iron]

For the past year I have been busting my ass trying to ut seze on my arms to no avail. I have tried low volume, high volume, intensity techniques, prioritization...evverything. I need help with this one since ding after it on my own just is not working. Im currently at 15 1/2 maybe 16 inch arms which is nothing shy of pitiful considering all the effort I put into it.

[LHS Monster]

i usually do 2 exercise heavy and low reps biceps being Barbell Curls and Alt. DB Curls then usually around 8-10 reps then triceps being Pushdowns and CGBP then do to excercises like Hammer Curls and Preacher Curls or SkullCrushers and kickbacks for high reps in the 15-20 range it really pumps u up good ... this is the technique i used this past 7 months to put 3/4 of an inch on my arms usually training tris before bis bc i feel the other way screws my rom bc my bis are pumped

also you need to keep that diet in check eating for some mass bro

[Maccabee]

For the past year I have been busting my ass trying to ut seze on my arms to no avail. I have tried low volume, high volume, intensity techniques, prioritization...evverything. I need help with this one since ding after it on my own just is not working. Im currently at 15 1/2 maybe 16 inch arms which is nothing shy of pitiful considering all the effort I put into it.

Just curious...how old are you? If your young then you just need to give it some time..

Plus the main reason could be that your not eating enough...you might be overtraining...not enough sleep...etc...

All these things matter.

[bovat]

For the past year I have been busting my ass trying to ut seze on my arms to no avail. I have tried low volume, high volume, intensity techniques, prioritization...evverything. I need help with this one since ding after it on my own just is not working. Im currently at 15 1/2 maybe 16 inch arms which is nothing shy of pitiful considering all the effort I put into it.

have you gone a whole year without bicep gains, including size and strength gains?

are you making gains on other bodyparts?

You could have bad bicep genetics, i have horrible arm genentics and am playing catchup to my shoulders.

Just send a bunch of info youd think would be helpful for us to figure out what your dilema.

[zanderfever]

I have a suggestion to make. Why don't you post your training split and your diet. A lot of things could be causing this problem. Also, i'd suggest you take a week off from training and eat a boatload of food.

[bovat]

i usually do 2 exercise heavy and low reps biceps being Barbell Curls and Alt. DB Curls then usually around 8-10 reps then triceps being Pushdowns and CGBP then do to excercises like Hammer Curls and Preacher Curls or SkullCrushers and kickbacks for high reps in the 15-20 range it really pumps u up good ... this is the technique i used this past 7 months to put 3/4 of an inch on my arms usually training tris before bis bc i feel the other way screws my rom bc my bis are pumped

also you need to keep that diet in check eating for some mass bro

Ya when i trained arms together id get that problem with my bi pump, but in articles and shit they always say to train bis before tris....still havent found out why that is.

[zanderfever]

Ya when i trained arms together id get that problem with my bi pump, but in articles and shit they always say to train bis before tris....still havent found out why that is.

Because everybody likes their biceps more than triceps. Tri's should be trained first becuase they make up more of your upper arm than your biceps.

[Maccabee]

I dont know why anyone would be so concerned with arm training anyways...

do you have a big ass chest, boulder shoulders, vicous quads....just sayin thats the shit I work on.

I dont really care right now how big my arms are..I want all the bigger bodyparts to be huge first.

[bovat]

Because everybody likes their biceps more than triceps. Tri's should be trained first becuase they make up more of your upper arm than your biceps.

.....doesnt sound very scientific

[zanderfever]

.....doesnt sound very scientific

Sometimes vanity clouds the mind. After all, the question is "how big are your biceps?" And its not as much fun to train triceps.

[Yolo]

For the past year I have been busting my ass trying to ut seze on my arms to no avail. I have tried low volume, high volume, intensity techniques, prioritization...evverything. I need help with this one since ding after it on my own just is not working. Im currently at 15 1/2 maybe 16 inch arms which is nothing shy of pitiful considering all the effort I put into it.

my suggestion would be to back off on arms completely for some time and then go about it with a fresh start

[Devoted 2 Iron]

I have a suggestion to make. Why don't you post your training split and your diet. A lot of things could be causing this problem. Also, i'd suggest you take a week off from training and eat a boatload of food.

Alright, this is what my current split looks like.
1- chest - incline 4x10 flat 4x10 flies 4x10
triceps- skull crushers 4x10 cable pushdowns 4x10
2- back - pullups 4x12 t-bar row4x12 cable row 4x11
biceps - barbell curl 4x10 dumbbell curl 4x10
3- shoulders - barbell press 4x10 dumbbell press 4x8 upright row 4x12
traps - barbell shrug 5x15
4- legs - squat 4x12 leg press 4x13 leg hack squat 4x12 stiff leg dead lift 4x12 lying leg curls 4x10

I eat every two hours usually getting around 20-25 grams of protein and 30-40 grams of carbs. I always make sur Im never feeling hunger.

Despite all this, im not seeming to grow much except for in the lats.

[zanderfever]

Alright, this is what my current split looks like.
1- chest - incline 4x10 flat 4x10 flies 4x10
triceps- skull crushers 4x10 cable pushdowns 4x10
2- back - pullups 4x12 t-bar row4x12 cable row 4x11
biceps - barbell curl 4x10 dumbbell curl 4x10
3- shoulders - barbell press 4x10 dumbbell press 4x8 upright row 4x12
traps - barbell shrug 5x15
4- legs - squat 4x12 leg press 4x13 leg hack squat 4x12 stiff leg dead lift 4x12 lying leg curls 4x10

I eat every two hours usually getting around 20-25 grams of protein and 30-40 grams of carbs. I always make sur Im never feeling hunger.

Despite all this, im not seeming to grow much except for in the lats.

Ok, you need healthy fats. Eat lots of nuts and fish. I also stand by my suggestion earlier of taking a week off of training. Another thing you could do would be to take out the bi's/tri work with back and chest and put in a day 5 for bi's and tri's

[Roland]

Are you progressing with the weights/your bodyweight/your food? everyone wants huge arms but the truth is right now it probably matches your body just fine...it's gonna grow bigger once your whole body starts growing, you have to be eating up to a level of bw you want to get to , you have to keep progressing with your food intake and progress with weights and I bet you will start growing.

[MrMonday]

Most of the posters above me have touched on the issues that need to be addressed, but let me break it down into really simple terms here.

1) How much bodyweight have you gained in the last 6 months?

2) How much more weight are you barbell and dumbell curling now, compared to 6 months ago?

[Devoted 2 Iron]

Most of the posters above me have touched on the issues that need to be addressed, but let me break it down into really simple terms here.

1) How much bodyweight have you gained in the last 6 months?

2) How much more weight are you barbell and dumbell curling now, compared to 6 months ago?

I have gained 20 pounds in the last six months yet my curls have not progressed in weight at all. With four sets of six I can only get up to 95 maybe 100 lbs curl. The problem has got to be a lack of weight progression. I just have not been able to bump up in weight.

[MrMonday]

I have gained 20 pounds in the last six months yet my curls have not progressed in weight at all. With four sets of six I can only get up to 95 maybe 100 lbs curl. The problem has got to be a lack of weight progression. I just have not been able to bump up in weight.

That's awsome that your bodyweight progression is right on track, but its exactly what you said, your arms aren't going to get any bigger until you start curling heavier weights. You could have put another inch on your arms from that 20lbs you gained, but you didn't force them to get stronger so your body had no reason to do so.

As a general rule of thumb, if you go 3 workouts in a row with a certain exercises and you haven't been able to do more reps, or more weight than the last time, you can safely assume that youve just stagnated on that exercise (or that you aren't pushing yourself hard enough but i don't think this is the case with you).
Either way, no big deal! You just change it up, maybe do preacher curls and hammer curls instead for a while, and keep piling on the weight and blasting them until you reach your strength limit with those exercises (until you stagnate with them). Then you can go back to barbell and db curls feeling fresh.

[bovat]

for a while i was only curling 120, but then shortened up my rest periods, thats always a good shock if your used to resting over a min, and at first the weights dropped, but soon they were more then what i was doing before, and i was resting shorter. In a few weeks of changing the rest up i gained 20 lbs on my curl.

[londontom]

I've always found that biceps respond really well to pyramid training for two weeks when you reach a plateau with them - is a bit girly, and feels like your wasting effort, but has always worked for me - give it a go, can't do any harm.

[prowrestler]

I dont know why anyone would be so concerned with arm training anyways...

do you have a big ass chest, boulder shoulders, vicous quads....just sayin thats the shit I work on.

I dont really care right now how big my arms are..I want all the bigger bodyparts to be huge first.

find me a guy with 33 inch quads, 25 inch wide shoulders and a 60 inch chest and tell me he has pea shooter arms. not fuckin lickley.

big benches and rows make triceps and biceps grow.

[LHS Monster]

Ya when i trained arms together id get that problem with my bi pump, but in articles and shit they always say to train bis before tris....still havent found out why that is.

bc most articles in magazines are just bullshit quick slapped together and no one really cares but they call it the workout of the century"cough" flex magazine COuGH

[LHS Monster]

I have gained 20 pounds in the last six months yet my curls have not progressed in weight at all. With four sets of six I can only get up to 95 maybe 100 lbs curl. The problem has got to be a lack of weight progression. I just have not been able to bump up in weight.

whoa found your problem with 15 and a half inch arms your doing BB curls with 95 lbs??!?
mine are almost 18 inches now and i only use 85 lbs just slow the reps down and use good form dont go swinging it aroudn jsut trying to use big weight and make sure your arms completely extend at the bottom i see A SHIT LOAD of ppl who only move there arms half way through the motion and not letting their arms extend at the bottom of the rep they are still half bent but they move their elbows to make it look like they go all the way down

[Devoted 2 Iron]

find me a guy with 33 inch quads, 25 inch wide shoulders and a 60 inch chest and tell me he has pea shooter arms. not fuckin lickley.

big benches and rows make triceps and biceps grow.

Ok with that said, if I hit my arms hard the first day in my split, would it be stupid to hit backk and chest the day after even if my arms are sore from the day before? I could wait a two days doing legs on one of them to give my arms time to revamp before I hit the big exercises or I could get it over with and let my entire body revamp for the rest of my split. Recommendations?

[prowrestler]

Ok with that said, if I hit my arms hard the first day in my split, would it be stupid to hit backk and chest the day after even if my arms are sore from the day before? I could wait a two days doing legs on one of them to give my arms time to revamp before I hit the big exercises or I could get it over with and let my entire body revamp for the rest of my split. Recommendations?

its fucking stupid and down right counter productive to do chest back and bis tris afterwords.

give the tricpes and biceps 72 hours rest after chest and back and delt work.

[Devoted 2 Iron]

So i am trying a split now with arms first in the week. WIth heavier weight, lower reps, and higher intensity I hope to spark some growth. But is it wise to lift back or chest the day after I train arms if they still are sore? Or will that overtrain my arms?

[Big Wides]

Here is what I would do, this is just me....dont train arms. Use a 4 day split that focuses on the compound movements, make them heavy. Dont worry about hitting a certain amount of reps, just load up the bar, use proper form, and do as many as you can for that set. Make the next set 10-20lbs heavier and repeat. What I am saying is no seperate arm day, try the four day split for 6 weeks then go back to training arms

[prowrestler]

Here is what I would do, this is just me....dont train arms. Use a 4 day split that focuses on the compound movements, make them heavy. Dont worry about hitting a certain amount of reps, just load up the bar, use proper form, and do as many as you can for that set. Make the next set 10-20lbs heavier and repeat. What I am saying is no seperate arm day, try the four day split for 6 weeks then go back to training arms

exactly what works for me. arms cook well on the back burner. do a few sets of triceps after chest and delts and some biceps after lats.

[Devoted 2 Iron]

its fucking stupid and down right counter productive to do chest back and bis tris afterwords.

give the tricpes and biceps 72 hours rest after chest and back and delt work.

No bro I did tris and bis first in the split. You saying to give them 72 hours rest before I hit back and chest?

[Big Wides]

No bro I did tris and bis first in the split. You saying to give them 72 hours rest before I hit back and chest?

If you still want to hit arms, I would suggest something like this:

Day 1 - Back/Tris
Day 2 - Off
Day 3 - Legs
Day 4 - Shoulders
Day 5 - Off
Day 6 - Chest/bis

Just a suggestion

[prowrestler]

No bro I did tris and bis first in the split. You saying to give them 72 hours rest before I hit back and chest?

yep.

[Gunz1]

i like to stick to the mass builders and stay no more than 12 sets per exercise... GO HEAVY!!! but not too heavy as to where you cant feel the muscle.. for me, arms training is all about the feel.. you gotta feel it working the whole time.. for tri's dips, close grip bench, skull crushers.. Bi's barbell curls, standing alternating curls, and seated incline curls... all these exercises are responsible for putting my arms where they need to be in my opinion

[shizz702]

find me a guy with 33 inch quads, 25 inch wide shoulders and a 60 inch chest and tell me he has pea shooter arms. not fuckin lickley.

big benches and rows make triceps and biceps grow.

I fully agree. In my opinion heavy presses hit your triceps pretty much good enough as is, as well as heavy rowing and pulling hit your biceps good too. There isn't much need of arm isolation exercises except for the sake of fun, gratification, and fine tuning once you have already achieved a solid foundation of mass.

[bovat]

I fully agree. In my opinion heavy presses hit your triceps pretty much good enough as is, as well as heavy rowing and pulling hit your biceps good too. There isn't much need of arm isolation exercises except for the sake of fun, gratification, and fine tuning once you have already achieved a solid foundation of mass.

i dont agree at all, i never trained my tris before, and they didnt grow at all, same with rear delts, now im playing catch up, a muscle group isnt gonna grow for shit if you dont hit it directly.

And i dont know how people are getting bi gains from rows, why are you taxing anything else besides back on back day with back movements.

[bovat]

bc most articles in magazines are just bullshit quick slapped together and no one really cares but they call it the workout of the century"cough" flex magazine COuGH

k...ive gotten flex and muscle and fitness for like three years now, and ive never read workout of the century, its just a substitute and an example workout, which i believe could help some people when i see how shitty their created routine looks like. Truth is, i usually find something with some value and worth in most of the mags i get. (a lot is repeated tho)

And the thing no one as really touched on yet.....i didnt say they just threw a workout together and wallla.....i said that in the noted section, they specifically said to train bis before tris.....What would it matter what order you trained it in, if they took the time to right that, then obviously they have a reason why.

[shizz702]

i dont agree at all, i never trained my tris before, and they didnt grow at all, same with rear delts, now im playing catch up, a muscle group isnt gonna grow for shit if you dont hit it directly.

And i dont know how people are getting bi gains from rows, why are you taxing anything else besides back on back day with back movements.

Bro what muscles do you think you are using when you do, for example, bench press? Your chest, and...your triceps! Tell me what is the difference between your triceps getting worked from some heavy presses compared to isolating them with some light weight kickbacks? The press not only hits the triceps but a ton of other muscles, stimulating far more strength gain and growth if one gets in adequate recovery and doesn't waste their time with too many isolation exercises. And also, what do you think you are pulling with on back movements? Your biceps! In simple terms your triceps are pushing muslces, and your biceps are pulling muscles. Whether you realize it or not your tris and bis are getting a lot of work from push/pull compound movements and too many arm iso exercises will do nothing but interfere with growth and recovery. Nothing wrong with a little bit of isolation work I suppose but too much is just flat out counter productive. I adhere to the training principles I'm speaking of here and have been making great gains by doing so.

[MrMonday]

There is a big difference between a muscle contracting during an exercise, and a muscle recieving enough stimulus to grow.

You won't find many big and experienced guys that actually have good development saying "avoid arm training".

And I'm sorry but if you are trashing your biceps when you work your back... you are doing your rows and pullups with poor form. This should NOT be happening.

[shizz702]

There is a big difference between a muscle contracting during an exercise, and a muscle recieving enough stimulus to grow.

You won't find many big and experienced guys that actually have good development saying "avoid arm training".

And I'm sorry but if you are trashing your biceps when you work your back... you are doing your rows and pullups with poor form. This should NOT be happening.

I don't want to get into a big debate or argument, that's not what I'm here for. We all have the right to our opinion, and I respect and understand what you're saying here. I didn't say direct arm work is totally unnecessary, but too much of it is counterproductive. In my opinion too many novices waste too much time hammering away at their arms while they don't even squat, bench, or dead decent weight yet and wonder why their arms aren't that big. All I'm saying is one should focus on the big compound movements, especially in the novice stage. And also you missed my point about working your back, whether you realize it or not your biceps are used as secondary muscles when pulling, good or bad form. Me personally, I'm very strict with my form on all exercises. To each their own man.

[MrMonday]

I don't want to get into a big debate or argument, that's not what I'm here for. We all have the right to our opinion, and I respect and understand what you're saying here. I didn't say direct arm work is totally unnecessary, but too much of it is counterproductive. In my opinion too many novices waste too much time hammering away at their arms while they don't even squat, bench, or dead decent weight yet and wonder why their arms aren't that big. All I'm saying is one should focus on the big compound movements, especially in the novice stage. And also you missed my point about working your back, whether you realize it or not your biceps are used as secondary muscles when pulling, good or bad form. Me personally, I'm very strict with my form on all exercises. To each their own man.

If that is what you meant, then maybe that is what you should have said?

It is clear that the OP isn't the typical frat boy that only wants big arms and a six pack, so why would you tailor your advice in that manner?

It's a trend I see a lot lately, and truth is it is just a pendulum swing from your typical "bench&curlz!" guy.But this isn't powerlifting. If bodybuilding is your game, then adding weight to your barbell curl is just as important as adding weight to your squat.

[Devoted 2 Iron]

I don't want to get into a big debate or argument, that's not what I'm here for. We all have the right to our opinion, and I respect and understand what you're saying here. I didn't say direct arm work is totally unnecessary, but too much of it is counterproductive. In my opinion too many novices waste too much time hammering away at their arms while they don't even squat, bench, or dead decent weight yet and wonder why their arms aren't that big. All I'm saying is one should focus on the big compound movements, especially in the novice stage. And also you missed my point about working your back, whether you realize it or not your biceps are used as secondary muscles when pulling, good or bad form. Me personally, I'm very strict with my form on all exercises. To each their own man.

I get what your saying in terms of hammering away at the big compound exercises. Seing the guys in the gym only curling wondering why their arms dont grow pisses me off too. That is not my case however. I bust ass on compound exercises from squats to the bench press. I just have reached a point where pilling on more weight i becoming a problem. I cant seem to grow anywhere anymore because I cant move up in weight. Arms especially.

[shizz702]

I get what your saying in terms of hammering away at the big compound exercises. Seing the guys in the gym only curling wondering why their arms dont grow pisses me off too. That is not my case however. I bust ass on compound exercises from squats to the bench press. I just have reached a point where pilling on more weight i becoming a problem. I cant seem to grow anywhere anymore because I cant move up in weight. Arms especially.

Yea bro I was just generalizing in my comments. I wasn't referring to you as a novice or someone that only does curls lol, but it just gets frustrating cause the majority of the training masses think that in order to get big arms all they have to do is arm work, and neglece the big lifts where the growth is really at. Anyways man just make sure your rest, nutrition, and of course training is on point, as long as all the things are taken care of all you have to do is persist, and eventually you will get where you want to be.

[SizeMatters]

everytime someone starts a post liek this, i always say the same thing...stop training them. odds are your overtraining, stop trainign them for a month blast the fuck of of your chest with heavy presses and back with heavy row dls and pulldowns/pullups and then pm me in a month and tell me if they havent grown.

[R-Man]

Supersets/Trisets/Giant sets do them and they will grow! Right now i do trisets and the pump is real nice.

Biceps
Barbell curls with reverse cambered car curls then sit down alternating dumbell curls

Triceps
Lying dumbell extensions with dips then either diamond pushups (to failure) or rope pushdowns or overhead dumbell extensions.

I always switch up tri's the pump is always good no matter what.

[speedster00]

everytime someone starts a post liek this, i always say the same thing...stop training them. odds are your overtraining, stop trainign them for a month blast the fuck of of your chest with heavy presses and back with heavy row dls and pulldowns/pullups and then pm me in a month and tell me if they havent grown.



your right. most of the time when secondary muscles like arms dont grow, people want to do more. When if fact, doing less is what they need. Arms get hammered on back and chest day. your constantly flexing them. Adding a day for just arms, often overtrains them. Stick to the basic 3 and they will grow.

[NAZ]

i was doing the heavier weight low reps6-10 with these exercises.
any suggestions would be appreciated



-straight bar curl 4x6-8
-incline db curl 4x6-8
-barbell preach 4x6-8

was thing of changing it to either of these two routines


-ez bar preacher 4x10-12
-hammer curl 4x10-12
-inclne db curl 4x10-12
-concentration curl 4x-10-12

or

• Straight Bar Curls: 2 warmup sets of 20 reps each, 3 working sets 10-15 range
• Hammer Curls: 3 sets x 12 reps
• One Arm Preacher Curls: 3 sets x 15 reps (flush the blood)

[theharjmann]

read the arm training articles

http://www.animalpak.com/html/main_sections.cfm?ID=1

[C.Coronato]

-Run the Rack
-Buddies
-21s
-Laying down curls

Do anything that you cant really get a stretch with, and let the bicep cully extend, and sqeeze at the top.

[simpleguy]

how often do you train bis?

how much food and what kind are you getting in?

[NAZ]

i do a 4 day split with one day off and repeat.

i eat as much as i can but its hard too since im driving a truck and delivering furniture 10-12 hrs a day. but mostly 6 eggs and oats in morn, chicken through the day, pbj for snacks and about 2 whey shakes a day

[prowrestler]

steak and potatoes x 4

1-2 weeks no bicep work do to over trained.

then try this

week 1-2 bar curls, 4 sets 6 reps
week 3-4 hammer curls, 4 sets 6 reps

repeat. you must try to beat your previouse 6 rep max every week. focus on getting the weight heavier. once you add 100 pounds to your barbell curls, 100% asure you biceps will ahve something to show for it

[Ghost26]

my bis are kind of lagging jw what you guys did to bring yours up thanks brothers

[fenix237]

heavy compound movements (eg. deadlifts, rows, squats, bench) and lots of food. don't spend too much time do iso work for your arms- work the big lifts- the bigger your body, the bigger your arms

[bigchuck000]

i get better results with exercises that stretch the bicep.
my favorites are close grip curls with the ez bar, reverse grip curls --also on the ez bar--and incline dumbbell curls. i usually do them after im done doing heavy sets of medium grip barbell curls. i just go for a pump with a moderate weight and a full range of motion.

[Giant Killer]

Barbell Curls and Hammer Curls have done me well.

[TigerAce01]

My 2 favorite that really brought on the stretch marks:

Heavy, Heavy barbell curls, and I wasn't afraid to cheat.

Immensely heavy rest pause machine curls.

Took my arms from 13 to 17 1/2 inches in less than 2 years.

-Ace

[atrain11b]

I honestly have to say Squats. I've read the article "Squat for Bigger Arms" but never really bought into it. It says you shouldn't even worry about working directly on the Bis themselves until you can squat 1.5 times your body weight.

However, after time I began to believe in this, I have notice my arms are bigger now, after my squats have improved dramatically. I now believe when everyone says compound movements for bigger arms. (I was wrong to doubt in the first place) However, I do believe every body is different, and its a matter of trail and error, time, and plenty of food that leads to growth.

Now to answer directly, Bi exercise I feel has added to the overall shape is the Standing BB Curl, and I even allow some room for "controlled" cheating on the last set to get those last few heavy reps.

[mritter3]

deads, rows, and wieghted chins/underhand pullups.

[Survivor831]

Under Hand pull-ups, Reverse culs, Hammer curls and anything that will bring up the forearms and Brachialis. Reverse pull-ups supersetted with Scott curls will kill your biceps. (Flip the preacher bench around and do them on the straight side.)

[prowrestler]

if u get good at them... chins and rows will add sick size and power to those biceps

then ofcourse for real direct work, barbell, db and hammer curls

[Ir0nClad]

Deadlifts, Squats, and milk.

[ironbound]

Alright, I understand that heavy squats and deadlifts raise your hGH and test levels, but let's get real. Are you seriously gonna tell this guy that to get bigger biceps he should forget about doing curls and focus on squats?... If you were conduct an experiment where you had one guy just doing squats twice a week and one guy just doing barbell curls twice a week, do you actually believe the guy doing the squats would get more bicep growth? Not a chance in hell.

[mritter3]

Alright, I understand that heavy squats and deadlifts raise your hGH and test levels, but let's get real. Are you seriously gonna tell this guy that to get bigger biceps he should forget about doing curls and focus on squats?... If you were conduct an experiment where you had one guy just doing squats twice a week and one guy just doing barbell curls twice a week, do you actually believe the guy doing the squats would get more bicep growth? Not a chance in hell.

not saying to forget about the bb curls but if your 150lb guy do you think it is possible to just curl and curl and get big arms....hell no, big arms go hand in hand with a big body, you can tone them til your blue in the face but the fact is that unless your doing heavy compound movements (not just squats), then your arms won't grow as much as you'd think they will.

[fenix237]

for the last 6 months, i've been doing 5X5 style training with very little direct arm work and my arm have gotten noticeably bigger stronger,and harder. if i do lots of heavy curling in addition to what i'm already doing, i seem to get tendonitis. do your curls after you finish the heavy compound movements to maximize everything

to answer the question about sqatting vs. curling for bigger arms: i'm willing to bet that if you took 2 guys- one guys does nothing but squats and the other nothing but curls, after one year the guy doing squats will have bigger arms along with chest, back, shoulders, and of course legs.

it's been said many times on here- bigger body=bigger arms- if this was not true, all the curl boys that do 30 sets would have 20" guns

[mritter3]

for the last 6 months, i've been doing 5X5 style training with very little direct arm work and my arm have gotten noticeably bigger stronger,and harder. if i do lots of heavy curling in addition to what i'm already doing, i seem to get tendonitis. do your curls after you finish the heavy compound movements to maximize everything

to answer the question about sqatting vs. curling for bigger arms: i'm willing to bet that if you took 2 guys- one guys does nothing but squats and the other nothing but curls, after one year the guy doing squats will have bigger arms along with chest, back, shoulders, and of course legs.

it's been said many times on here- bigger body=bigger arms- if this was not true, all the curl boys that do 30 sets would have 20" guns

nicely said BRP....

[Littlefry]

for the last 6 months, i've been doing 5X5 style training with very little direct arm work and my arm have gotten noticeably bigger stronger,and harder. if i do lots of heavy curling in addition to what i'm already doing, i seem to get tendonitis. do your curls after you finish the heavy compound movements to maximize everything

to answer the question about sqatting vs. curling for bigger arms: i'm willing to bet that if you took 2 guys- one guys does nothing but squats and the other nothing but curls, after one year the guy doing squats will have bigger arms along with chest, back, shoulders, and of course legs.

it's been said many times on here- bigger body=bigger arms- if this was not true, all the curl boys that do 30 sets would have 20" guns

Its true, I ran 3 5x5 cycles for approximately 8 months in total with little arm work expect the recommened 2x8-12 sets of barbell curls and tricep extensions once a week and my arms where grwoing like crazy from benching, deadlifting, rowing, and squatting 3x a week.

[rocket1]

If I had to pick two exercises I would pick Barbell Curl and Close Grip EZ Bar Curl. The reason being that the BB curl targets the inner-upper part of the bicep which is hard to target. Make sure you focus on contracting this part of the bicep when you do this exercise. And as for the Close Grip EZ Bar Curl, as mentioned above it works your upper forearm and the lower part of your bicep. If you bi's are lagging, or are not "peaking" it is probably because the inner-upper bicep is lagging (i don't know the full name).

If you want bigger arms, make sure to do heavy compound as well as isolation. This seems pretty obvious to me.

[GJN5002]

for the last 6 months, i've been doing 5X5 style training with very little direct arm work and my arm have gotten noticeably bigger stronger,and harder. if i do lots of heavy curling in addition to what i'm already doing, i seem to get tendonitis. do your curls after you finish the heavy compound movements to maximize everything

to answer the question about sqatting vs. curling for bigger arms: i'm willing to bet that if you took 2 guys- one guys does nothing but squats and the other nothing but curls, after one year the guy doing squats will have bigger arms along with chest, back, shoulders, and of course legs.

it's been said many times on here- bigger body=bigger arms- if this was not true, all the curl boys that do 30 sets would have 20" guns


there are so many other factors involved. Im sure if youre doing a 5x5 program you are eating a lot and have put on some weight which contributes to muscle size. Also, many of the dudes that curl and bench arent in there benching 405 and curling 135 for reps. They are the kind of people that come in simply to do arms before going out to party. In my opinion, people who squat correctly on a regular basis are more dedicated to lifting and will be larger overall than people who dont squat. So yes, people who squat probably are bigger than people who dont squat and that correlates to bigger arm, but I disagree that arm size is a direct result of squatting. If I wanted to ruin my symmetry I would take the bet and let you do nothing but squat for a motnh and I'll do nothing but curl, but curl heavy 135lbs+ olympic curls, and I gurantee I gain more arm size than you do (even though I will look ridiculous haa)

But besides that, I think you need a mix, heavy compound movement with good isolation work

[prowrestler]

against popular belief, im gonna go against deadlifting/squatting for big arms...

reason being i pull 495 and have 12.5 at the most inch forearms and 16 inch upper arms, nothing impressive at all.

yet my wheels are good, thighs are on of those parts that set me apart, that and my traps. guess what? those muscles play a key part in deadlifting. makes sence.


what i am for is chinups and rows to develop good bicep mass, along with cheat curls and preacher curls

[ironbound]

for the last 6 months, i've been doing 5X5 style training with very little direct arm work and my arm have gotten noticeably bigger stronger,and harder. if i do lots of heavy curling in addition to what i'm already doing, i seem to get tendonitis. do your curls after you finish the heavy compound movements to maximize everything

to answer the question about sqatting vs. curling for bigger arms: i'm willing to bet that if you took 2 guys- one guys does nothing but squats and the other nothing but curls, after one year the guy doing squats will have bigger arms along with chest, back, shoulders, and of course legs.

it's been said many times on here- bigger body=bigger arms- if this was not true, all the curl boys that do 30 sets would have 20" guns

I think you need everything, but there's a reason no one does squats on arm day. Look at a guy like Branch Warren - massive legs but keeps being told to bring up his arms. How do you think he's going to try to accomplish that? Yeah, by doing more direct arm work.

[fenix237]

i guess what a few of us were trying to point out is that too many guys just starting out wanting to get their arms bigger think they need to focus on curls (i did) while neglecting the big lifts (and diet as well). doing squats, deads, and other heavy back work WILL build up of your arms. your body naturally stays within relative proportion in size- bigger body=bigger arms

of course when you get up to an elite level (Branch Warren), that is a whole other ball game- we're talking about average gym joes like me and most of the forvm members. the OP i'm guessing is just getting into this game, and starting with foundational exercises is where he should begin IMHO

just my 2cents!

[fenix237]

But besides that, I think you need a mix, heavy compound movement with good isolation work

X2 -i agree 100%

[ironbound]

i guess what a few of us were trying to point out is that too many guys just starting out wanting to get their arms bigger think they need to focus on curls (i did) while neglecting the big lifts (and diet as well). doing squats, deads, and other heavy back work WILL build up of your arms. your body naturally stays within relative proportion in size- bigger body=bigger arms

of course when you get up to an elite level (Branch Warren), that is a whole other ball game- we're talking about average gym joes like me and most of the forvm members. the OP i'm guessing is just getting into this game, and starting with foundational exercises is where he should begin IMHO

just my 2cents!

Well yes I agree with you then.

[Ghost26]

yea i am relatively new iv been training for about a year now

[MojoMike36]

Not sure if it got mentioned...

Underhand BB Rows.

I get the sorest biceps from this every time.

[Tanth]

underhand bb rows really killl the bi's man. Get a good foundation from compound lifts and try and limit your isometric movements (curls shit like that) once you get a good foundation then u can get your arms shredded by going buck on the bb curls db curls, zottman curls, hammer curls all that. I still do db curls and hammer curls. but i do it after a long day of back work to make sure its just for a little extra and not the foundation of my workout.

[IronWilson]

Honest to god.....squats to make your arms bigger?!!! Sure they build up your body's total mass, but they really won't grow your arms like we would want them to. I keep hearing this statement, and all the info being given out is being misconstrued.

If you like training arms or feel you need it, then do it. If you feel your arms are good enough, then don't train arms.

We could go on and on with the endless debate about how you don't need direct arm training, but I really think some people misunderstand when the pros or somebody say "Get your compound lifts up and your biceps will grow." That does not mean not to train arms. It means that your main lifts will make you stronger and hit the arms indirectly, meaning that you can also lift heavier during your arm training. I have read a very respectable strength coach's article, and it said "If you can't do at least 6 pullups, you shouldn't be training arms directly." My question is: Why not? If you are trying to get bigger or stronger, why would you not want to give your whole body equal attention, including your arms?

[BCSteel]

I was getting nowhere with direct arm work like eze curls or hammer curls or skull crushers but started putting on mass when I followed bb rows with one set of chins and bench with one set of dips.

[NickSP]

First off, I do agree that you have to be working all your muscle groups and definitely hit the larger muscles hard. But if you are training for physique purposes, you should be training everything IMO and that includes the bis and tris. Other than hitting your lats hard, my personal staples are: EZ bar curls, alternating DB curls, alternating hammer curls, cable curls with the bar or hammer curls with the rope attachment and usually finish with some kind machine/unilateral move. The only reason I don't do preacher curls like every time is because of my wrists. As long as you focus on bar and DB work like anything else, you're probably ok. IMO

[shizz702]

Weighted chins, best exercise you can do for your biceps, period.

[fenix237]

[QUOTE=IronWilson;687875]Honest to god.....squats to make your arms bigger?!!! Sure they build up your body's total mass, but they really won't grow your arms...

I have read a very respectable strength coach's article, and it said "If you can't do at least 6 pullups, you shouldn't be training arms directly." My question is: Why not? If you are trying to get bigger or stronger, why would you not want to give your whole body equal attention, including your arms?----------------------------------------------------------

IW, in the literal sense i agree- squats do not directly grow your arms, but the reasoning behind how squats CAN make your arms grow is some believe squats release anabolic hormones (testosterone, HGH) that benefit all muscle groups. it's been debated back and forth as to how relevant that is. but it is true when you strengthen/thicken up your whole body the arms will follow.

you mentioned the book you read where the coach recommended not doing any arm work before you can do 6 pullups: i will venture to say his point is that you need to put your energy and attention to build your base before you start to refine/tweak it.

to repeat what was mentioned here before- take care of business with the big lifts, then finish them off with some iso work- i do 2 exercises 2-3 sets for 8-12 reps.

peace- brp

[Ir0nClad]

Take your ten rep max for the squat, and squat it 20 times 2 - 3 times a week for 6 - 8 weeks. This is a 20 rep squat program, where if you drink a gallon of milk a day you will put on 10 - 15 lbs of muscle in 6 weeks. Tell me than that your god damn arms aren't bigger, let alone the rest of your freaking body.

[IronWilson]

IW, in the literal sense i agree- squats do not directly grow your arms, but the reasoning behind how squats CAN make your arms grow is some believe squats release anabolic hormones (testosterone, HGH) that benefit all muscle groups. it's been debated back and forth as to how relevant that is. but it is true when you strengthen/thicken up your whole body the arms will follow.

you mentioned the book you read where the coach recommended not doing any arm work before you can do 6 pullups: i will venture to say his point is that you need to put your energy and attention to build your base before you start to refine/tweak it.

to repeat what was mentioned here before- take care of business with the big lifts, then finish them off with some iso work- i do 2 exercises 2-3 sets for 8-12 reps.

peace- brp

You're exactly right. It's just that I see people posting on this forum and others saying that they just started lifting and ask what they should do to build their arms. And then others will answer: "SQUAT! SQUAT! SQUAT!" and "you don't need an arm day." And beginners take this advice and their arms aren't growing at all, so they get a bad taste of bodybuilding. Everyone's goals aren't the same, and a lot of guy's initial goals are to grow their arms bigger (If any of you didn't when you first started, you're lying lol). So unless one wants to (initially at least.) become a powerlifter, this will not help them.

Now, the big compound lifts should be prioritized over isolated arm training. I agree with that. But training arms is fun and gives people what they want, adds to your overall strength, and should not be overlooked if you are looking to build a good physique.

[bradfoster]

First of all, what are you currently doing for your biceps?
Do you change it up often?

Incline hammer curls or anything that works the brachalis muscle that runs under the bicep as this will cause them to peak and appear larger.

I found good results from doing them in this order, heavy with good form.

Barbell curls x2 (7-9)
Incline Hammer curls x2 (10-12)
Concentration curls x2 (13-15)
EZ bar close grip curls x2 (7-9)
Concentration Hammers x2 (13-15)

30 seconds rest between sets.
I train them directly once a week.

Play with it and see how you go

[mritter3]

i guess what a few of us were trying to point out is that too many guys just starting out wanting to get their arms bigger think they need to focus on curls (i did) while neglecting the big lifts (and diet as well). doing squats, deads, and other heavy back work WILL build up of your arms. your body naturally stays within relative proportion in size- bigger body=bigger arms

of course when you get up to an elite level (Branch Warren), that is a whole other ball game- we're talking about average gym joes like me and most of the forvm members. the OP i'm guessing is just getting into this game, and starting with foundational exercises is where he should begin IMHO

just my 2cents!

agree 100% nicely said. def. should start with the foundational exercises first.

[Aggression]

My biceps were lagging hard a few months ago. I started working out with a guy and I just jumped into his bicep routine and my arms starting growing.

The main thing that was different was reps and volume. Instead of hitting the bi's for ~9-10 sets at 6-10 reps, it went up to ~12-15 sets for 8-15 reps. The upped volume, paired with the higher rep range really made them grow. Exercises were always different from week to week. Everyone's different. You gotta find what works for you. I was always partial to the idea of ''biceps are a small muscle, they only need 8-10 sets''. It was when I disregarded that and pushed myself that I started to grow.

Try a bunch of things and track your progress over a few months time. If you're growing, then keep at it. If you don't make any gains in a 3 month period, try something else.

[MrMonday]

It seems like half of the people on this forum nowadays think there is more merit in what you AREN'T doing to build your body up.

The foundation of a big back is chins, rows, and deadlifts. If you are using these exercises to hit your bis, then you are doing them incorrectly.

The foundation of big biceps is barbell curls, dumbbell curls, and preacher curls.

"Weighted chins" are not a bicep exercise, your biceps aren't going to magically grow more because you think you're "hardcore" by avoiding direct arm work. OF COURSE you should be focusing on your squat, bench, and deadlift... but this is bodybuilding... you should also be focusing on your barbell curl, militaries, lateral raises, skullcrushers, rows, leg curls, etc. the list goes on.

We are building ALL of our bodyparts. Not just an arbitrary handful of the ones that internet gurus decided were the only "important" muscles, and that the rest need to just pick up the slack later.

[G Diesel]

Obviously the handling of heavier weights on rows and deads will help your bis grow much as pressing heavier weights will cause your tris to grow.

That said, if we're talking about direct biceps stimulation, use movements that limit the involvement of your front delts like preacher movements with DBs, EZ-curl bars and on machines and well as using multiple angles and attachments on cable curls. Try hammer DB curls and reverse barbell curls for adding thickness and overall lower biceps/brachialis mass. Also, like I've said before use a diverse rep range... Really heavy for a few reps up to high rep burnout sets.

Peace, G

[Feel The Power]

I used to do these once every so often and it really helped my biceps grow. Make sure this is the last exercise you do in your workout and it works best if you have a partner, but it is not necessary.

Load a barbell with a weight you can do for 12 reps comfortably. Facing your partner curl the weight for 10 reps, then immediately set it down, then your partner does 10 reps. After they are done pick it up and do 9 reps, they do 9 reps, you keep going all the way down to 1 rep each with the only rest being when its your partners turn. It helps if you have the partner there cause usually around 5 or 6 you might need a slight spot.. Doing this really helped my biceps grow!

[fenix237]

[QUOTE=MrMonday;688944]

"Weighted chins" are not a bicep exercise, your biceps aren't going to magically grow more because you think you're "hardcore" by avoiding direct arm work



...this is incorrect- it absolutely is a biceps exercise- just not an isolation movement- what are you going to say next, that squats are not an exercise to build your quads, but leg extensions are?

...if someone goes to the gym and busts his/her ass doing deads, squats, presses, cleans, weighted chins/dips, they are hardcore IMHO, and certainly more than a guy who doesn't give 100% on these but does 30 sets of curls trying to build up his arms

...i never said to avoid direct arm work, i said in post #2 to not spend TOO much time on iso exercises, while neglecting heavy lifts and diet. if you have a noob just getting in the game, he will be very disapponted if he thinks he will build a serious pair of guns without focusing on building his entire body with foundational exercises (and diet as well). once you become an intermediate, then you can think about specialization routines

not trying to start a flame war, we're here to learn, educate, and support fellow members!

[Dead(Lift)]

rows rows rows and some more rows =)

[CDUB23]

http://forum.animalpak.com/showthread.php?t=24814

[MrMonday]

My post was a general commentary, not really directed at you or any one individual, but I'll respond to this anyway.




...this is incorrect- it absolutely is a biceps exercise- just not an isolation movement- what are you going to say next, that squats are not an exercise to build your quads, but leg extensions are?

Just because the biceps contract and are used in the exercise, doesn't mean it is the best - or even a mediocre - exercise for building them up.


...if someone goes to the gym and busts his/her ass doing deads, squats, presses, cleans, weighted chins/dips, they are hardcore IMHO, and certainly more than a guy who doesn't give 100% on these but does 30 sets of curls trying to build up his arms

I don't see your point here. Nobody is doing 30 sets or curls, nor is anyone recommending others do 30 sets of curls.


...i never said to avoid direct arm work, i said in post #2 to not spend TOO much time on iso exercises, while neglecting heavy lifts and diet. if you have a noob just getting in the game, he will be very disapponted if he thinks he will build a serious pair of guns without focusing on building his entire body with foundational exercises (and diet as well).

Did you think I was saying something different from this?


once you become an intermediate, then you can think about specialization routines

Pray tell, when does one "become" an intermediate, and what do you think a "specialization routine" is?


not trying to start a flame war, we're here to learn, educate, and support fellow members!

Just because we have a differing opinion doesn't mean a "flame war" is going on. I respectfully disagreed with a lot of the points being made in this thread, and now we're having a discussion about it.

[fredo]

Remember that if you lifting heavy for back you should be using your biceps to help.
Try supersetting hammer curls(8-10) with rope curls(10-12)x4.These should work the outer head of your biceps.

Try cheat curls heavy with a spotter if you can. 4sets (6-8)

If your basic power (compound) lifts are improving than you will strengthen your supporting muscles,tendons etc and you will be able to lift more thereby lifting more for biceps.

Good luck bro.All the best on your quest.

[fenix237]

MM, it's all good- i think we're just going in circles at this point. i didn't mean to imply you were were starting anything, just that i didn't want to start one. i thought your e-mail was a direct response to mine. the ONLY point where i disagree with you is that you said that chins were not a biceps movement, where as i believe they are, and a good one at that.

i think where things got off track was where the OP was asking what to do to bring up lagging arms, and i was trying to give him advice in the bigger picture instead. it's simpler to just answer the question directly. it's tough to give someone advice w/o knowing a bit of background info.

for someone to say they're an intermediate, they should have around 1 year of solid training, again IMO. Specialization routines are incorporated after a good foundation is built and you're ready to add some advanced training routines.

in any event, it's cool brother- peace!

[MrMonday]

MM, it's all good- i think we're just going in circles at this point. i didn't mean to imply you were were starting anything, just that i didn't want to start one. i thought your e-mail was a direct response to mine. the ONLY point where i disagree with you is that you said that chins were not a biceps movement, where as i believe they are, and a good one at that.

i think where things got off track was where the OP was asking what to do to bring up lagging arms, and i was trying to give him advice in the bigger picture instead. it's simpler to just answer the question directly. it's tough to give someone advice w/o knowing a bit of background info.

for someone to say they're an intermediate, they should have around 1 year of solid training, again IMO. Specialization routines are incorporated after a good foundation is built and you're ready to add some advanced training routines.

in any event, it's cool brother- peace!

Out of curiosity, how tall are you?

[fenix237]

i'm a shorty at 5'10"- you know i have to ask why you're asking!

[getapump]

lol... i love the whole compound moves =good direct arm work=meh thing going on... but i cant say that i agree with it... it is definately true that the body will grow as a whole... and all those big, burly, fun compound movements with plates clanging on both sides of the bar will stimulate the arms to some degree... but to think that your biceps will be filling out to their potential just by all the heavy work on back day is a bit far fetched in my humble opinion... i like to have an arm day all on its own, i think my arms have improved because of this, and the pump you can achieve when training bis/tris in superset fashion is just plain addicting... my favorite pump by far is on arm day... that said to each his own, i hope you get the arms you desire be it from rows, deads, squats or sitting on a rubber ball curling pink plastic coated dumbells dancin around like richard fuckin simmons...

and to the original poster- i like heavy straight bar curls- and i do them in the squat rack... but dont hold it against me fellas... all the benches with straight bars are always taken...

[B-rad89]

Since I started lifting seriously I have never directly worked my arms. Just this week I am going to start praying a lot. Just for the sake that I never hit them.

[MrMonday]

i'm a shorty at 5'10"- you know i have to ask why you're asking!

Since when is 5'10 short? Average height in the US is 5'9.

I was asking because I've noticed a trend among people with short limbs that they often need a lot less direct arm work for their arms to fill out.

[fenix237]

Since when is 5'10 short? Average height in the US is 5'9.

I was asking because I've noticed a trend among people with short limbs that they often need a lot less direct arm work for their arms to fill out.

haha!!! i guess your right- it seems just about all my friends and coworkers are 6' and over...

you make an excellent point- i've done little direct arm work and people tell me i have large arms with good shape (but no separation). i've had taller lifting partners who had a much harder time building a set of guns.

[machineman]

haha!!! i guess your right- it seems just about all my friends and coworkers are 6' and over...

you make an excellent point- i've done little direct arm work and people tell me i have large arms with good shape (but no separation). i've had taller lifting partners who had a much harder time building a set of guns.

I agree with the last statement, BRP....at 6'3, I have had a hard time putting size on my arms....I don't think they have grown much, but the mrs begs to differ! I know they have grown as some of my t-shirts are now tight in the arms....it boils down to everyone has to figure out what works for them.....

[loligagger]

up your calorie intake and change your workouts so your doing alot of pulling, pushing, and squatting. as far as your actual arm workouts go, i like to do the positive part of the lift quickly, squeeze, and then do the negative very slowly.

hope this helps

[ChadO]

Ok fellas. This is getting really frustrating. Since i started my bulking phase my back, chest, and shoulders have been growing, as they should, but my biceps are just not getting any bigger. This has been a problem for some time now. My triceps have no problem getting size, its just these damn bi's. Its starting to get to me because when ever i look in the mirror, the size of my body just doesn't match what my bi's should be. I would really like to start seeing some growth in these bad boys. If you guys have any opinions or anything that could throw me in the right direction, it would be well appreciated.

Thanks fellas.
Chado

[BionicMasterPiece]

Ok fellas. This is getting really frustrating. Since i started my bulking phase my back, chest, and shoulders have been growing, as they should, but my biceps are just not getting any bigger. This has been a problem for some time now. My triceps have no problem getting size, its just these damn bi's. Its starting to get to me because when ever i look in the mirror, the size of my body just doesn't match what my bi's should be. I would really like to start seeing some growth in these bad boys. If you guys have any opinions or anything that could throw me in the right direction, it would be well appreciated.

Thanks fellas.
Chado

You have an your own arm day or do you train biceps with back? Biceps should be pretty easy to grow aslong as your not overtraining them, doing 2-3 movements is really all thats needed to stimulate the muscle, but your nervous system controls everything (I wish more people knew or realized this), So if your going balls to the wall on your deadlifts,t-bar rows or squats your body will produce more hormones that any other exercises forcing EVERYTHING that youve been stimulating to grow. Im sure your eating enough quality foods, advice I can give to you is too start eating more fat (not trans fat) to boost your testosterone levels.

[BionicMasterPiece]

You have an your own arm day or do you train biceps with back? Biceps should be pretty easy to grow aslong as your not overtraining them, doing 2-3 movements is really all thats needed to stimulate the muscle, but your nervous system controls everything (I wish more people knew or realized this), So if your going balls to the wall on your deadlifts,t-bar rows or squats your body will produce more hormones that any other exercises forcing EVERYTHING that youve been stimulating to grow. Im sure your eating enough quality foods, advice I can give to you is too start eating more fat (not trans fat) to boost your testosterone levels.

Damn im good! hah :)

[ChadO]

I have stopped training bi's on back days. I have made an arm day by itsself. My bi routien consists of: warm up ill do 21s, the my work sets are seated 1 arm preacher curls, and then hammer curls. Sometimes if I feel like it, ill do rope curls. After ill do 3 excersises for my tris. I don't go too heavy where form is bad, I get the full contraction and full stretch. My diet is good, I can pat myself on the back for how I've been with that. Also right now I'm on Pak, Omega, Flex, Nitro, Uni-liver, Stak, Natural sterol complex, and Pump

[MrMonday]

How much can you barbell/dumbbell curl now compared to 6 months ago? A year ago?

When is the last time your bodyweight increased significantly?

If you want to add size to your biceps, you need to add 20+lbs of bodyweight, and increase the amount of weight you can do freeweight curls with.

[ChadO]

i can say, from 1 yr to 6 months ago my weight in curls have gone up around 10-20 lbs. more for barbell curls. my weight though, doesn't increase so i've stayed the same for over a year easily. I just don't gain weight, period. But i can say, since i have been eating a ton more, i have seen a slight gain, from around 184ish to 191 when i go to bed to 188 when i wake up

[Legacy]

i can say, from 1 yr to 6 months ago my weight in curls have gone up around 10-20 lbs. more for barbell curls. my weight though, doesn't increase so i've stayed the same for over a year easily. I just don't gain weight, period. But i can say, since i have been eating a ton more, i have seen a slight gain, from around 184ish to 191 when i go to bed to 188 when i wake up

Here ya go, try out this routine, it will shock your biceps up. Killin arm article

http://animalpak.com/html/article_details.cfm?section=training&ID=187

[MrMonday]

Here ya go, try out this routine, it will shock your biceps up. Killin arm article

http://animalpak.com/html/article_details.cfm?section=training&ID=187

No offense, but the OP's workout obviously isn't the problem.

How do you expect to gain muscle when you aren't eating enough to gain bodyweight? Muscle tissue isn't magic, it doesn't appear out of thin air. Unless the nutrients are there to create it, you aren't going to be gaining anything.

You just need more CALORIES.

[Birdman]

i agree more calories especially from protein and fat. Id also say start incorporating drop sets in your bi training..itll get ur pump goin somethin fierce and really beat the shit outta those muscles. push ur limits bro

[ChadO]

Okay so more calories and fat. What kind of food do you recommend would I benefit from.
My arms right now flexing are at 14.5in and without flexing they are 13

[PORTERHOUSE]

your probably going to want to keep your fat in check and get a large portion of calories from protein and carbs. Don't have to avoid fat altogether, but when gaining weight protein and carbs are going to get you where you want to go.

[ChadO]

Basically my diet looks like this. Give or take

8-9am: 5 eggs and 2 cups raisin brand
12pm- Either fish or 8oz chicken breast with 1-2 cups brown rice
2pm- peanut butter and cottage cheese with banana
4pm- 8oz chicken breast with 1-2 cups brown rice or 85-95% lean beef with brown rice
7pm- Either steak, beef or chicken with broccoli and brown rice
10pm- oats, peanut butter and cottage cheese

In a couple weeks ill be getting some real gains to throw some more protein in, plus some other stuff for a right before bed time shake.

[shizz702]

How much can you barbell/dumbbell curl now compared to 6 months ago? A year ago?

When is the last time your bodyweight increased significantly?

If you want to add size to your biceps, you need to add 20+lbs of bodyweight, and increase the amount of weight you can do freeweight curls with.

There it is.

Logic tells me if you add significant weight to your curl in strict form and adhere to your dietary and recovery needs your arms will grow.

Pick a few curl variations that work for you, and focus on good form (no back swing, etc.) and just focus on adding a little bit of weight or an extra rep or two daily. Just make sure to beat the log book.

[prowrestler]

what i do..

barbell curl with an olympic bar 3 sets of 5 reps, last took to failure. add weight every time you are able to complete 3x5.

hammer curl 3x10

preacher curl 3x8 (slower tempo on negative.)

eat alot and get stronger weekly on these exercises.

[Deathride]

Listen to prowrestler! Started me on the road to big guns and i thank him for it!!!

Pound everything else hard and your biceps will grow. my brother doesn't do curls, but he olympic lifts and his biceps grow in proportion with the rest of him. I do my big exercises, then do a STRICT arm day (not massive weight, but strict form for a few exercises). Not the 20 sets that some people do....doesn't work for me.....but enough to add this little bit more stimulation.

[ChadO]

so do all those exercises on arm days

[BionicMasterPiece]

No offense, but the OP's workout obviously isn't the problem.

How do you expect to gain muscle when you aren't eating enough to gain bodyweight? Muscle tissue isn't magic, it doesn't appear out of thin air. Unless the nutrients are there to create it, you aren't going to be gaining anything.

You just need more CALORIES.

Do you know about the nervous system?

[BionicMasterPiece]

Listen to prowrestler! Started me on the road to big guns and i thank him for it!!!

Pound everything else hard and your biceps will grow. my brother doesn't do curls, but he olympic lifts and his biceps grow in proportion with the rest of him. I do my big exercises, then do a STRICT arm day (not massive weight, but strict form for a few exercises). Not the 20 sets that some people do....doesn't work for me.....but enough to add this little bit more stimulation.

bwhahaha

[prowrestler]

so do all those exercises on arm days

yup. its not complicated stuff

[prowrestler]

bwhahaha

nice waist of a post

[prowrestler]

Damn im good! hah :)

actually its a proven fact that temporary and minimal hormone increase from training does little besides dick all to increase muscle growth. you know.... the hormone release from squats and deads and all the good 1s..

if it did, steroids and peptides wouldnt be part of bodybuilding.

[BionicMasterPiece]

nice waist of a post

Thanks, its cool to see people being respectful on here once in a while?

[prowrestler]

Thanks, its cool to see people being respectful on here once in a while?

u laughed at his post, thats disrespectful. takes up band width as well for no reason...don't do that.

[BionicMasterPiece]

u laughed at his post, thats disrespectful. takes up band width as well for no reason...don't do that.

Are you hitting on me?

[MELTDOWN]

4) On Talking Shit & Airing Dirty Laundry...
Life is full of discord. In this game too, there's a lot that stands between you and your destiny. To move mountains, we need dynamite. But let's leave the TNT for busting up rock and iron. In here, we don't want short fuses or hot tempers. So you got a beef with someone's ideas or posts? Good. We like that. But debate the merits of the argument. Discuss the issues that are presented--respectfully and with civility. That's what we expect. We want members talking up the issues, not talking down other members. If you can't do that or don't know the difference between the member and his arguments, then move on. As the saying goes, if you got nothing good to say, don't say it. Don't talk shit. Nobody wants to see that. This ain't elementary school. If you have to, take it to PMs and resolve it peacefully, mano a mano. If you still can't, then you take it up with a Henchman, or if that doesn't work, a Watchman. Under no circumstances will we tolerate the bullshit found elsewhere. Transgressions may result in bans. So act like adults, not children. Respect, cooperation--these are the cornerstones of this place. Do not forget that you are a member of The Forvm, and counted among The Legion... Therefore, we fully expect you to stand tall and rise above the mud and muck. Handle the problem, in private. If you can't, we'll handle it for you...

[dedsqtbnch]

good luck man i think i have the same prob as you but i love deads squats and bench so its just an extra for me it comes after a wile just throw that weight up and keep addding

[BionicMasterPiece]

4) On Talking Shit & Airing Dirty Laundry...
Life is full of discord. In this game too, there's a lot that stands between you and your destiny. To move mountains, we need dynamite. But let's leave the TNT for busting up rock and iron. In here, we don't want short fuses or hot tempers. So you got a beef with someone's ideas or posts? Good. We like that. But debate the merits of the argument. Discuss the issues that are presented--respectfully and with civility. That's what we expect. We want members talking up the issues, not talking down other members. If you can't do that or don't know the difference between the member and his arguments, then move on. As the saying goes, if you got nothing good to say, don't say it. Don't talk shit. Nobody wants to see that. This ain't elementary school. If you have to, take it to PMs and resolve it peacefully, mano a mano. If you still can't, then you take it up with a Henchman, or if that doesn't work, a Watchman. Under no circumstances will we tolerate the bullshit found elsewhere. Transgressions may result in bans. So act like adults, not children. Respect, cooperation--these are the cornerstones of this place. Do not forget that you are a member of The Forvm, and counted among The Legion... Therefore, we fully expect you to stand tall and rise above the mud and muck. Handle the problem, in private. If you can't, we'll handle it for you...

Yes Sir! Understood!

[xman]

i felt the same way for some reason my genes or something let my bis grow with a crap load of types of !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PREACHER CURLS> . it just feels like it concentrates right on em stretches them , , pumps them. thats how i grew i jumped from starting with barbell curls to preachers . big diff in size for me

[Preservation]

I usually just bump up the weight from 5-10 pounds when I feel like they've stop growing I switch up the routine and push harder...if I ain't sweaten and feel that I did something I push it up...

[msktyshha]

what i do..

barbell curl with an olympic bar 3 sets of 5 reps, last took to failure. add weight every time you are able to complete 3x5.

damn wish i read this post earlier I would've had bigger biceps. That's the best idea I have read for bigger biceps. I am doing back and biceps on the same day, and I'll take this advice, right after my back workout I'll do 3 sets of 5 reps and go heavy in good form after that I'll move on to some x-rep type hammer curls. can't wait for my arms to grow bigger thanx guys!!!

[zubda345]

I can't get these fucking Biceps on the move, Triceps are doing great.

Age = 17

Height = 5'6"

Biceps schedule = Barbell curls 4x12, Dumbbell curls 3x12 (Single handed 1st then 3 sets of double handed) , Ez bar curls 3x10. Some times I also do rope cable hammer curls 3x10

Diet = Nothing fixed, I m only a bit fat left, Eat oats, chicken, beef, Brown rice, fruit, wheat, And almost past 15 days I was Takin in ALOT of Crap and Fucking Junk food. Now Have controlled It.


Any Help!!

[Mindaugas]

Gain weight

[R-Man]

You may need to switch up what your doing and/or do lower reps.

Keep the barbell curls, switch dumbell curls for hammer curls & ez bar curls for 21's, dumbell concetration curls or incline dumbell curls.

[Muscleguy93]

Gain weight/try and get stronger. there is no secret exercise or food.

[PORTERHOUSE]

1. gain weight(you dont get 20 inch guns weighing at 150)

2. curl more weight, when you can curl 185 lbs on BB curls you arms will be big...

True and True. You aren't going to grow anything until you gain some quality mass. Also, I never got a good response from my Bi's until I started going heavy on the first move. Hanging out entirely in the higher rep ranges aren't going to build that mass your looking for. Right now i do this and it's been working great:

BB Curls: 4 X 3 - 6 (explode up and squeeze/hold, control down/pause, repeat)
DB Preachers (unilateral): 3 X 8 - 10 (slow, focus on squeeze)
Wide Grip Seated Cable Curls: 2 X 10 - 12 (slow again, feel the burn)

Basic, but has proven effective for me.

More importantly though, gain some weight broseph. Go over to the diet section and throw something together and post it up for a critique. Diet is way more important than any training routine.

[zubda345]

To gain weight should I really go heavy as I can, squeeze on every rep and hold the position, like you ppl said?

Ok I will replace the dumbbell curls with ez bar and incline dumbbell. If there's any other suggestion, post it also.

U said diet matters most so Is my Diet ok or should I add something more to it?? have given diet in my 1st post.

[PORTERHOUSE]

To gain weight should I really go heavy as I can, squeeze on every rep and hold the position, like you ppl said?

Ok I will replace the dumbbell curls with ez bar and incline dumbbell. If there's any other suggestion, post it also.

U said diet matters most so Is my Diet ok or should I add something more to it?? have given diet in my 1st post.

You've got the basic concepts down, but im talking about getting something a little more "set". You don't need to be tracking you daily calories like that, but putting something down on paper will give you an idea of how much you should be eating every day. If you don't want to do that, try and eat about 6-7 times a day, getting protein and carbs in every meal.

As far as lifting heavier goes, don't lift so heavy as to loose form. I was saying that instead of lifting the weights ALL in the ~12 rep range, try the first exercise lifting a weight that you can move in good form, only 3 to 6 times. And yea, really focus on the squeeze and the mind/muscle connection.

[zubda345]

Yeah Bro thankx. I get ya!

[msktyshha]

train biceps on back day, this makes sure you're hitting biceps only once a week. Now go extremely heavy on your back workout and right after your back workout, do 2-3 sets of barbell curls 6-10 reps, followed by some rope hammer curls (the way you were doing already). Do this every week and watch your biceps grow. I have seen heavy back workouts build big biceps, when you do heavy back workouts it tortures your biceps, and if you do some barbell curls followed by that heavy workout, you will kill those biceps....and all you need after that is food to grow

[Legacy]

Ive gotten good results on biceps when I superset them with triceps. For biceps i usually hit this: 12 sets superseted with tricep work and my arms are killing. Sometimes I throw in 2 types of hammer curls, whether it be dumbbells, rope, or DB across the chest. I think hammers really help with bicep size. Having a huge brachialis is important. Look at guys like ronnie coleman phil heath and flex wheeler, their brachialis is bigger than their actual bicep brachi

Preacher curls 4 sets x 12 reps
Bar curls 3 sets x 8 reps
Hammer curls 3 sets x 12 reps
Some type of cable curl 2 sets x 15 reps

[snowboardray]

What does your back workout look like?

You might even try cutting back on the vloume for your bis.

[Machine]

i
I can't get these fucking Biceps on the move, Triceps are doing great.

Age = 17

Height = 5'6"

Biceps schedule = Barbell curls 4x12, Dumbbell curls 3x12 (Single handed 1st then 3 sets of double handed) , Ez bar curls 3x10. Some times I also do rope cable hammer curls 3x10

Diet = Nothing fixed, I m only a bit fat left, Eat oats, chicken, beef, Brown rice, fruit, wheat, And almost past 15 days I was Takin in ALOT of Crap and Fucking Junk food. Now Have controlled It.


Any Help!!

I mean no offense; but for the sake of my clarity...what the fuck does your nutrition have to do with the size and shape of your biceps?

You are getting all the wrong information on here. You are training your biceps as if you have already won a national bodybuilding title. You are burning valuable training time chasing big biceps. The reason your biceps have hit a wall is that your foundational training is somehow flawed...and you must remember that good muscularity is something which must be pounded into place over time...slow your roll. I dont have the information I need to assist you brother.

Remember...a true friend is someone who cares enough to tell you the truth.

MACHINE

[mcbeast]

Yet another thread asking the same question.."How do I get big" wether it be "all over" or a single bodypart. There is no secret! Train hard and heavy. Believe in what ýour doing. Eat accoring to your goals. If you've stopped getting stronger or gaining/losing weight, just switch what your doing. Everyone thinks this lifestyle is rocket science.

Now as far as your biceps are concerned? You need to hit them once a week at the most. Hard n heavy. Try hvt,hit,high rep,low rep. Find what works for YOU!

Also. Why is everyone asking what his back routine looks like? I'm not a bb by any means but I know that if you focus on hitting your BACK you biceps will not take much of a beating at all. Jerking weight all over the place is what wears your bis out.

[zubda345]

i

I mean no offense; but for the sake of my clarity...what the fuck does your nutrition have to do with the size and shape of your biceps?

You are getting all the wrong information on here. You are training your biceps as if you have already won a national bodybuilding title. You are burning valuable training time chasing big biceps. The reason your biceps have hit a wall is that your foundational training is somehow flawed...and you must remember that good muscularity is something which must be pounded into place over time...slow your roll. I dont have the information I need to assist you brother.

Remember...a true friend is someone who cares enough to tell you the truth.

MACHINE


None taken, OK. So, What type of info U need to help mo out??? tell me I'll post it right away.