I NEED HELP WITH MY BICEPS

[omarshari]

Hey all, I really need some help with my biceps..

First off, I think I'm a beginner/intermediate weight lifter.. I have been working out for about 3 years...

I am 180cm in height (5' 12") and weigh 86 kg (190lbs)
Currently I can lift about 250 on the bench press and 90 barbell curl..

However, I have restricted my training to negative weight lifting with much lighter weights and slow repetitions..

Now comes the problem................ I train my biceps with 3 exercises (along with back training), namely barbell curl, hammer curl and incline curl (although I do mix it up with preacher curls, concentration curls, chinups, etc), and my arms ache badly once I finish... HOWEVER, I just can seem to get my biceps any bigger or have any definition whatsoever...

I have done ALOT of research, but I've found that everyone tells me different things... Some have said that genetics play apart in the shape of the biceps so some just dont get that tennis ball 'peak' no matter what.

I don't want to give up on it so I ask you what I can do or change to get my biceps in better form... Thanks..

 

[beast1]

Try the push up's whilst holding something to give you a little slack.

It's a common sense process.

 

[made_guy82]

dude, that's easy - stop doing that stupid negative training. negatives are not used for increasing muscle size, they are far more useful for increasing strength, and only when done sparingly.

and pushups.....??? what the hell dude!?

 

[joseph49853]

My advice is simple. The triceps are three heads, and the biceps two heads. By working more on the larger triceps, it will make your biceps look much bigger.

And then by not deviating from correct form, and/or military posture, your body will be better able to realize your true muscle shape. By military posture, I mean, head back (and straight ahead,) shoulders back, delts lifted slightly toward the ear, chest out and firm, lower back arched, stomach neutral etc. Follow the natural curvature of your spine, and your body will be better able to fill in to its capacity.

Otherwise, your information is correct. Genetics are what play the ultimate role in the shape of your biceps. Some people have a peak, some people have a split, some people don't. I was lucky enough to have both a peak, and split. My weakness is my abs though, they don't look nearly as appealing; everyone has a flaw.

BTW, overworking such a small muscle group will only make it smaller. I would cut your bicep routine to only two exercises, and focus on full contraction at the top of the movement. Or better yet, throughout the entire movement, contract that bicep as hard as humanly possible.

 

[dietcola]

i struggled the hardest with my biceps than any other muscle, the tips that helped me succeed were:

don't overtrain, biceps are a SMALL muscle compared to it's surrounding muscles. it's easy to overtrain biceps because they are small and you use them for alot of other excercises, pulldowns, rows, chest flys...add those up and you may be working your biceps too much in a week. if you don't already know, overtraining seriously hinders your gains.

concentrate on form more than anything. (as stated above). analyze your isolation, lots of people have tendencies to use shoulders or other muscles to aid in bicep excercises.

keep working on moving your max up, you won't keep progressing if you always max out on the same weight for a long time.

and you said you're interested in definition as well, having a low body fat % is essential for that. you can also do negatives, drop sets, isometric excercises...cables offer some good toning excercises for biceps.

 

[s.a.f]

Do you use a preacher curl machine?

 

[omarshari]

First off.. Thanks for all that gave advice...

I had no idea negative training was more for strength training cos I was always under the assumption that it was for muscle endurance..

I VERY MUCH will take the advice about dropping to 2 excercises per week.. I think that makes alot of sense and I will focus much more on hard contraction when doing curls...

I have to admit I had no idea you can overtrain the biceps so easily and that leads to hindering gains... I was thinking that I should do more bicep exercises so I work outer/inner etc...

I used to use preacher curl with ez bar but I found that after one set, my arms were so fatigued I could barely lift for the second set with the same weight... I do like the preacher machine but I don't know if that'll be very effective (since its not free weight)..

 

[s.a.f]

Yes but its the correct angle and isolates the biceps most people using free weights have bad technique and do most of the lifting with their front delt.

 

[joseph49853]

You can change the emphasis on the shorter bicep head and forearm by supinating the wrist inward, the same can be accomplished by widening your grip.

 

[CCS]

If you can bench 250 but only curl 90 pounds, you are disproportionate (as you already know). I can curl about that much, but bench only 185.

As for definition, you need a lower body weight. Some muscle shape may be genetic, but I don't like the softball look. I like my muscles better.

Instead of increasing the work on your bicepts, try decreasing the work on the rest of your body, so you have more recovery energy available to devote to your bicepts.

If your bicepts are weak, your back probably is too. So do rows and chin ups and less bicept isolation work.

After 3 compound sets, I only do one set of bicept isolation, and alternate my bicept days with hammer curls, reverse curls, and palm up curls.

 

[omarshari]

Yeh I realised that (5'12")... I meant 5'11"

:lol:

Anyway, yeh college I think your right.. I am quite disproportionate but I'm starting to focus on other muscle groups other than chest now (I've also bought a resistance band to strengthen my rotator cuff.. Apparently this is REALLY important)...

I have incorporated compound work for the back as you have said (ie. chinups, lat pulldown, cable and bar rows) and once I've finished that I'm doing two bicep isolation exercises to finish up my back/biceps day..

I also realise in order to gain more definition, I have to reduce my body fat percentage (ie. lose weight).. I think maybe 175 lbs is good for my height...

 

[omarshari]

Just two more questions for you guys... When bicep curling, elbows forward or tucked into your body?? I've been getting mixed advice from the trainers at my gym...

Also, after three or four compound back exercises, I can't seem to curl the full range of motion... That is, when I curl up I can only do it to about 160 degrees from my thighs.. (mainly due to my biceps being already pumped) Is that still ok or bad form?

 

[Harie]

Also, after three or four compound back exercises, I can't seem to curl the full range of motion... That is, when I curl up I can only do it to about 160 degrees from my thighs.. (mainly due to my biceps being already pumped) Is that still ok or bad form?

Back exercises really hit your biceps. You probably don't need to throw in the bicep curls right now. In a few weeks/months, you can add curls in since your back will be stronger. If your biceps aren't fried by the end of the back workout, then add in curls.