Showing posts with label biceps triceps. Show all posts

Build massive, powerful pipes with this brief, heavy routine.

Every guy loves to train arms, and every guy—at one time or another—has been stymied by the two biggest arm- training pitfalls: 1) using high reps instead of heavy weight, and 2) thinking a good pump equals a good workout.

When I first started out, I was guilty of both. I’ve since learned that heavy weight is the surest path to muscle growth, and that a pump, in and of itself, is useless without muscle stress. You need to remember that the biceps and triceps are small muscles; they don’t require the same training volume that your legs, chest, and back do. This is especially true if you do heavy workouts for the squat, bench, and deadlift—like the power bodybuilding workouts I’ve provided in past issues. The biceps get a lot of secondary work when you’re doing a heavy back workout, and the triceps get plenty when you’re benching and overhead pressing.

With that in mind, the workout I provide here is real simple: It’s three exercises for biceps and three for triceps, all performed in straight sets with no supersetting. Make each set as heavy and intense as possible. If you feel you still need more volume, try a few dropsets on the final exercise for biceps and triceps.

Biceps

EXERCISE SETS REPS

Straight-Bar Curl 4 8

DB alternating Curl 4 8

Preacher Curl 4 12

Triceps

EXERCISE SETS REPS

Close-Grip Bench Press 4 6

Tate Press 4 8

Rope Pushdown 4 12

Arm Yourself with This Biceps-Blasting Workout

Seems like everyone's out to find a newer, better way to train their biceps. Drop sets, weird splits and awkward exercises are all part of the trial and error guessing game. But novel training methods don’t necessarily equate to shirt-busting results.

If you want big guns, you need to work them like you want them to grow. Don't stop when they're tired- hit 'em some more. The reason why most new-age “functional” trainers and trainees lack sizeable arms is that they don’t hit them hard enough. Not that you should overtrain your biceps, but please feel free to exhaust them into submission every now and then. Building up your biceps involves two key ingredients: increasing the training load and making sure your muscles are exposed to a sufficient number of reps. The below routine is designed to do both.

You’ll increase biceps size and strength by alternating between sets of higher and lower reps while increasing and decreasing the weight accordingly for a generous 14 sets per workout. And you’ll finish off by grinding out two “pump sets” of 10 reps with shorter rest periods. Combine this routine with another bodypart if you dare, but if you can find time to do these mini-workouts on their own, make it so to increase the focus on your biceps and really see your efforts pay off.

After 4-6 weeks of this twice-a-week biceps regimen you should see a marked improvement. If you can, go for another couple weeks, as each additional workout will only add to your arm circumference. Remember, it takes time to seesuper-sized guns, and the bi’s are only one half of the equation (your triceps make up the other half). But if you can consistently hit your arms with volume and intensity week in, week out, biceps workouts won’t be so much of a guessing game.

The Workout

Day 1

Exercise Sets Reps* Rest

EZ-Bar Curl 4 12, 6, 12, 6 90 sec., 2 min., 90 sec., 2 min.

Seated Hammer Curl 4 12, 8, 12, 8 90 sec., 2 min., 90 sec., 2 min.

Cable Straight-Bar Curl 4 10, 5, 10, 5 2 min.

Single-Arm Dumbbell 2 10, 10 1 min.

Preacher Curl

Day 2

Exercise Sets Reps* Rest

Cable Straight-Bar Curl 4 12, 6, 12, 6 90 sec., 2 min., 90 sec., 2 min.

Single-Arm Dumbbell 4 12, 8, 12, 8 90 sec., 2 min., 90 sec., 2 min.

Preacher Curl

EZ-Bar Curl 4 10, 5, 10, 5 2 min.

Seated Hammer Curl 2 10, 10 1 min.

*Adjust weight accordingly – heavier weight for lower reps, lighter weight for higher reps.

To most guys, getting bigger biceps equals doing more curls, but if it were really that simple, everyone would haveguns like Mr. Olympia. The curl may be the king of the biceps builders, but it’s not the only way to work them hard—and we’re not about to suggest more chin-ups or rows, either. There’s a gymnastics move called the Maltese cross hold that, with a little modification, absolutely smokes the biceps, and works the chest, too.

How To Do It:

The normal Maltese hold that gymnasts do has you suspend yourself on rings, parallel to the floor, with your arms extended by your sides. Obviously, this is brutally difficult and requires tremendous strength and years of practice. But performing the move standing gives you plenty of benefits.

While it may look like a chest exercise alone, the modified Maltese cross hold stresses the biceps, as they prevent your elbows from extending. Various straight-arm holds like this are one of the reasons gymnasts have such impressive arms, and, of course, they provide some extra work for your chest and shoulders.

Attach rings or a suspension trainer overhead and set the handles at shoulder width, just above hip height. Standing with your feet shoulder width apart, grasp the handles. Tense your whole body—particularly the lats, abs, and glutes— and reach your arms out to your sides. Keep a slight bend in your elbows and lean forward until you feel a stretch in your pecs. It will look like the bottom position of a flye. Try to hold it for 3–5 sets of 10–30 seconds.

Quick Tip:

Make sure you’re warmed up, then start with your body on a steep angle. You can risk an elbow injury if you try to push it too hard on Maltese cross holds.

Other Options

Two more unconventional biceps builders:

1. KETTLEBELL CURL

Hold a kettlebell in each hand and squeeze the handles as you curl so the bell doesn’t hang during the curl but stays in the same plane as your wrist. When you get tired, let the kettlebell drop against the back of your wrist and continue curling as normal.

2. DRAG CURL

Hold a barbell at arm’s length and draw your elbows back as you curl so that you drag the bar up the front of your body. The movement should be very strict.

We can’t stress enough the importance of great triceps in your quest for overall arm development. Making up an enormous percentage of your upper arms, thick triceps separate the men from the boys. More times than not, when we marvel at someone’s arms it’s 75% because of how dedicated he has been to his tri’s. Have you balanced your triceps and biceps training? If not, let’s turn that trend around. Here’s a workout that’s certain to get your triceps truckin’ and up to speed with your bis.

TRICEPS PRESSDOWN

Target: Triceps
(emphasis on lateral head)

An excellent move to begin your triceps workout, the pressdown begins filling your arms with a good pump to warm up the joints and prepare the triceps for battle. Even though this is the first exercise, by your last set, select a weight that allows for failure at the designated rep range. On your last two sets, flip your grip to involve more of the triceps’ medial head. For variety, try different grips or use a rope attachment; don’t get stuck in a rut using the same attachment every time.

Start: Stand in front of a high-pulley cable and grasp a straight bar with an overhand (pronated) grip. With your knees slightly bent, lean forward at the waist and position your elbows close to your sides, holding your forearms parallel to the floor. Look forward, keeping your back flat and your abs tight.

Action: Flex your triceps and press the bar toward the floor until your arms are fully extended. Squeeze your tri’s and hold for a brief count before returning to the start position.

WEIGHTED BENCH DIP

Target: Triceps

This is a great move, but typically you need a partner to place weight across your lap. If you don’t have a partner, sit on one bench and set the weight across your lap, then put your hands in position. Next, place one foot at a time on the opposite bench before you press upward onto your hands and move your glutes off the bench. At the end of the set, sit back up on the bench and remove one foot at a time from the opposite bench.

Start: Position two benches a few feet apart and parallel to each other. Sit on the middle edge of one bench facing the other. Place your hands just outside your hips on the bench, cupping it with your fingers. Place your heels on the opposite bench and press yourself upward so your body forms an “L” in the top position.

Action: After a partner places a weight plate across your lap, slowly lower your glutes toward the floor until your arms form 90-degree angles. Pause, then forcefully press yourself back up to the start position

SMITH MACHINE CLOSE-GRIP BENCH PRESS

Target: Triceps

In another compound move for the triceps, the shoulder-width grip allows for more stress to be placed on the tri’s than during a standard bench press. Be careful not to go too narrow with your grip to avoid undue stress on the wrists without putting any additional force on the triceps. The key is to keep your elbows in close without allowing them to flare out. The beauty of the Smith machine is that it provides a defined path of motion, so once you find the plane that hits your triceps best, you can stick to that path through-out the set.

Start: Lie faceup on a flat bench placed inside a Smith machine with your feet flat on the floor. Grasp the bar with a narrow (about shoulder-width) overhand grip. Rotate and press the bar up slightly to unrack it, then hold it above your chest with your arms extended.

Action: Lower the bar to your lower chest, keeping your elbows close to your body. Don’t bounce the bar off your chest; rather, when it approaches an inch or so away from your chest, pause and press it back up to the start position. Squeeze your triceps and chest at the top.

OVERHEAD DUMBBELL EXTENSION

Target: Triceps
(emphasis on long head)

The overhead extension is awesome for building size and thickness in your triceps. By raising your arms overhead, you stretch the triceps’ long head, meaning it can contract more strongly than when your arms are fixed by your sides. While you can do this movement one arm at a time, here you use both hands and go heavier with only one dumbbell. Start with the weight on one knee, then kick it up to your shoulder before pressing it overhead to begin the set. At the end of the set, reverse the sequence, coming down to your shoulder and then to your knee.

Start: Sit erect on a low-back bench, feet flat on the floor or on the footpads. Grasp the inner plate of a dumbbell with both hands and hold it overhead at full arm extension, keeping your elbows alongside your ears. Wrap your thumbs around the bar. Keep your head straight and your lower back pressed into the backpad.

Action: Bending only at your elbows, lower the weight behind your head until your arms form 90-degree angles. Hold for a brief count, then press back up to full arm extension and squeeze your triceps hard at the top.

DUMBBELL KICKBACK

Target: Triceps

Now, let’s add some detail to those arms and provide a great finishing pump to boot. Don’t worry about going heavy during this move; trying to do so could put undue stress on your shoulder joints. Instead, select a weight that you can easily manage as well as hold and squeeze at the top of each rep. For variety, also try the cable kickback.

Start: Grasp a light dumbbell with one hand and place your other hand on a stable surface. Lean forward until your torso is almost parallel to the floor and stagger your feet. Raise your upper arm to parallel to your torso and keep it pressed into your side. Keep your back flat.

Action: Holding your upper arm in place, raise your forearm straight back to full extension. Don’t allow your elbow to drop as you return to the start position.

Triceps Expert Workout

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Triceps Pressdown	3	20
Weighted Bench Dip	4	8
Smith Machine Close-Grip Bench Press	4	10
Overhead Dumbbell Extension	4	12
Dumbbell Kickback	3	20

Is it possible to blast a bodypart with 10 minutes worth of work? It sure is…if you splash in enough intensity to make the gains you are looking for. Tabata training has gained steam in the fitness mainstream for its ability to provide anextraordinary pump while also helping to improve power output and body composition.

This workout is like Tabata’s younger, more robust brother.

Tabata requires you to do eight, 20-second segments of work, each followed by 10 seconds of rest. The limited rest never allows for a full clearance of waste product but it does allow your explosive energy stores, collectively known as phosphagen, to replenish partially for the next bout of work. But phosphagen, which consists of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and creatine phosphate (CP), takes 15-25 seconds to build back up, even if it never gets back to the point where it was before your first rep.

Here, we’ll work in 30-second bouts using a weight you can handle for 10-15 reps. You’ll get 30 seconds of work, as opposed to the standard 10 in Tabata, to allow for a more complete replenishment of phosphagen for better performance on your heaviest reps.

Because of the weight loads used, failure is inevitable – and that’s a good thing. Even if you’re able to muscle through 15 reps on your first work segment, you will find that failure comes sooner and sooner on each subsequent set – that’s okay. Take a breath and get right back into it, have a training partner help you through a few forced reps, or continue on using partial reps. The point is to continue moving throughout the set. If none of the aforementioned methods work, try lightening the load next time.

Exercise Sets/Reps

Lying Dumbbell Extension: 10/30 sec.

Cable Pressdown: 10/30 sec.

For each exercise, choose a weight that you can handle comfortably for 10-15 reps. Perform reps for 30 seconds straight, then rest for 30. Repeat this process until you have performed 10, 30-second segments of work. Rest 3-5 minutes between exercises.

Beefy Tri's Stack

Use these supps around your workout time to boost your triceps’ strength and size.

Supplement Dose/Timing

Whey Protein 20g pre-workout, 20-40 g post-workout

Casein Protein 10-20g post-workout

BCAA 5-10g pre- and post-workout

Creatine 2-5g pre- and post-workout

Beta Alanine 2-3g pre- and post-workout

Big Ramy: Hammer It Out for Massive Biceps

Like King Kong rampaging in Manhattan, another foreign behemoth arrived in the Big Apple and caused a sensation this past year. Behold bodybuilding’s newest phenomenon, Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay. Near the end of 2011, this 5'9" Egyptian weighed an ordinary 200 pounds and was just a “random dude in the gym.” Incredibly, he rapidly packed on enough muscle to dominate the Amateur Mr. Olympia the following year. Then, last May, the 28-year-old won his professional bodybuilding debut, the New York Pro, tipping the scales at a mind- jarring 288.

There was nearly 50% more of him than there had been just 18 months earlier! Seemingly as wide as he was tall, Elssbiay’s size even dwarfed other giants in the New York lineup. Big Ramy lives just above the Kuwait gym where he trains and works, so the tools of his trade are always just a staircase away. More often than not, on arm day the tool he chooses to pound the outer biceps and brachialis is the hammer curl.

HAMMER CURL TIP SHEET

Hammer curls can be performed with dumbbells, a parallel-grip bar, or a rope on a cable.

Keep your thumbs up and pinkies down throughout each rep.

Curl dumbbells straight up and down to each shoulder; this will mimic a hammering motion in each hand.

Elssbiay’s Biceps Routine

EXERCISE SETS REPS

Dumbbell
Hammer Curl 4 10-12

Preacher Curl 4 10-12

Rope Hammer Curl 4 10-12

PRO TIP:

“I believe in strict form for arms. Cheating would help me use heavier weights, but it would rob me of the control I need to target the muscles.”

ELSSBIAY’S CAREER HIGHS

► 2012 Amateur Mr. Olympia winner

► 2013 New York Pro winner

If you have been doing the same ol’ same ol’ for your biceps and they just don’t seem to respond the way you want, it may be time to mix things up a little and recharge your biceps with a new spark. And if they have responded with some growth, you are in a prime position for some additional specialization. The biceps two heads can be emphasized – but not entirely isolated – by making a few simple tweaks to your wrist and arm angles.

These five exercises can help you put in extra work for that meaty inner head (most visible from the front in a biceps pose) as well as that higher outer head (most visible from the back during a biceps pose).

Toss one or two of these moves into the mix with your staple mass-builders and you’ll have a tricked-out set of bicepsthat are bellowed out from origin to insertion.

1. Two-Arm, High-Pulley Cable Curl

Muscular Emphasis: Biceps Brachii Short Head

This is a good finishing exercise to cap off that peak in your biceps after you have banged out your usual battery of heavy sets. You can do this exercise with one arm at a time if you cannot get access to both sides of the pulley station at your gym. The higher you set the pulley, the shorter the range of motion, so don’t go too high above a shoulder height. This is a good exercise to use slightly lighter loads and hitting the 12-15 rep range, attacking that inner short head with higher volume and filling the entire region with growth-giving blood and nutrients.

Tip: You can get the same kind of short-head action if you perform high-pulley curls with a straight-bar set at about eye level. Just keep your upper arms parallel to the floor.

2. Incline Dumbbell Curl

Muscular Emphasis: Biceps Brachii Long Head

This is one of the truly great arm builders if you can handle the fact that you may need lighter weight. This exercise taxes both heads of your biceps but hits your outer head to a greater degree because of the pre-stretch placed on it. Because of the start position, which stretches your bis as well as your delts, you typically cannot lift as much weight. Put this early in your biceps program to maximize its value on overall arm development. Drop the reps to the 8-10 range for this exercise and focus on really squeezing every rep.

Tip: Keep your palms up for the entire range of motion to keep the focus on the biceps. Starting neutral then pronating will recruit other muscles such as the brachioradialis.

3. Spider Curl

Muscular Emphasis: Biceps Brachii Short Head

Performed on the vertical side of a preacher bench or lying prone on an angled bench, this is a tough exercise to find a good balance point. It will require some experimentation with bench angle but start at about a 60-degree incline and go from there. Start with a neutral grip at the bottom position and rotate outward (supinate) on the way up if using dumbbells. Avoid swinging and keep your elbows from flaring out. This exercise can be placed in the middle of your routine after a good barbell curl and should stay in the 10-12 rep range up to the point of failure. For the ultimate pump, use a straight bar and squeeze tight at the top and make this your finishing move to pack on the muscle.

Tip: Don’t swing your arms. Instead, let the true weight of this exercise do its thing and get your arms fully extended at the bottom so your biceps get a stretch and a squeeze on each rep. You may want to lighten the load to get the full range of motion.

4. Concentration Curl

Muscular Emphasis: Biceps Brachii Short Head

Though it can be done for heavier sets, this is really a finishing move for a quick pump. Since the range of motion is generally shorter and the focus of this exercise is on the short head of the biceps (along with the brachialis), make sure to hit some big mass gainers before adding this exercise. It is best done as a final exercise or near the end of your routine with a load that will give you 12-15 reps as you feel the surge of blood pushing that end-of-routine pump.

Tip: Focus on the very end portion of the movement and flex hard at full contraction to accentuate your biceps peak.

5. Standing Two-Pulley, Low-Cable Curl

Muscular Emphasis: Biceps Brachii Long Head

As with the incline dumbbell curl, anytime you can put a prestretch on the long head, you’re going to hit it harder. Step into a cable station, grab a D-handle from each low-set pulley and take a step forward. Keeping your elbows down and slightly behind your body, you’ll curl in line with your arms for reps, smashing that peak-perfecting outer head.

Tip: If you opt for the single-arm version, you can slightly alter the angle of your arm to your body which gently changes the feel of the move. The main effect is had by the starting tension and stretch it places upon the biceps.

Toss one or two of these moves into the mix with your staple mass-builders and you’ll have a tricked-out set of bicepsthat are bellowed out from origin to insertion.

1. Two-Arm, High-Pulley Cable Curl

Muscular Emphasis: Biceps Brachii Short Head

Tip: You can get the same kind of short-head action if you perform high-pulley curls with a straight-bar set at about eye level. Just keep your upper arms parallel to the floor.

2. Incline Dumbbell Curl

Muscular Emphasis: Biceps Brachii Long Head

Tip: Keep your palms up for the entire range of motion to keep the focus on the biceps. Starting neutral then pronating will recruit other muscles such as the brachioradialis.

3. Spider Curl

Muscular Emphasis: Biceps Brachii Short Head

4. Concentration Curl

Muscular Emphasis: Biceps Brachii Short Head

Tip: Focus on the very end portion of the movement and flex hard at full contraction to accentuate your biceps peak.

5. Standing Two-Pulley, Low-Cable Curl

Muscular Emphasis: Biceps Brachii Long Head

It’s no secret that every serious lifter out there desires an impressive pair of strong, muscular arms. Who wouldn’t be happy with tall, peaking biceps sitting on top of rock-hard, horse-shoe-shaped triceps? Who wouldn’t love to have a pair of ripped, well-developed guns forcefully bursting through the sleeves of their shirt? While developing muscular arms is usually at the top of many peoples’ agenda, the reality is that the majority of lifters out there have a very poor understanding of how to properly train their arms for maximum gains. In order to gain the proper insight into effectively stimulating arm growth, we must first recognize three basic truths:

1) Relatively speaking, the biceps and triceps are small muscle groups.
2) The biceps receive heavy stimulation during all basic pulling movements for the back.
3) The triceps receive heavy stimulation during all basic pressing movements for the chest and shoulders.

What do these 3 points tell us about effective arm training? The most important thing for you to realize is this:

For maximum gains in muscle size and strength, the biceps and triceps require only a very small amount of direct stimulation!

So why is it that every time I enter the gym I see the same misinformed people, week in and week out, slaving away on endless sets of bicep curls and tricep extensions?

It’s very important to understand that the biceps and triceps receive a very large amount of stimulation from all of your chest and back training. In fact, a lot of the time when you reach muscular failure on a chest or back movement, it is actually your biceps or triceps that give out first! Couple this with the fact that your biceps and triceps are already small muscle groups to begin with and it becomes quite clear that direct arm training is of minor importance.

Remember, your muscles do not grow in the gym. The work that you accomplish as you train with weights is merely the “spark” that sets the wheels of the muscle growth process into motion. The real magic takes place out of the gym while you are resting and eating, as this is the time when your body will actually be synthesizing new muscle tissue. Because of this, it is vital that you do not overtrain your muscles. You must always make sure to provide them with sufficient recovery time if you want to see impressive results. Overtraining can actually make your muscles smaller and weaker.

If you’re looking to achieve serious arm growth, you must stop placing so much emphasis on direct arm movements. Forget about performing endless sets of concentration curls and tricep pressdowns. Strong, muscular arms are mostly a product of heavy chest and back training. If you are able to accept this basic truth and place the majority of your focus on building up the muscle size and strength in your major muscle groups, you will prevent yourself from overtraining your arms and will therefore yield greater overall gains in bicep and tricep size.

This is not to say that no direct arm training is necessary, just not very much. Here is a sample arm routine that you can use as a part of your program:

Barbell Curls – 2 sets of 5-7 reps
Standing Dumbbell Curls – 1 set of 5-7 reps

Close-Grip Bench Press – 2 sets of 5-7 reps
Standing Cable Pushdowns – 1 set of 5-7 reps

Take all sets to complete muscular failure and focus on progressing each week by using slightly more weight or performing an extra rep or 2.

If you can incorporate this way of thinking into your arm training, you will achieve arm size beyond anything you previously thought possible!

To be honest, biceps have been one of the easiest bodyparts to develop. Thus, in line with the 'you can learn best from the hardgainer' school of thought, the question might be asked, what can a fortunate Ronnie Coleman with 22 inch guns teach a beginner about building trophy - winning biceps?

Quite a bit, I think, as all of my training routines have been constructed after a great deal of thought.

Debunking the Barbell Curl

I never advocate the use of the exercises cited as the kind of mass building for the biceps: the barbell curl.

Like everybody else, when I started bodybuilding, I waned bigger biceps, even tough I am blessed with good arm genetics. I though the route to follow was doing barbell curls, but my early experiences with that exercise taught me that although barbell curls allowed me to use heavy weights, the muscular stress caused by the poundage was in no way being applied 100% to my biceps. I believe that the heavy weights employed for barbell curls encourage the user to cheat through the exercise, perhaps without even knowing it. A person tends to bend the upper torso to let the momentum of the weight take over. In addition, instead of the biceps powering out the reps, forearms and front delts are called into play too much.

You must analyze what kind of development you are aiming for with your biceps training. You should seek full development in terms of thickness and fullness of your biceps muscle attachments, plus optimum accentuation of the biceps peaks. Those aspects are best achieved by exercises that isolate the biceps - ones that allow you to put maximum stress on your biceps throughout the completion of each set. Cheating on barbell curls means that at certain times during the course of a rep, the biceps are given an easy, if not free, ride.

Based on the preceding thought, I came to the conclusion that cable work provided the required dual facilities of isolating the biceps while allowing them to be under constant stress throughout the completion of each set. The latter element is particularly difficult to attain during the negative (descending) part of each rep. This is where cables score heavily. With cables, you can maintain muscular stress during the negative phase to an extent that is not mechanically possible with free weights.

Many authorities claim that cables are solely for advanced bodybuilders, in order 'to refine what they've already built.' I don't agree. Cable work allows you to attack the biceps with 100% concentration, and that sort of exclusive application will make the biceps grow. Muscle fibers don't know whether the stress is being applied by free weights or a machine; they respond only to the level of muscular stress being placed on them. Whatever does the job, will do the job!

The One for All Routine

Although I'm a professional bodybuilder, I feel that the biceps routine I am currently employing for my Olympia preparation is, with minor modifications, suitable for weight trainers of all levels. Let me first detail the training program and then explain how it can be adapted for anybody from beginners on op.

As a police office in Arlington, Texas, I work the 3 to 11 PM shift Sunday through Thursday. I train six days a week at around 11 M, and do my aerobic work after I finish my shift. This is the bodypart split I am using for my 1995 Mr. Olympia appearance.

Day	Bodypart
Monday	Chest, triceps, calves, abs
Tuesday	Quads, hams
Wednesday	Back, biceps, calves, abs
Thursday	Chest, delts, triceps
Friday	Quads, hams, abs
Saturday	Back, biceps, delts, calves
Sunday	Rest

With my arms measuring 22 inches in contest shape, I don't have to worry too much about building size with my current biceps routine, so I keep my reps high (15 per set) to boost density and hardness.

Current All Purpose Biceps Routine

Exercise	Sets	Reps
One arm cable curls	4	15
Bar cable curls	4	15
Cable crossover curls	4	15

Beginner's Biceps Routine

Exercise	Sets	Reps
One arm cable curls	2	15
	2	10
Bar cable curls	2	15
	2	10
Cable crossover curls	2	15
	2	10

Bi Law One

I start my routine with one arm cable curls. You can do this exercise by finishing a set with one arm at a time (i.e., do a set with the left arm, then complete a set with the right arm) or in alternate right hand to left hand style. Whatever method you use, the main effect of this exercise is to place maximum stress on the peak of each biceps muscle.

At the start of each rep, I let my arm hang fully extended, while still supporting the full pressure of the weight. Then, while keeping the rest of my body motionless, I curl the weight slowly upward. At the midpoint, I hold the weight and 'squeeze' the biceps for a full contraction. Then, I slowly release the weight to the starting position. As stated previously, the descent phase is where cables really come into their own, as they allow you to maintain full stress on the muscles at all times.

i use a weight with which 15 repetitions will be about my limit, but I train to failure, so if during a particular workout I hit 15 and still have something left, I'll continue until a full rep is impossible. I employ the failure principle with all my biceps exercises.

Bi Law Two

My second exercise is bar cable curls. In terms of adding bulk throughout the entire biceps muscle, I find this movement to be superior (for reasons outlined previously) to the standard barbell curl.

The execution is along the same lines as that used with one arm cable curls; I maintain pressure on the biceps throughout the completion of each set and hold the weight in the midpoint position for a peak contraction. However, for the concluding tow sets, but only at every other session, I go past failure and finish the set with two or three forced reps. Just for the sake of variety, I'll substitute rope cable curls for the bar cable version twice a month.

Bi Law Three

I complete my biceps routine with an exercise I call the cable crossover curl, which builds maximum peaks while bulking up the entire biceps muscle. This is a much neglected exercise (it doesn't even have a standard name) but one that seems custom made for a competitive bodybuilder. When you do this movement, you are really hitting a double biceps pose while applying weight resistance. What better biceps movement could there be for a competitive bodybuilder?

I start this exercise by holding cable attachments in each hand. I keep my arms straight, fully extended and parallel with the floor. Then I hit a double biceps pose and, in the fully flexed position, I squeeze the muscles for a maximum burn. Finally, I slowly release the weight to the starting position. Again, the biceps are under pressure throughout the whole set, and as you eke out the reps, you'll find you get a great pump.

A Final Word

Remember, my biceps training routine can be followed by weight trainers of all levels, though for beginners, I would suggest a slight modification to the routine. As you will notice, I advise that a beginner reduce the number of reps and increase the weight on the last two sets of each exercise. This is because a beginner's need for sheer size is more urgent than building hardness and density. The lower rep range and heavier poundages will fulfill that need.

Without letting you ego carry you away, go as heavy as your strength allows for the strict execution of each movement. 'Strict' means no cheating of the exercises by calling secondary muscle groups into play. Your goal is to build the best biceps your genetics will allow, so isolate the biceps and don;t let other muscle groups assist in moving the workload.

The most common biceps training mistake is overtraining. Many bodybuilders train this showcase muscle group too often with too many sets and reps. Working the biceps twice a week with 12 sets per session is enough for anybody. You can't rush progress. As a police officer, I know that undue speed will only mean that sooner or later you will be brought to an abrupt halt.