How to Build Big Biceps
By Vince DelMonte
 Whether you refer to them as guns, pythons, thunder
and lighting or Rottweilers, there is no muscle group that has earned more nicknames than the biceps!
Training biceps has become an obsessive addiction in gyms across the world. Some guys at the gym will do bicep
curls in between sets, just so they can see their biceps pumped up and bulging. Others spend an entire hour doing
concentration curls while watching themselves in a mirror. Some people even take weights with them when they go on
vacation so that they can do some bicep curls at the hotel, before they go into a club!
Looking for a Great Workout and Nutrition Program that will help you Build Muscle
Fast!
Bicep training has become an unhealthy and obsessive addiction for many. The allure of peaked,
mountainous biceps will probably never become unpopular. Why should it? The biceps are an obvious indicator of
strength and virility and this is, quite often, very attractive to women.
Nine-out-of-ten guys dedicate a lot of their time to isolating their biceps. They use many different techniques
including forced reps, drop sets, and 21's. Professional bodybuilders often claim that these techniques are the
most effective methods used to build up the biceps. If that’s the case then why do so many people have so little to
show for their effort?
Let's examine five of the most common problems with bicep training. I will then offer a step-by-step program to
take your bicep peak to new heights.
Problem #1 – Excessive bicep training
If doing 4 sets is better than 3 sets then why don't you just do 10 sets? Even better, why don't you just train
them all day? It has been said many times before but it obviously needs to be said again; less is often more.
The goal of each weight training workout should be to slightly increase the weight or the repetitions. Once you
have achieved this, then it is time to move to the next exercise because over-training the muscles is definitely
more destructive than it is beneficial.
One of the most common reasons why people fail to build muscle mass, despite a lot of effort, is that they fail
to realize the importance of resting their muscles to allow them the time to rebuild. The rebuilding process is
what adds muscle mass in the first place. Rest is critically important to building muscle mass but it seems to be a
difficult concept for many new-comers to grasp. Many people don’t rest their muscles properly and fail to consider
the long-term benefits of proper training in the gym; this leads us to our second problem.
Problem #2 - Obsession with the appearance of your biceps during a workout
Many people overwork their biceps because of the instant gratification they get from making their biceps “look”
big during a workout. Don’t be so concerned with impressing people while you’re in the gym when your ultimate goal
is to have an impressive physique when you aren’t working out. It isn’t going to help you reach your goals.
It simply isn’t true that training your biceps longer, using less weight, is the best way to build muscle mass.
This perception that you are doing something beneficial is deceiving. Yes, there is something to say about keeping
blood in the muscle as long as possible, but if the workout is done with lower weights that do not overload the
muscles or increases strength, your biceps will quickly deflate back to normal and may result in no muscle growth
at all.
Problem #3 - Not focusing on increasing your overall strength
Some of the biggest guys in the gym rarely train their arms. They put a strong emphasis on increasing their chest,
back and shoulder strength. If you simply focus on increasing the weights on your rows, pull ups and chin-ups, then
rest assured that your biceps will come along for the ride and grow proportionally. However, if you are always
blasting and smoking your biceps they will always be fatigued when you train or do any pulling exercise, and as you
know, you are only as strong as your weakest link. This is yet another reason to put a reasonable limit on how much
you work on your biceps. They do get a workout while doing exercises that target other muscle groups, so be sure to
consider that when you begin a workout.
Problem #4 - Using the same bicep exercises every time
Most professional bodybuilders emphasize two of the simplest exercises for building huge biceps – barbell curls and
dumbbell curls. According to the pros, these two exercises have built more huge guns than any other exercise in
existence. It’s true, they are a safe and solid foundation to build a program around, but also remember that
professional bodybuilders that use steroids are going to have a strong response to practically any exercise they
do. There’s no problem using these two exercises under one condition, that you are getting stronger from week to
week. As long as you are increasing the weights and reps relative to perfect form, then your arms should continue
to grow. Aim to build your barbell curls up to 110 pounds for a few slow speed sets and your dumbbell curls up to
50 pounds for a few “slow-speed” sets as well. Be sure that the workout involves no rocking or swaying.
Once you build your barbell curls up to 110 pounds, you will be ready to try different angles on the bar. You
will have to drop your weights a bit, but stick with the following variations until you build back up to 110
pounds.
Bicep Exercise 1: Stress the outer portion of the biceps by placing your elbows outwards and using a
super-close grip.
Bicep Exercise 2: Stress the inner portion of the biceps by taking a super-wide grip on the bar and
digging your elbows into your side while not allowing them to move.
Bicep Exercise 3: To stress the brachialis and brachioradialis, stick to hammer curls and reverse curls.
Don't underestimate these two exercises. They are highly beneficial to the proper development of the biceps.
Problem #5 Not enough tension on the muscle
I think many weight trainees do not fully grasp the concept of isolating and actually training a muscle. They do
not know how to make the muscle work and fatigue. Instead, you often see a lot of swinging and sloppy lifting. They
are using momentum, and even other muscles, to aid them with the exercise. The biceps have a very strong response
to constant tension which means you should never give them a chance to breathe. Keep the bar in constant motion
without pausing at the top or the bottom. Focus on squeezing the heck out of the bar and never let your biceps
relax until the set is over. The goal is to not allow any oxygen into the muscle. This creates a spike in your
anabolic hormones which help to promote muscle growth. Resort to a slower 3-0-3 or 4-0-4 tempo to get the job
done.
VIEW OR DOWNLOAD
4-
Week Bicep Prioritization Program - CLICK HERE
Weight Training Program Notes:
- Notice the simplicity of the workout structure. This program will work
extremely well for hard-gainers. The overall volume might be a little low for someone used to a traditional
bodybuilder split program and has been training for several years.
- The power of the program is found in the principle of prioritization by
sequence on the first pull workout. Notice that your prioritization muscle is being sequenced at the start of
the workout and the start of the week. This is done on purpose. You are intentionally giving your biceps an
opportunity to train at their two most “fresh” times – at the start of the week and at the start of the
workout.
- Focusing on increasing overall strength can still be achieved on the second
pull workout when the biceps will not be pre-fatigued.
- Notice the slow speed movements. Many anabolic hormones are released when your
muscles are under constant tension. The tempo is set up so that the muscles will be forced to move the weight
more slowly and with a greater amount of tension concentrically and eccentrically.
- On a pull day, 402 would mean: 4 seconds to release the weight, 0 second pause
at the bottom and 2 seconds to pull the weight. On a push day, 402 means 4 seconds to lower the weight, 0
second pause at the bottom and 2 seconds to push the weight up.
- Focus on adding 5-10 pounds to each of your exercises over the course four
weeks while keeping the rep ranges and sets the same. It is not necessary to do more sets or more reps. Just be
sure to focus on increasing the weight under the same set, rep, tempo and rest prescription and you will soon
reach your goals.
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About the
Author:
 Vince
DelMonte is the author of No Nonsense Muscle Building: Skinny Guy Secrets To Insane Muscle Gain found
at http://www.VinceDelMonteFitness.com
Vince is a National Champion Fitness Model and curently writes for many of the biggest online bodybuilding and fitness magazines
today. Check out No-Nonsense Muscle
Building Program to discover his proven
techniques that has helped thousands of people achieve their fitness goals.
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