Any guy who's steps foot into a gym does so with the intention of owning a pair of big biceps.
Unfortunately, just like I once did, far too many guys don't take the proper steps in their workout routines thus their chances of building big biceps and "guns" are very slim.
You have to realize that your arm muscles (biceps, triceps and forearms) are very small compared to your chest, back and legs. Far too many guys make the mistake of training arms (especially biceps) far too often and with too many sets.
Biceps training should not be complicated and if you follow these 5 simple steps, you'll have an amazing a pair of big biceps and "guns" not too long from today.
Big Biceps Step #1: Focus On Compound Movements
To build big biceps, big triceps and big forearm muscles, nothing comes close to compound movements with free weights. Free weights allow for the greatest range of motion and mirror your muscles natural movement.
No machine can ever give you the same stimulation as good old dumbbells and barbells as machines restrict your movement to a linear plane of motion. If you really like training with machines or cables then I recommend you finish off your workouts on a machine, but NEVER begin your workouts on one.
Big Biceps Step #2: Keep Your Arm Workouts Short
This counts not only for the biceps and arms but for every other body part as well. To develop truly impressive biceps and triceps I recommend you train them on their own day instead of at the end of your chest and/or back workouts.
This will let you put 100% focus and intensity into doing arms thus resulting in better and faster gains. Remember that the biceps and triceps are very small muscles and there's absolutely no reason to spend 2 hours at the gym working them.
Your arm workouts should last no longer than 1 hour.This is more than enough time as you'll have 20 minutes for biceps, 20 minutes for triceps and 20 minutes for forearms. Unless your forearms tend to grow and respond well from biceps training, then you can spend a half hour on biceps and triceps each and skip forearms.
Remember that the law of diminishing returns applies especially well to weight training so training your biceps more often will not give you bigger gains. Your arms will get plenty of indirect work from back and chest training so you there's no need to over do it for the biceps and triceps.
Big Biceps Step #3: Focus On Quality
Quality means performing each and every single set and repetition with 100% focus and intensity. If you're not putting every ounce of energy into each set then you your biceps simply won't grow as fast and big as you'd like them to.
I see far too many trainees using too much weight and momentum and not focusing on making the biceps do the work. Focus on making the muscle do the work and focus on getting an intense contraction at the end of each repetition.
Squeeze your biceps hard for a second before lowering the weights on any curling movement and lock out your elbows at the top for any triceps movement.
Big Biceps Step #4: Keep Your Rest Periods Short
Your rest period in-between sets should take no longer than 2 minutes or 120 seconds. 2 minutes is just long enough to let most of the lactic acid that accumulates during an intense set flush out of your muscles but not long enough to lose your pump in your arms.
Recent research has shown that taking shorter rest periods in between sets increases your body's growth hormone production which will directly lead to more muscle mass.
Research has also shown that 2 minutes is an optimal time for hypertrophy or muscle growth and that anything less is better for developing muscle endurance and anything more than 3 minutes is best for developing muscle power.
Big Biceps Step #5: Train Heavy
A lot of people completely misunderstand the concept of training heavy especially while working the biceps. Never choose quantity over quality in your arm workouts but rather quality and quantity.
Perform 8 to 12 repetitions for the biceps on every set and focus on reaching muscle failure on at least one set for each exercise.
If you're able to do more than 12 repetitions on any biceps exercise than you are not using enough weight to stimulate the type 2b muscle fibers which are mainly responsible for muscle growth, and performing less than 6 repetitions will not recruit many of those same type 2b muscle fibers thus leading to less muscle growth.
Follow these 5 simple steps in your arm workouts and you're guaranteed to build big biceps in no time at all.
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Unfortunately, just like I once did, far too many guys don't take the proper steps in their workout routines thus their chances of building big biceps and "guns" are very slim.
You have to realize that your arm muscles (biceps, triceps and forearms) are very small compared to your chest, back and legs. Far too many guys make the mistake of training arms (especially biceps) far too often and with too many sets.
Biceps training should not be complicated and if you follow these 5 simple steps, you'll have an amazing a pair of big biceps and "guns" not too long from today.
Big Biceps Step #1: Focus On Compound Movements
To build big biceps, big triceps and big forearm muscles, nothing comes close to compound movements with free weights. Free weights allow for the greatest range of motion and mirror your muscles natural movement.
No machine can ever give you the same stimulation as good old dumbbells and barbells as machines restrict your movement to a linear plane of motion. If you really like training with machines or cables then I recommend you finish off your workouts on a machine, but NEVER begin your workouts on one.
Big Biceps Step #2: Keep Your Arm Workouts Short
This counts not only for the biceps and arms but for every other body part as well. To develop truly impressive biceps and triceps I recommend you train them on their own day instead of at the end of your chest and/or back workouts.
This will let you put 100% focus and intensity into doing arms thus resulting in better and faster gains. Remember that the biceps and triceps are very small muscles and there's absolutely no reason to spend 2 hours at the gym working them.
Your arm workouts should last no longer than 1 hour.This is more than enough time as you'll have 20 minutes for biceps, 20 minutes for triceps and 20 minutes for forearms. Unless your forearms tend to grow and respond well from biceps training, then you can spend a half hour on biceps and triceps each and skip forearms.
Remember that the law of diminishing returns applies especially well to weight training so training your biceps more often will not give you bigger gains. Your arms will get plenty of indirect work from back and chest training so you there's no need to over do it for the biceps and triceps.
Big Biceps Step #3: Focus On Quality
Quality means performing each and every single set and repetition with 100% focus and intensity. If you're not putting every ounce of energy into each set then you your biceps simply won't grow as fast and big as you'd like them to.
I see far too many trainees using too much weight and momentum and not focusing on making the biceps do the work. Focus on making the muscle do the work and focus on getting an intense contraction at the end of each repetition.
Squeeze your biceps hard for a second before lowering the weights on any curling movement and lock out your elbows at the top for any triceps movement.
Big Biceps Step #4: Keep Your Rest Periods Short
Your rest period in-between sets should take no longer than 2 minutes or 120 seconds. 2 minutes is just long enough to let most of the lactic acid that accumulates during an intense set flush out of your muscles but not long enough to lose your pump in your arms.
Recent research has shown that taking shorter rest periods in between sets increases your body's growth hormone production which will directly lead to more muscle mass.
Research has also shown that 2 minutes is an optimal time for hypertrophy or muscle growth and that anything less is better for developing muscle endurance and anything more than 3 minutes is best for developing muscle power.
Big Biceps Step #5: Train Heavy
A lot of people completely misunderstand the concept of training heavy especially while working the biceps. Never choose quantity over quality in your arm workouts but rather quality and quantity.
Perform 8 to 12 repetitions for the biceps on every set and focus on reaching muscle failure on at least one set for each exercise.
If you're able to do more than 12 repetitions on any biceps exercise than you are not using enough weight to stimulate the type 2b muscle fibers which are mainly responsible for muscle growth, and performing less than 6 repetitions will not recruit many of those same type 2b muscle fibers thus leading to less muscle growth.
Follow these 5 simple steps in your arm workouts and you're guaranteed to build big biceps in no time at all.