Basic biceps exercises and pro recommendations

Basic biceps exercises

Everyone is accustomed to considering multi-joint exercises as basic exercises.

As an example, let's take the classic bench press or squats with a barbell. But full isolation cannot be achieved when bending the elbow, so lifting barbells and dumbbells for biceps is also considered basic.

We lift the barbell for biceps while standing

This is the simplest exercise that perfectly increases the volume of your arms. The only drawback is the serious stress on the wrists and radial ligaments. In order to reduce the risk of injury, it is recommended to use an EZ bar .

Technique:

• Place your feet shoulder-width apart, place your feet parallel, point your toes to the sides;
• Hold the bar tightly, look forward;
• As you inhale, without jerking, bend your arms and lift the apparatus to your chest;
• Pause slightly at the top, exhale freely and lower the bar.

Helpful Tips:

1. The body should remain straight and should not sway;
2. Elbows should be placed at the sides and no longer move them during the entire approach;
3. Forget heavy weights and cheating.

Raising dumbbells for biceps

The exercise is almost the same as the previous one, only the equipment and the increased load on the forearms are different. Professional bodybuilders are able to better contract muscle fibers using dumbbells.

Technique:

• Grasp the apparatus, take a deep breath and bend your elbows;
• Turn your hands outward at the moment when your forearms are parallel to the floor;
• Exhale deeply and slowly lower the weights.

Useful tips:

1. The elbows remain motionless, thanks to this the exercise will become more effective;
2. Try not to cheat in order to achieve the desired results faster.

Exercise "Hammer"

The exercise develops the brachioradialis muscle, making the biceps voluminous and prominent.

Technique:

• Stand on the floor, back straight, take dumbbells in your hands, palms should be turned towards the body;
• Raise each projectile in turn to shoulder level;
• Remember to breathe properly throughout the set.

Helpful Tips:

1. Don't rock your body;
2. Lift dumbbells without jerking;
3. Bend your arms only at the elbows.

Isolation exercises

Basic exercises are good, but you shouldn’t forget about isolating exercises. With their help you can pump up individual biceps bundles.

Lifting the barbell while standing with a reverse grip

This exercise has many benefits:

1. The coveted high peak appears at the biceps;
2. The volume of the forearms visually increases;
3. Elbows have additional protection from injury;
4. The wrists are strengthened;
5. Relief appears on the hands.

Technique:

• Lower your shoulders down and press your arms to your body;
• Bending should only occur at the elbows;
• The arms should extend only upon reaching the lowest point;
• Exhale forcefully and calmly bend the barbell.

Lifting the barbell on a Scott bench

This exercise was invented by Larry Scott. It is he who should be thanked for creating such a bench. This type of lifting of the barbell perfectly works the biceps.

Technique:

• Sit comfortably at a bench and place your hands on the surface;
• Take the barbell. It will be better if your training partner serves it to you.
• Start bending your arms, calmly lifting the projectile to your chin;
• Gently lower your arms with the barbell to the original position.

Useful tips:

1. You don’t need to lower the bar too low - this way you’ll work your arms better;
2. If you feel pain, change your grip;
3. Always maintain tension in the tendons throughout the entire approach.

Concentrated dumbbell raises with supination

It is often found in the programs of both beginners and professional athletes.

Let's look at the correct technique for concentrated biceps curls. In this case, we will sit and lean on the thigh:

• Sit on a bench and spread your legs wide;
• Take a dumbbell in your hand and lower your body a little;
• Rest your elbow on your thigh, it is recommended to place your other hand on your other leg;
• Raise the dumbbell to your shoulder, stay in this position for a couple of moments and return to the original position.

How to do push-ups correctly?

In order to effectively pump up your biceps, many techniques and programs have been developed. Which ones are the best?

First of all, we need to talk about push-ups. This is a very popular way to work out many muscles due to the fact that the exercises can be performed both in the gym and at home.

But there is a small nuance - only if done correctly will you pump up your biceps.

Since regular push-ups can only engage and pump the inner part of the arm, triceps, brachialis and chest.

Why is this happening? Push-ups are pushing exercises.

And the biceps is a traction muscle. And if you want to achieve success with push-ups, you should change the technique.

The way to pump up your biceps is simple:

• get into a plank position, as with regular push-ups, with your arms turned so that your fingers point back (that is, in this way some “twisting” of your hands occurs);
• press your elbows tightly to your body; if possible, it is better to take dumbbells in your hands and lean on them;
• The push-ups should be done slowly, and neither elbow should be moved to the side or far from the torso.

To begin with, it is enough to perform the exercise 20 times, making 3-4 approaches.

It is not recommended to train biceps together with other muscles on the same day.

Do push-ups and do serious exercise on your arms no more than twice a week, because muscle tissue should rest.

Since other muscle groups need to be taken into account, regular push-ups should not be neglected either.

And, of course, this should be done in combination with other exercises.

Weekly training program

The proposed training program is intended for beginners. If desired, you can always transform it to suit yourself. It is recommended to do training every other day.

Day 1

1. Warm up,
2. Deadlift 2x8,
3. Bent-over barbell row 3x8,
4. Pull-ups 3x10,
5. Barbell curl for biceps 2x13,
6. Crunches 3x20,
7. Hitch.

Day 2

1. Warm up,
2. Squats with a 3x6 barbell,
3. Leg press 2x18,
4. Seated calf raise 3x15,
5. Close grip bench press 2x12,
6. Lifting dumbbells for biceps 1x12,
7. Hitch.

Day 3

1. Warm up,
2. Wide grip bench press 5x5,
3. Dips 3x15,
4. Hammer 3x10,
5. Army press 3x8,
6. Hitch.

An effective biceps training program

How fast does biceps grow during normal training?

Muscles grow from many different factors:

1. Lifestyle;
2. Diet;
3. Features of the figure;
4. Age;
5. Training intensity.

As an example, let's take a person with a height of 180 centimeters and a weight of 80 kilograms. We focus not only on biceps, but also on muscle mass of the body in general:

• In the first six months of training, the body adapts to the load. During this time, athletes learn the technique of performing exercises. In about 3 months, the body will noticeably begin to increase.
• After the first year, muscle mass will develop and outsiders will notice the results. During this time, with the right approach, about three kilograms of muscle are added.
• After three years of training, the volume of the biceps should grow by another 5-7 centimeters.
• After five years, the hands and other parts of the body grow the worst. At best, the increase will be 5%.

What you need to know about biceps?

The biceps is the main and most prominent muscle of the arm. Is it possible to increase it yourself?

How to properly pump up this muscle and how much time should you devote to training?

All these questions are of interest to guys who want to have huge and beautiful biceps. We will try to answer them.

You can certainly pump up your biceps on your own.

The main thing is to do it correctly and slowly, since the joints and other tissues of your body will not keep up with muscle growth.

The biceps or biceps brachii muscle cannot be greatly increased by pumping only the arms.

In order to achieve amazing results, you need to do exercises on your shoulders, chest, and back.

Exercises for the upper body must include working out the entire muscles of the arm.

This will help you work effectively with heavy weights, and thus make your workout very effective.

After all, with every increase in mass, muscles grow. So, what exercises are the most effective for pumping up your biceps?

Reasons why biceps don't grow

A common problem is that at some point the arms stop growing. Some attribute it to genetics, others understand that they are eating or training incorrectly. Sometimes these parameters are sometimes combined. If a person is a frail ectomorph, then the biceps will grow with a noticeable “creaking”.

Among the main reasons why hands refuse to grow:

1. Overtraining of the biceps;
2. Unproductive approach to training;
3. Incorrect exercise technique;
4. Monotonous workouts.

You should especially look at the third point. Main mistakes:

• Regular cheating;
• You spread your elbows to the sides;
• When bending, you raise your elbows up;
• Unconsciously, the amplitude is too short.

Secrets for biceps training

All outstanding bodybuilders have their own ideas for pumping up huge biceps. For example, German bodybuilder Gunter Schlierkamp recommends following 5 tips:

• Biceps should always be pumped together with triceps . Moreover, it will be completely pointless if you decide to train your tired arms after your back. There is another side to the coin - you will not be able to fully load your back muscles if the day before you did a killer biceps workout. Based on this consideration, the split should be built correctly.
• Biceps will not grow if you load them with heavy weights . When training your arms, you need to take a different approach. Lower the weight on the bar and stand with your back to the wall. With the help of such a simple secret, your hands will receive additional stress.
• Hammer your biceps more often . The exercise trains the shoulders, and they, in turn, push out the upper biceps.
• Swing at a slow pace . Forget about jerks forever. They will not give you the desired growth, but you can easily get injured.
• Don't forget about alternate dumbbell lifts . It is enough to change the grip so that all the beams are pumped.

If you do not rely on the advice of bodybuilding stars, then simple recommendations will be as follows:

• Beginners do not need to focus on biceps . A number of athletes do not train their arms at all at first, but they still grow. To do this, you should do the bench press.
• Forget about daily workouts . Your body is not made of iron. If you continue to “plow” in this mode, you can get overtrained.
• Perform isolation exercises only together with basic exercises . Otherwise, the training will go down the drain.
• Biceps grow with 8-12 repetitions . Doing less will only increase strength. One approach lasts on average 40-50 seconds.
• It is recommended to change the training set slightly every month and a half . Otherwise, the muscles adapt to the load.
• Add weight every three workouts . Beginning athletes misunderstand this advice and suddenly add 5-10 kilograms. Everything is much simpler - hang 0.5 kilograms on a barbell. Even such a small weight can produce results.