When thinking about how to best build a big pair of biceps, the prescription seems rather simple: Do some curls with a barbell, a pair of DB’s and maybe even a cable a couple of days per week, and presto – you’re ready for the “gun show.”
It may be that easy for genetic freaks like Phil Heath or Kai Greene, but for the rest of us, more thought and care must be put into every biceps blasting session. The fact is that most trainees do not fail at the quest to manifest bigger bi’s for lack of passion or effort, but because of issues with their approach.
The following mistakes are often made while training biceps. Perhaps one or more will hit home for you and allow for some changes to your own program that will yield better results for your hard work.
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Mistake 1: Get Off the Swing
If you want massive biceps then force them to move the weight from point A to point B, not the lower back and anterior delts. By using momentum and swinging the weight out of the bottom position you are only robbing yourself of the type of powerful contraction it takes to ignite muscle growth. You will get far more out of curling a 100 lb. BB for 10 strict reps than curling a 150 lb. BB for 10 sloppy ones.
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Mistake #2: The Wrist Curl
I have heard time and again bodybuilders complain that they get a better forearm than biceps pump from curls. Nine out of 10 times this is because they initiate the movement with the forearm flexors (rather than the bis) by curling the wrists back. When performing curls, no matter the type, make sure to keep the wrists in line with the forearms throughout the entire set.
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Mistake #3: Obey the Speed Limit
In an effort to use more weight, many trainees will complete an entire rep, from top to bottom, in about two seconds. However, what is even more important than the amount of plates on the bar is how long you keep a muscle under tension. Try using a little less weight for your curls but slow things down so that you are taking two full seconds to curl the bar/DB’s to the top and another three seconds to lower to the bottom. If you have never done this before get ready for the pump of your life.
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Mistake #4: Don’t Stop Short
The way to force the most muscle fibers into exhaustion is by moving them through their full range of motion. Start every rep with the biceps fully lengthened to get the most out of every set and to take advantage of the growth-inducing effects directly initiated by stretching a muscle under tension, which include satellite cell activation and local IGF-1 release.
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Mistake #5: The Main Squeeze
Just like getting a good stretch is vitally important for inducing hypertrophy, so is a strong peak contraction at the top of any kind of curl. If you take a moment to flex and squeeze the biceps hard when at the full contraction point of every rep you will create greater blood flow, fire off more muscle fibers, and increase lactic acid burn – all of which will increase the possibility of adding inches to your arms.
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Mistake #6: Staying in One Place
We are creatures of habit and tend to stick with what is comfortable. While this is fine in some areas of life, it can be a detriment to those looking to build massive bis. While it is basic flexion of the upper arm that stimulates the biceps you do not have to work with the same grips, angles or planes of motion over and over. Use a close, medium or wide grip on a bar. Curl seated, standing, leaning forward, or on an incline of varying degrees. Pull from a lower pulley or upper pulley. Grab the DB’s in the middle, or with the thumb or pinkie touching the plates. Small tweaks to basic curling movements will recruit unique sets of motor units and shift emphasis between the two biceps heads.
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Mistake #7: Out of Order
While it’s best the majority of time to train a large muscle group before a smaller one, when the biceps are a priority it is time to break this rule, especially if you train back and bis on the same day. That said, if your biceps are truly in need of a serious kick in the butt, then I suggest you devote one training day to the arms alone, starting by smashing the bis into submission and following up with tris, which will be ideal for igniting the kind of growth you desire.
