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Without a
doubt, huge muscular biceps are perhaps
one of the most impressive muscle groups
a bodybuilder can acquire, both in the eyes
of the non-bodybuilding public and fellow
iron pumpers.
I will grant
you that the biceps development of the pro
bodybuilders in the IFBB and those involved
with the natural drug-free movement represent
only a small portion of muscle mass when
compared to muscle groups such as the quads,
pecs, delts, and lats.
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Yet the biceps are
the muscle most non-bodybuilders refer to when
asking the question, "Can you show me your
muscle?"
The biceps make
up one-third of the surface and muscle mass of
the upper arm and it is only proper that special
emphasis be placed on this muscle. I am going
to give you some training information and programs
in this article which will help you in building
iron clad biceps. It doesn't take a magic formula
to develop a terrific set of biceps. Why is it
then that many intermediate and advanced amateur
natural drug-free bodybuilders don't achieve huge
biceps like their natural pro counterparts?
One of the answers
to this question is that most contest winning
amateur and pro bodybuilders utilize a four point
plan when training their biceps for the absolute
maximum in size, shape, cuts, balance and real
muscle hardness. This four point plan consists
of the following:
1) Achieving a Proper
Pump
2) Exercise Mastery
3) Peak Efficiency Training Programs
4) Scientific Nutrition and Supplementation
Point No. 1
Achieving a Proper Pump
The contest winning
amateur and pro natural drug-free bodybuilder
will execute at least 70-80% of their multi-rep
sets in a rhythmic and intense manner. They generally
use extremely correct technique with continuous
tension on this percentage of curling movements
where each and every rep is performed smoothly
in exactly the way they have found best for their
personal needs. They make each rep count, searching
for that ultimate stimulationby concentration
on a full extension and peak contraction on each
and every rep.
These champions
tend not to work for just the sheer exhaustion
effect (beyond fatigue or saturation point) in
the biceps, but rather for "the feel"
of each rep and the amount of blood congestion
or pump (this is a critical factor for big biceps)
created within the biceps muscle itself. This
where the training tool mind power to muscle link
is established.
Eight time IFBB
Mr. Olympia Lee Haney feels that the mind power
to muscle link is the key to mass building beyond
a certain point. Each rep of a set is performed
in the manner described above to bring the biceps
muscle to the last repetition at which the muscle
fails. The ultimate set then is where the muscle
has been worked to its maximum capacity and now
must grow maximally for you.
A very simple way
to begin establishing the mind power to muscle
link is to think of the muscle as a bicycle tire
that you wish to inflate with long slow strokes
on each and every rep, using strict form with
moderate weights and not shutting off the tension
(former Mr. California Doug Stadele says the body
responds to two different things: 1. A lot of
tension, and 2. Heavy tension) between reps. This
practice will produce that fibrous, thick, veiny
look in the biceps. Achieving a proper muscle
pump will be based on the difficulty or ease from
the previous set completed. This is where poundages
and reps will be added or subtracted for the upcoming
sets.
Point No. 2
Exercise Mastery
Three Big Biceps Exercises!
Two
Hands Strict Standing Barbell Curl
This exercise in
particular is a favorite among many of the previous
top physique champions, such as Bill Pearl, Boyer
Coe, Lee Haney, and the youngest Mr. America ever,
Casey Viator. These and many other champions in
the amateur and pro ranks learned early on in
their careers that this exercise was one of the
awesome secrets to developing spell-binding size
and muscularity in the biceps.
Many non-bodybuilders
have a tendency to judge bodybuilders' total bodies
by the size of the upper arm and in particular
the biceps. Quite possibly, the best single test
of true biceps strength or power is the Two Hands
Strict Standing Barbell Curl. One of the best
demonstrations of pure biceps strength ever seen
in the iron game was that of former world Olympic
and all-around strength champion, the late Douglas
Ivan Hepburn. Back in 1954-56, at a bodyweight
of 260-305 lbs. with upper arms measuring 20 ¼",
he performed a Two Hands Strict Barbell Curl with
a straight bar, 260 lbs. for one slow rep; 5 reps
with 235 lbs. and 135 lbs. for an amazing 35 reps.
Rating right up
there to Hepburn in biceps strength was Val Vasilef,
a winner of over 80 physique, power, and weightlifting
awards, including the 1964 AAU Mr. America. Back
in the 1960s at 5'11" and a bodyweight of
218 lbs. he did a single rep in the slow Two Hands
Strict Standing Barbell Curl with 220 lbs. He
was also able to perform and single rep in the
one-arm table top or "bench curl" with
a 150 ½-lb. dumbbell as well. I spoke with
Val some time ago and he said he was pushing for
175 lbs. in this particular curl and he may have
well done so by now.
Potential in the
two hands strict standing barbell curl will vary
from an average of 72% of your best strict two
hands press overhead to as much as 85%. Proper
exercise performance in this exercise and two
other biceps blasters (Seated Incline Bench Dumbbell
Curls and the Standing One Arm Dumbbell Concentration
Curl) that I will be speaking about, will unlock
yet another secret to rapid biceps growth. It
is just too simplistic and brief to advise a bodybuilder
to do a barbell curl by holding the barbell in
the hands, with the palms facing away from the
body, bend the elbows and raise the weight up
in a curling motion to the top of the chest. Lower
the arms back down and repeat.
You cannot expect
to "work for the feel of the muscle and discover
the muscular pathways" when all you have
is incomplete and superfluous "stock"
technique instruction like that just given. Little
things like a twist of the wrist, pulling down
the shoulder, raising the weight either a little
forward or backward, or holding the barbell momentarily
at the peak contraction of the movement can make
all the difference between building just mediocre
biceps or literally huge ones.
As you probably
have noticed, I have chosen the exercise title
heading to read "Two Hands Strict Standing
Barbell Curl." As the third word in the
title indicates, this exercise is to be performed
strict. I cannot emphasize enough how important
it is to do this exercise strict because the regular
two hand standing barbell curl is probably the
second most abused exercise next to the supine
bench press.
Many bodybuilders
seem to do exaggerated body movements by vigorously
accelerating or moving the upper torso (shoulders
and back) for and aft and thrusting the hips forward
in an abrupt jerking action while swinging (not
curling) the weight up in an attempt to gain some
mechanical advantage in order to bypass the sticking
point or resting inertia. This rather quick and
snappy way of curling decreases maximum tension
in the muscle because the weight is not being
lifted against gravity but rather by momentum.
When the movement
is performed in the manner described it is called
"Cheat" Curls and should not be confused
with the advanced training principle known as
"Controlled Cheating." It is beyond
the scope and space of this article to discuss
the differences between the two types of cheating.
- Begin the starting
point of the two hands strict standing barbell
curl by first loading up a standard barbell
bar with the exact assortment of disc weights
you will be using, be it for the specific warm-up,
or actual "hard work" sets. Many bodybuilders
prefer to use an E-Z Curl bar because it gives
more comfort by providing dramatic relief to
the wrists and elbows torque. It lessens forearm
pain in the ulna, but in doing so this particular
piece of training equipment takes some of the
biceps action away from the supinated (hands
facing palms up). I suggest using a straight
bar if biceps growth is the primary consideration
rather than rehabilitation from an injury.
- While standing
in front of the barbell with a shoulder-width
or slightly wider foot placement, bend your
knees slightly while bending forward at the
hips joint and grasp the barbell with a supinated
(palms facing away from your body) shoulder-width
hand spaced grip. Now come up to an erect vertical
and stabilized position. The heels remain in
contact with the floor and the knees are just
very slightly unlocked throughout each and every
set. The arms are fully extended in a vertical
position as are the wrists, with the bar touching
or resting against the upper thighs. The chin
is parallel to the floor.
There are three
immediate advantages I want to discuss with you
regarding the shoulder-width hand spacing before
proceeding to the actual movement performance.
The inside of the upper arms and elbows (locked
above the hip bones) are tight against and in
line with the side of the rib cage. The first
advantage of this is that it tends to maximize
the resistance of gravity by putting the shoulders,
arms, and hands in a straight line of pull. This
is another little secret of the contest winning
amateur and pro bodybuilders for building more
total biceps surface and mass.
The second advantage
of having the elbows in close and tight to the
body is that the short head of the biceps is maximally
contracted, and when developed to its fullest
potential can actually add to biceps peak.
Thirdly, muscles are uniquely structured with
nerves all throughout so that when the message
is sent from the brain to the muscle, the whole
muscle contracts. In particular nerves that control
the biceps activate both long and short heads.
Using too wide a hand spacing can stress elbow
joints.
- Begin the curling
action by deeply inhaling a breath of air into
your lungs (expelling the air slowly as the
barbell begins to pass the horizontal or 90º
angle position to the body during the positive
contraction phase of the movement) while lifting
and thrusting your chest forward. Open your
hands slightly if you must to take tension off
forearms. Tighten your grip on the bar, actually
trying to crush the bar (this is yet another
little known secret for squeezing out a couple
of extra reps at the end of a set). Tighten
thumbs on the bar. Flex your wrists upward,
so that your hands (palms up) precede them (the
wrists).
- Now strongly
flex at the elbow joint while tensing the biceps
muscles, moving the barbell in a semi-circular
motion or wide arc forward and upward to the
chin (keeping the bar close to your body), rather
than to the top of the collarbone or neck. This
will help to keep intra-muscular tension on
the biceps muscles and not allow gravity to
dictate the movement (where it could fall into
collarbone or neck region and shut off the continuous
tension effect). Forcefully contract and squeeze
the biceps (biceps and forearms touching) at
the completion of the upward curling movement
and hold for a count of "one."
With regard to
elbow position and its corresponding movement,
there are a couple of alternatives to go with.
You can keep the elbows vertical (upper arm kept
aligned with the body) or slightly to the rear
so that they remain behind the bar throughout
the entire positive and negative phase of the
movement.
This is exactly
the way the "iron guru," the late Vince
Gironda advises the elbows to be positioned (especially
in his famous body drag curl). Vince felt that
when the elbows are vertical and as motionless
as possible throughout the movement it tends to
keep the deltoids out of the action and allows
for more of an isolated effect on the belly of
the biceps. You can really add to the isolation
effect by dropping your shoulders down and pulled
back as well. Vince went on to say that when the
elbows come forward it decreases the maximum resistance
because the weight is not lifted against gravity.
Joe Bucci, a Mr.
World title holder and with an upper arm that
has measured as much as 21", on the other
hand, raises or pushes his elbows up to a parallel
position to the floor near the completion (135º-150º
angle to the body) of the upward curling movement
to produce the greatest tension curve and contraction
by upping the percentage of effective resistance.
Bucci also finds that an additional advantage
to pushing the elbows up is that it helps in creating
peak and separation between the biceps and deltoids
especially when he squeezes and contracts the
biceps for 3-4 seconds at the top of the movement
on those last couple of reps in a set.
- Now that you
have curled the barbell in an arc to your chin,
lower the barbell (in a semi-circle, pushing
the bar out and downward with elbows) in exactly
the reverse manner described to an arms' length,
elbows locked and motionless position (0 degrees
= zero degree flexion). It is at this zero degree
of flexion that allows the champion bodybuilder
to take maximum advantage of contraction and
circulation of the biceps by pre-stretching
(this sudden relaxation and contraction kicks
in a larger number of muscle fibers than normal
and this can't help but enhance additional biceps
growth stimulation). This full range of motion
stimulus offers a number of immediate benefits.
These include: Maximum muscle contraction; Optimal
rate of blood flow for a super pump; and the
Ability of increased flexibility while adding
additional muscle size.
Be sure to pre-stretch
one-half second between each and every rep!
To add an element
of ultra strictness to the Two Hands Strict Standing
Barbell Curl exercise, lean back against a wall
or upright post with your body and head firmly
against it and your legs at an outward angle from
the hips to the floor. This will keep your upper
torso from moving fore and aft.
Seated Incline Bench Dumbbell
Curls
This is the second
exercise in your three big biceps arsenal. While
sitting on the seat of an adjustable incline bench
reach down toward the floor and grasp a disc-loaded
dumbbell in each hand. Use an off-center hand
placement/grip where the little finger of each
hand is touching the inside plate of the dumbbell.
Lie back on the incline bench so that your head
and back of your upper torso is in full contact
with the incline seat back. Your glutes are in
contact with the seat of the bench and remain
so during each and every set.
Your arms should
be in a fully extended, elbows locked and motionless
in a dead-hang position as they are toward the
floor. The palms of the hands are facing each
other (neutral grip) with the dumbbells parallel
to each other. This basic position as I have just
described will vary slightly depending on the
angle of the incline. The incline range for this
particular exercise can be 15º-20º to
as much as 45º. At the 15º-20º
angle the upper biceps where it separates from
the deltoid complex will be stressed maximally
and as well this lower incline adjustment creates
a dynamic stretch reflex which really activates
the motor units in the muscle for big biceps gains
in growth.
Deeply inhale a
breath of air into your lungs (follow the directions
given in the previous exercise). With elbow flexion
begin curling the dumbbells in a semi-circular
motion or wide arc toward the deltoids in a thumbs-up
style until the forearms approach a 90-degree
angle to the body. At this point, begin to slowly
supinate (by twisting your wrist and rotating
with your wrist) the little finger side of the
dumbbell so that the palms of your hands face
upward at 30º through the rest of the upward
curling movement until the little finger side
of the dumbbell touch each deltoid. Raise or push
the elbows up as described for the previous exercise.
Begin expelling air out of your lungs and lower
the dumbbells in exactly the reverse manner described
for the upward curling phase of the exercise.
The effect of the
supination (rotation of the palms of your hands
and twisting the wrists from facing the body to
palms up) is very beneficial for developing the
peak of the biceps, while the actual seated incline
dumbbell curl lends itself to developing the belly
of the biceps.
Standing One Arm Dumbbell Concentration
Curl
Stand with the
feet shoulder width apart or wider near a high
flat exercise bench or dumbbell rack. With your
knees slightly bent (soft knee), bend forward
at your hip joint and grasp a dumbbell in your
right hand. Bring your upper torso to a position
that is approximately a 45º angle to the
floor. With your knees still slightly bent, place
your non-exercising hand on a support device such
as the flat exercise bench, the top edge of 45º-90º
incline seat back, or your own knee for back support
and to brace your upper torso.
Your curling arm
should be fully extended with the dumbbell hanging
between the legs, utilizing a regular palms facing
away from the body grip (you can't cheat at all
because your arm is hanging free in this modified
version of the concentration curl). Deeply inhale
a breath of air and begin flexing the elbow joint,
moving the dumbbell with biceps contractile force
in an arc across the midline of your upper body
until the little finger side of the dumbbell touches
the left deltoid.
Squeeze and contract
the biceps for a full "two counts" at
the completion of the upward curling movement.
Make a determined effort to keep the upper arm
perfectly vertical during both the positive and
negative curling sequence. Slowly expel the air
from your lungs and lower the dumbbell to the
beginning zero degree flexion starting position.
Repeat for the desired number of reps with your
right hand, then switch the dumbbell to your left
hand and begin the entire starting point and movement
performance over again.
Point No. 3
Peak Efficiency Training Programs
Here are a couple
of proven arms training systems. The first one
was developed by former Jr. Mr. America, Harry
Smith. Here is how it works. You perform two sets
of 6 reps in a heavy generalized exercise such
as the Two Hands Strict Standing Barbell Curl.
Rest one minute between each of these sets (these
sets will be approximately 80-84% of your current
one-rep max). Then immediately following the second
set, do one set of an isolationary/shaping exercise.
For this you can use the Standing One Arm Dumbbell
Concentration Curl. Do 10-12 repetitions in this
exercise.
This completes one
cycle. Intermediate bodybuilders can repeat this
cycle once more and stop here. Advanced bodybuilders
do 3 to 4 cycles for a total of 12 sets. On cycles
3 and 4 do Seated Incline Bench Dumbbell Curls
as a substitute for the Two Hands Strict Standing
Barbell Curls. Stay with the Concentration Curl
either standing or a variation in which you are
seated. Once you start, you can really go beyond
the scope of this article, finding many of your
own variations of this Two and One (2 sets of
6 reps/1 set of 10-12 reps) system of arm training.
A second arm training
program is one that I call the Rotating Group
Set. Perform the Two Hand Strict Standing Barbell
Curl for 6 reps, then immediately do the Seated
Incline Bench Dumbbell Curls for 8 reps and then
finish off with the Standing One Arm Dumbbell
Concentration Curl for 10 reps. This completes
one sequence of the group set. Rest briefly and
then begin a second sequence but rotating or reversing
the order of the exercises.
On this sequence
you will do the Concentration Curl for 10 reps,
then Barbell Curls for 6 reps, and finish with
Incline Dumbbell Curls. The third sequence goes
with Incline Curls for 8 reps, Concentration Curls
for 10 reps, and Barbell Curls for 6 reps. Intermediate
bodybuilders can stop after two or three sequences
and advanced can go with three to four sequences.
Point
No. 4
Scientific Nutrition and Supplementation
B-Complex with
Iron is very helpful in all gaining programs,
along with vitamin C and the Bioflavanoids and
plenty of amino acids and desiccated liver tablets
(I highly recommend Beverly International Nutrition
supplements. You can visit their website at: www.bodybuildingworld.com).
A Final
Comment
This is the basic
information you need to shock your biceps into
huge, shapely muscularity. It takes a lot of hard
work and some sacrifice to reach the huge measurement
class of the big arm champs, but you'll find it
is well worth the effort.
---
Dennis B. Weis is
a Ketchikan, Alaska based power-bodybuilder. He
is the co-author of 3 critically acclaimed books;
Mass!, Raw Muscle and Anabolic Muscle Mass. He
is also a frequent hard-hitting uncompromising
freelance writer for many of the mainstream bodybuilding
and fitness magazines published worldwide.
Contact Information:
Email: yukonherc@kpunet.net
Website: http://www.dennisbweis.com
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