Biceps training program

The biceps is the biceps brachii. He is also a favorite male muscle group, comparable in popularity only to pectorals. To make this part of the body look really impressive, you will be helped by the biceps training program, which we will discuss in this article.

Biceps anatomy

The biceps consists of two parts - the outer head and the inner one. The outer one is long, the inner one is short. Together, both heads perform the function of flexing the forearm, but separately their functions differ - and this is an important point in terms of application.

The internal short head of the biceps additionally performs forearm supination and shoulder flexion - raising the arm in front of you. These functions are due to the places of its attachment - the proximal end is attached to the coracoid process of the scapula, the distal end - to the tuberosity of the radius. And although the tendon of the two heads is common, due to the anatomical proximity of the short head of the biceps to the attachment site, the supination function (turning the palm up) is provided mainly by the short head of the biceps.

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Do not forget about the shoulder muscle (you can also find the name brachialis) - it is located strictly under the biceps. The muscle takes its origin from the distal half of the anterior surface of the humerus, attaches to the tuberosity of the ulna and performs flexion in the elbow joint in isolation. This means that no matter what grip you perform this movement, you will in any case use this muscle along with the biceps. Let's say in advance that without a developed shoulder muscle, you will not see aesthetically developed biceps.

Recommendations for the selection of the program

If you want to build big biceps - do basic exercises for the back muscles - various traction. This is an extremely important condition, since the biceps, back deltas, latissimus dorsi belong to a single functional group - the pulling one.

By nature, the muscles of the arms have a more developed neuromuscular connection than the muscles of the body. Most of the effort will always be taken by the muscle group with the best neuromuscular connection. Be sure to learn to feel the muscles of the back, to feel their work during traction movements. Otherwise, your progress in biceps development will be limited by those very back muscles. Without well-developed core and spine stabilizers, you cannot handle large weights for biceps exercises.

Working weight selection

The next recommendation concerns working weights for biceps exercises, tempo, and extremes. The weight in the exercise should be such that you can slowly and in a controlled manner bend and extend your arms. At the same time, at the time of flexion, you should feel the work of the biceps muscles of the shoulder, and not the lats, chest or deltas. The range is at least 10-12 "clean" reps. If your body is included in the work, and the elbows go far forward, take less weight.

It is not necessary to completely lower the weight on straight arms - keep the tone in the biceps of the shoulder. In addition, the position with the elbow joints straightened overloads the latter and is fraught with injury to the biceps tendon. At the top point, you should not bend the arm as much as possible - the projectile with which you are working should not be over the elbow joint and, accordingly, the biceps should not relax at the top point of the amplitude - on the contrary, a peak contraction should occur here. At this point, it is useful to linger for 1 - 2 seconds and only then smoothly straighten the elbows. The pace is slow, in the ratio of accounts it looks like this: rise-top point-fall = 2-1-3.

The number and nuances of workouts

Remember that you need, on the one hand, to acidify the muscle, but on the other, to avoid excessive destruction of cellular structures. You can do additional biceps shoulder stretches between sets.

The number of sets for the biceps muscles of the shoulder is as follows: in the case of working out after the back muscles, 6-9 sets are enough, on a full day of the arms - 9-12 sets.

In a weekly macrocycle, it is generally optimal to pump the arm muscles once. Remember that these muscles are actively involved in many other movements as well. If you do them more often, this, on the contrary, can lead to their lack of growth due to constant underrecovery.

The goal of training your biceps (like any other muscle) is to create stress that will trigger muscle protein synthesis and muscle growth. Beginners should avoid rejection, no intensity techniques, no heavy weights, and no cheating. Your task is to improve your technique, try to increase weights from training to training, maintaining protein synthesis at an increased level.

Always keep your biceps feeling as you increase your weights. If you feel that you are connecting your legs, lower back, and any other muscles - reduce the weight and stop flattering your vanity.

The best exercises for biceps

There is no better or worse exercise. There are people with different anthropometry and different tendon attachment sites. Simply put, the most effective biceps exercise will be the one in which you can feel the biceps work best.

Another point has to do with "basic" and "isolation" biceps exercises. Biceps is a small muscle group that sets one joint in motion - the elbow. Assistance in flexion of the shoulder and supination of the hand does not count - it is not a direct function of the biceps muscle. It is almost all exercises for biceps that are isolating.

Basic exercises

Only one exercise will be basic for the biceps - the pull-up with a narrow reverse grip. In addition to the elbow, it also involves the shoulder joint.

The back muscles are actively involved in this movement, so it is not so easy to "catch" the work of the biceps. It will be useful for beginners to use the gravitron - a simulator that facilitates pull-ups due to a counterweight.

When doing this exercise, try not to fully extend your elbows. You do not need to use the straps. If you can't get a feel for the target muscle group - exclude the exercise from the program, biceps is one of the few muscles that has enough isolation.

Isolation exercises

Among the exercises that we defined as "isolating", the following movements are suitable for the largest number of practitioners:

1. Standing curls with a barbell with a medium and narrow grip. Depending on the mobility of the wrist joints, an EZ bar or a straight bar is used. Most fitness club goers do it incorrectly, picking up too much working weight and helping themselves with their torso and shoulders.
   

   

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2. Standing dumbbell curls. The arms can be supined throughout the entire exercise, or supination occurs in the first third of the movement. You can bend your arms at the same time - you get an alternative to the first exercise, or alternately.
   
3. Dumbbell curls sitting on an incline bench. One of the best biceps exercises. Here he is initially in an extended position, in addition, you will cheat less, since you will not be able to swing the body. You can also do it with both hands at once or alternately.
   

   

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4. Curls with a barbell or dumbbells on a Scott bench. In this case, cheating is automatically excluded due to the position of the hands and body. Don't bend your arms all the way and remember to focus on the negative phase of the movement.
   

   

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5. Hammer curls. This is a variant of flexion in the elbow joint, when the hand is fixed in a neutral position. Again, this can be done alternately or together, sitting or standing. Another technical point concerns the plane in which the arm is bent - when bending in the sagittal plane (the dumbbell goes to the shoulder), the brachial muscle is more involved, when moving in the frontal plane (the dumbbell goes to the sternum), the brachioradialis muscle is more involved.
   

   

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6. Reverse grip barbell curls. We grab the bar with a grip from above. The rest of the movement is similar to the first exercise. Here the emphasis is on the brachial, brachioradial and forearm muscles.
   
7. Concentrated dumbbell curl. It is performed while sitting on a bench, both legs are hanging on one side of it and bent at the knees. With the elbow of the working hand we rest on the thigh of the same name, with the other hand we rest as conveniently on the other leg. Bend your arm slowly and in a controlled manner without lifting your elbow from your hip, and then also slowly lower it. It is believed that this exercise can pump up the "peak" of the biceps, but this is not the case. Muscle shape is genetically determined and cannot be corrected by any exercise.
   

   

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8. Curls on the block. Here you can distinguish many variations - flexion from the lower block with a straight or rope handle, flexion with one hand alternately, in a crossover from the upper handles in a position with arms spread apart, etc. These exercises should "finish off" the biceps at the end of the workout, doing them as technically as possible and in a large number of repetitions (from 12).
   

   

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   © Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com

There are a large number of other similar exercises for biceps: bending with dumbbells in an incline, with a barbell lying with your stomach on an incline bench, in various simulators, etc. They have a common feature - an impressive biceps can be built without them. However, it is worth trying these exercises in order to understand for yourself in which one you better feel the biceps brachii. Use them periodically to diversify the training process.

A variety of biceps movements are optional for muscle growth. The only reason to move from exercise to exercise is the psychological moment. If you are not bored of doing 15 sets of the same exercise, do it and do not fill your head with unnecessary movements.

Approximate training program in the gym

This section presents programs for training biceps in the gym. Based on this scheme, you can build your own program based on the exercises that suit you personally.

For beginners who train according to the fullbadi scheme, it is possible not to include separate exercises for the biceps at all - he will receive a load in the movements on the back muscles. Maximum one exercise, such as standing curls. More advanced athletes who use the split position their biceps most often with the back, less often with the chest. We will separately consider the day of training only arms (biceps + triceps).

Split "biceps + back"

The given training program is only a guideline. Improve its composition depending on the individual characteristics of the organism and its capabilities.

Hand training day

Biceps specialization

With lagging biceps, experienced athletes can specialize in this muscle group. In this case, in addition to the hand day, which was discussed above, the biceps is pumped one more time a week together with the back. However, a maximum of two exercises are taken here, and the style of execution is pump, that is, for 15-20 repetitions. For example, this might include curls on the lower block and hammers with dumbbells on an incline bench.

Home workout program

To train your biceps at home, you will need the simplest additional equipment: a horizontal bar, a rubber expander and / or dumbbells. They won't take up much space, but they will help you train better.

An approximate home biceps training program looks like this:

Watch the video: 7 Bicep Exercises for Bigger Arms DONT SKIP THESE! (November 2024).