Since the dawning of time, biceps have been the measure of strength. This little muscle, more than any other is used to judge how proficient you are in the arena that is the weights area of the gym. And for purely visual reasons, who can argue. Few things are more appealing for both you and others than a big arm bursting out of a sleeve. So much so that the majority of us buy t-shirts with tiny sleeves to make the most of whatever amount of size we have here. But enough is enough, no more small sleeves!
It’s time to stop buying sleeves so tight that a well-paid welder must have built them. Instead, make your arms fit the sleeve; build a set of guns that Arnie would have been proud of.
But before any guns get pumped, we need understand how the bicep works. Most people overlook the fact that your shoulder and elbow are essential cogs in the well-oiled machine that is the bicep. So let’s have a look at the elbow, shoulder and the bicep itself.
The Elbow
The movement of the elbow joint is flexion where you bend the elbow toward yourself closing the angle. Extension is the movement of the elbow away from the body opening the angle. This is the action you will be doing in each exercises on biceps.
The Shoulder
Here we have the rotator cuff. There are two joints here, glenohumeral joint and the acromioclavicular joint. For the moment we will concentrate on the glenohumeral joint which is a ball and socket joint. This joint was formed where the hollow cup-shaped socket of another bone such as the shoulder joint. This joint has freedom of movement in all directions.
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Muscles in the bicep
The main group muscles in the biceps are called the biceps brachii which are responsible for movement of the arm and elbow. The brachialis and brachioradialis, muscles that are on the side of the arm between biceps and triceps also help towards this movement.
Exercises
For many a decade, the trusty old bicep curl has been to go to guy for most of us when it comes to an arm workout. However, this one exercise does not do the trick. You’ve been doing it for months, and your arm doesn’t look much different. Take this as your cue to get excited and try this workout!
From my personal experience of working with clients, and my own training, there are four main exercises which are the best for developing bigger biceps.
- Alternating dumbbell concentration curl
- One arm preacher curl
- Dumbbell Hammer curl
- Incline dumbbell curl
For the workout, you’re going to do 3 sets of each exercise, with 8 – 12 reps in each set, after each set you will take 45 – 60 seconds rest. Make sure that you’re lifting a weight that is heavy enough to challenge you on each set, with the final set of each exercise being near impossible to finish. Only by doing this are we sure that you’re blasting the biceps as hard as possible.
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Alternating dumbbell concentration curl
Wide stance, feet shoulder with apart
Knees soft, slight bend in the knees
Head neck spine in line, back straight
Tummy tight
Elbows tucked in above hips
Look straight pick a point in the wall
Movement Pattern
Left arm first, lifting dumbbell up creating flexion
Take two seconds to lift dumbbell
Left arm releasing dumbbell downwards creating extension
Take four seconds to lower the dumbbell
Breath out when lifting, deep breath in when lowering
Repeat with opposite arm
Barbell preacher curl
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Seated position
Upper arm placed on top of preacher bench.
Barbell held at shoulder level
Head, neck and spine in line, back straight
Tummy tight
Look straight pick a point in the wall
Movement Pattern
Lift barbell up at elbow creating flexion
Take two seconds to lift barbell
Both arms releasing barbell downwards creating extension
Take four seconds to lower barbell
Breath out on exertion
Then when finished use other arm
Dumbbell Hammer curl
Starting position
Dumbbells facing sideways, with palms facing each other
Wide stance, feet shoulder with apart
Knees soft, slight bend in the knees
Head neck spine in line, back straight
Tummy tight
Elbows should be close to your torso
Look straight pick a point in the wall
Movement Pattern
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Lift both dumbbells at once
Take two seconds to lift dumbbell
Both arms releasing dumbbell downwards creating extension
Take four seconds to lower dumbbells
Breath out when lifting, deep breath in when lowering the dumbbells
Then repeat for prescribed amount of reps
Incline dumbbell curl
Sit on a bench, incline set at roughly 45 degrees
Dumbbell in each hand
Elbows should be close to your torso
Tummy tight
Look straight pick a point in the ceiling
Movement Pattern
Left arm first, lifting dumbbell up at elbow creating flexion
Take two seconds to lift dumbbell
Both arms releasing dumbbell downwards creating extension
Take four seconds to lower dumbbells Breath out on exertion
Alternate arm on each rep
There you have it guys, one workout that will leave you 6 - 8 weeks from bigger arms!
Written by Paul Mac Sweeney.
Gym Instructor, Personal trainer and Squash Coach for UCC team.
