Making little to no progress with biceps

[Pete]

I am not really making any progress with bicep strength.

Once a week I do:

- 3 sets of 6-10 on the EZ Bar and haven't really made any progress in 6 weeks

- 3 sets of 6-10 pull-ups, which I have made some progress on

- 2 sets of 6-10 cable curls, with no progress

I think I keep pretty good form and I'm generally seeing gains elsewhere, but biceps not so much.

Any thoughts?

[AgentOrange]

yeah ive had slow development with biceps in the past but since ive started super sets ive noticed alot more growth... keep changing your routine untill something works...

[poos_n_wees]

Weighted chins for teh winz!!

Just a suggestion.. but maybe you could try mixing up the rep ranges. Go heavy on them for one exercise (eg. 4x6) then the next exercise, do a higher range, like 3x10-12 or something.

Any type of heavy row will add to your guns too

[Big_J]

I would say do some more work with dumbbells..

Seated dumbbell curl, hammer curls and concentration curls are all great IMO

[MuscleHead]

I am not really making any progress with bicep strength.

Once a week I do:

- 3 sets of 6-10 on the EZ Bar and haven't really made any progress in 6 weeks

- 3 sets of 6-10 pull-ups, which I have made some progress on

- 2 sets of 6-10 cable curls, with no progress

I think I keep pretty good form and I'm generally seeing gains elsewhere, but biceps not so much.

Any thoughts?

Stick to straight barbell for curls, EZ bar is only useful for triceps.

Standing alternate dumbell curls are good for strength increase.

Incorporate some drop sets into your workout as well. Drop the amount of weight after you've worked to failure on 3 heavy 'working' sets and push out 2 more sets - really stress and overload the muscle so it has to grow stronger.

I also found reverse grip bent over barbell rows incredibly effective in increasing bicep strength.

[Optimass]

I also found reverse grip bent over barbell rows incredibly effective in increasing bicep strength.

i agree

[goinhard]

Take a week off direct bicep training. Then with your curls, lower the weight and use strict form to explosively curl the bar up with a strong bicep contraction at the top then control the descent and do it again, keeping the bicep under constant tension.

Just a suggestion.

[greyghost]

Found this today while looking round myself.

Biceps Builders

This movement, which is a simple alternate curl with a twist, is based on three physiological facts:

1. The three main ways to stimulate growth are:

Inflicting structural damage (micro-trauma) to the muscles to force the body to adapt by rebuilding itself bigger and stronger.

Increasing neural activation and building neural efficiency to improve your capacity to stimulate the growth-prone high-threshold motor units.

Preventing blood and oxygen from entering the muscle during a set. This is accomplished by using the constant tension technique, and it stimulates hypertrophy via an increase in the production of local (IGF-1, MGF) and systemic (hGH) growth factors. Our new exercise capitalizes on this.

2. Unilateral dynamic work increases motor unit activation in the working muscles, thus facilitating the recruitment and stimulation of more muscle fibers.

3. Isometric action (contracting a muscle without any movement) allows you to recruit up to 10% more muscle fibers than other types of muscle actions. These fibers will also stay activated during a subsequent dynamic phase.

The Constant Tension Alternate Curl

The trouble is, few biceps exercises make use of all three factors.

For example, the regular alternate dumbbell curl — in which you start each rep with the arms fully extended (illustrated below) — takes advantage of unilateral action but not of constant tension because the muscle can relax when it's in the extended position, waiting for its turn.

Furthermore, you don't get the benefit of preceding the dynamic phase by an isometric action, either.

On the other hand, it's easier to maintain constant tension in the biceps by curling with both arms at the same time (either using dumbbells or a bar) and avoiding a pause at the bottom of each repetition. However, it doesn't allow you to reap the benefits of unilateral work.

(By the way, if you're using dumbbells, but are curling both arms at the same time, it's not a unilateral movement. Unilateral means that you're doing the dynamic portion of the movement one limb at a time.)

So, the solution that allows you to take advantage of constant tension, isometric potentiation, and unilateral-enhanced neural drive is to perform the alternate curl starting from the top.

Basically, in the beginning position of all of the reps, both arms are in the fully flexed position. You then lower (eccentric phase) the working arm while keeping the non-working arm flexed. Curl up the working arm until both arms are once again flexed. Then switch arms and do the same thing.

You keep on alternating this way until the set is completed.

The benefits of this new biceps bombardment are:

1. The biceps are under constant tension; while the non-lifting arm is "waiting its turn," it's still contracted (isometrically).

2. You're performing a unilateral dynamic movement.

3. You're preceding the dynamic action by an isometric one.

The downside is that you can't use as much weight, thus you won't create as much muscle damage. This is why it's important to use this exercise as a secondary biceps movement, after a "regular" and heavier exercise.

An Added Bonus

For some additional fiber-stimulating pain, you can use this technique with any biceps exercise performed with dumbbells.

Alternating dumbbell preacher curls (supinated, pronated, or hammer grip)

Alternating incline dumbbell curls (supinated, pronated, or hammer grip)

Alternating chest-supported dumbbell curls on an incline bench (supinated, pronated, or hammer grip)

And anything else you can think of...

[deeepsouth_nz]

Line three plates up on a bench - 20,15,10

Dropset 10-12 of each plate, do three times through, strict form with upper arms by side and curling all the way up to your nose.

[Pseudonym]

I find my routine split makes a big difference when it comes to biceps. When they start lagging too much, I add a second bicep workout to the week (or I use my back workout to hit them indirectly).

[ohjoshua]

I am not really making any progress with bicep strength.

Once a week I do:

- 3 sets of 6-10 on the EZ Bar and haven't really made any progress in 6 weeks

- 3 sets of 6-10 pull-ups, which I have made some progress on

- 2 sets of 6-10 cable curls, with no progress

I think I keep pretty good form and I'm generally seeing gains elsewhere, but biceps not so much.

Any thoughts?

Do chin-ups (palms facing you) instead of pull ups.

[Pete]

(palms facing you).

This is what I do

[GreekAdonis]

I superset weighted chin ups with incline db curls, 6-8 reps of each. Give it a try and see how you go

[mr natural]

you either got em or you don't,if not try cite injections.

[Luigi]

you either got em or you don't,if not try cite injections.

[Melbot]

Hey Pete

Dont know how experienced you are and this might sound trivial but sometime when guys say they arent making progress with bi's its cos their arms arent looking bigger. Quite often its the triceps that are lacking because they make up 2/3 of the arm they can make your arms and bi's appear significantly bigger.

Just another thought.

[Pete]

I'm talking about strength gains - i.e. only managing the same reps for the same weight each week.

[mr natural]

well try doing the limbo next time you barbell curl,this can add lots to your total rep weight

[deeepsouth_nz]

Hey Pete

Quite often its the triceps that are lacking because they make up 2/3 of the arm they can make your arms and bi's appear significantly bigger.

Agreed :nod:

[SoaringSwine]

I'm talking about strength gains - i.e. only managing the same reps for the same weight each week.

You can't make linear progress forever. Mix up your exercises/volume etc.

[Pete]

You can't make linear progress forever. Mix up your exercises/volume etc.

It was a new programme 7 weeks ago using the most recommended exercises for biceps.

Interestingly, concentration and hammer curls were both slammed in most of the literature/opinion I read.

I think I'll try to mix up the reps/weights a bit and, if that doesn't work, look to change my combinations with other muscle groups.

[Melbot]

You can't make linear progress forever. Mix up your exercises/volume etc.

It was a new programme 7 weeks ago using the most recommended exercises for biceps.

Interestingly, concentration and hammer curls were both slammed in most of the literature/opinion I read.

I think I'll try to mix up the reps/weights a bit and, if that doesn't work, look to change my combinations with other muscle groups.

I have to agree with Soaring Swine. Remember bi's are strong relative to their size but they are quite small muscle groups. If you want to lift heavier and heavier on them you will need to be less strict on form in which case you might get slighty more overload. Even this will have diminishing returns as you go heavier.

Doing different excercises, supersetting or dropsetting might be another option to try.

[SamWelly]

There seem to be a lot of people giving advice when they have small arms themselves :doh:

2 guns is right, you either have them or you dont. Who cares about bicep srength really man? I curl f*ck all to be honest, 35kilo dumbells each arm are about as good as I can do atm. All the pro's seem to hit their arms differently, just find out what works for you. If their was a one size fits all ruitine we would all be doing it.

[SamWelly]

Hi Rep supersets seem to be the most effective for small muscle groups IMO. After seeing a bicep tear off in person, 100kg bicep curls freak the shit outa me

[Melbot]

There seem to be a lot of people giving advice when they have small arms themselves :doh:

2 guns is right, you either have them or you dont. Who cares about bicep srength really man? I curl f*ck all to be honest, 35kilo dumbells each arm are about as good as I can do atm. All the pro's seem to hit their arms differently, just find out what works for you. If their was a one size fits all ruitine we would all be doing it.

35kilo, i wouldnt call that hardly nothing Samwelly