Thread: Training Biceps and Bracs.

heh,my bro here is even more pompous than I am :P Seriously,he's a great guy,and one of my constant training parnters. Brutha,good to see you here now!

hey thanks for giving my the site bro.

okay, soooooooooooooooooo..............are you going to start???

well lets see the best exercises that i like to do and to really hit those biceps are smith drag curls. another good one is the preacher curls and dumbbell preacher curls.

Here is a question for you. In building biceps, I have always enjoyed barbell curls with an ez curl bar, however, when I get up in weight, my forearms hurt like hell when I start curling the bar up. It is somewhat like shin splints in my forearms. Anyone else experience this or know how to prevent it?

I`ve experienced it .It`s usually caused by going too heavy.EZ-Bars are better suited for Triceps training anyway,use a staight bar on curls.

Originally posted by tjwes
I`ve experienced it .It`s usually caused by going too heavy.EZ-Bars are better suited for Triceps training anyway,use a staight bar on curls.

yeah but EZ-bars are a LOT easier on the wrists! i find i can lift more on the EZ bar, i like it!

my fave is probably the standing D/B curl, alternating, you can go heavy and cheat a little to force out a few extra reps, you can also really squeeze the hell out of your Bi's bringing the weight up, then slowly relax it, they rule!

I also like seated hammers, super slow.... they burn!

peace

I'll tell you EXACTLY what it is:you have the start of (if not direct) tendonitis. I'd stake a large sum of moeny on it. I know,because I have experienced this. As far as "Straight bars are easier on you for curls" It is ALWAYS bullshit to say that ONE thing will work perfectly for EVERYONE. Plain and simple,go for what works for you. That said, a straight bar is my personaly favorite for barbell curls, and it DID help me when I was starting into tendonitis. I also took 3 weeks off of lifting to recuperate completely. It was a bitch, but it was worth it. I lost more and more strength as I tried to work through the tendonitis, and it took a couple months before I finally got the message. It would be a good idea to get it checked by a doctor. That's my 2 cents....

The mother of all mass builders for the biceps is the STRAIGHT bar curl. Can be hard on wrists and elbows, but hits the bicep more completely than ez-curl barl. Incline dumbell curls are super mass and peak builders as well, and as in ALL biceps movements, strict form should be maintained to keep the shoulders from bearing the brunt of the load. I do cheat on my last rep, but that's all. Preacher curls are my 3rd favorite movement, and I use the ez-curl bar here to hit them from a little different angle. Use medium to close grip on the straight bar curls.

Hammer curls and reverse curls will build brachialis and add width, but do little for the bicep peak. I have found, through many years of trial and error, that my arms respond best when I work bicep and tricep the same night. Biceps respond to changing routines more than most muscle groups, and just changing your basic exercises can break you through a sticking point rather quickly.

i'm gonna have to fully support eviled on forarm problem. start off lighter in weight and every now and then go lighter and do a 10x10 and when you set the bar down let your wrists turn back on there own. if you just set it down and let go real fast they will hurt.as far as hittig the peak of the bicep there are a few things to do to help target that area more. do dumbell curs but instead of letting your arms follow a normal range of motion. bring the dumbbell up about 3/4 of the way up and then bring it down far enough to keep the tention on the bicep at all times. or try concentration curls. do some sitting and then try them the way Arnold does then. grab on to something that will allow you to bend over some. start out with arm extended and bring it up about half way. for the bracs yes hammers are just about the only way to hit them. but i found out from all the work i do at my job that if you do hammers in various spots nstead of just across the chest and normal hammer curls it targets differant areas of the bracs. cuz mine ar e always a little sore every day after work.

john keep training bis and tris together. thats the best thing yo do but make sure to do your tris first. i found out the hard way that if you do your bis first you will never make it through your triceps workout. mostly if your your on a low rep high weight workout.

I have to bite back on my training partner,the author of this thread, just a wee bit...I NEED to hit my biceps first otherwise ,the lionshare of my elbow strength goes right into my triceps work....but hey, to each their own. We both started off on an intricately designed arm workout, 5 exercises,all got 3 sets and 10-12 reps a set. We blew up quick with it, but we outgrew it with time and now utilize a trifecta of arm assaults that rotate weekly and seldom go over 10 reps a set, frequently totalling 24 sets or higher for each biceps and triceps. Not for everyone,but it works for us

yea we did out grow that workout. our endurance, size, and strength went way beyond what we thought it would with that workout.
and like EvilEd said "to each there own" cuz when we started he was more tricep heavey and i was more bicep heavy. but now the size will be the only way to tell who was what. cuz our strenght is pretty much even with each other.

Your brachialis and brachioradialis are used as secondary muscles in all of your standard curling movements, such as barbell curls, dumbbell curls, etc. But to hit them more directly you would want to do more reverse curls, and hammer curls.

very true monstar. i've noticed that from were i work at that 3/4 ofthe movements i do from picking up the items needed from bags is mostly hammer motion. and its also been in various positions. not just across the chest or striaght out.

Also,this is precisely why I do drag curls with or without a Smith Machine...once you master the technique, it produces an effect in the brachs and the edges of the biceps that is extremely difficult if not impossible to get from other exercises

I was under the impression that you cannot target a certain portion of a muscle. The way the muscle looks as it develops depends one genetics...

Here is an example:
pectoral question

I'm not talking about isolating a single section of muscle CowPimp, you CAN prioritize certain area of the muscle for stress if it is a weak point. Tell me this:when you do concentration curls (if you do them) do you feel it evenly through teh entire biceps structure,including the brachialis? or do you feel it more in the peak of the bicep compared to the rest of the muscle? It's a matter of what you are trying to bring OUT not necessarily UP,or rather, what are you working to define by your isolation as opposed to trying to develop and stimulate muscle mass? In this case,we're talking about hammering the brachs for the sake of better stressing them. That's all I meant. Hope that clarifies my meaning.

cowpimp, the only thing that genetics mean in the lifting world is wether your a easy gainer or a hard gainer.

Not exactly there bro. Genetics also determine muscle shape (whether you have kinda round pecs or square,high-peaked biceps or longer biceps that stretch clean to the elbow,etc...)...BUT that said, if you neglect a region in your training, it can result in oddly shaped/strangely put together muscles and can detract from the appearance. It's like when a guy uses say...skullcrushers,2 hand dumbbell extensions and V-Bar pressdowns (perfermed rigidly) for his triceps...they'll appear heavy on the horseshoe, but will be lacking in the medial head and the inside part of the long head (nearest your armpit and lats)

true true but hey you gotta cut me a break here. i'm replying after getting done working for 10 hours.

LOL,yeah man. You got your break. But I replied from just getting out of the hospital man! Stupid ass doctors....EKGs suck,MRIs suck, bloodwork sucks, illness sucks.

Originally posted by twizted110
cowpimp, the only thing that genetics mean in the lifting world is wether your a easy gainer or a hard gainer.

ey prince a while back you post s excerpt from a book about biceps, something along the lines of preacher curls and that people who don't have a peak should not do them. or something like that. do you remember the thread or what i am talking about. sorry but it was a really good read,

Originally posted by EvilEdDanzig
Also,this is precisely why I do drag curls with or without a Smith Machine...

1. What are Drag Curls?

2. What are Reverse Curls?

Okay guys,lots of questions on how to do a reverse curl,a drag curl and a Smith Machine Drag Curl...these links should help for the corresponding motion.

Reverse Curls(just a regular curl performed palms DOWN instead of up): http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/...verseCurl.html

Drag Curls:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exer...on=&order=Name

Smith Machine Drag Curls:Sorry,no link for it,but I'll do my best to explain this one:

Using a standard curling grip (how wide depends on the individual in this case, I feel it best with a slightly wider than shoulder width grip) on a Smith Machine, then "curl" the bar by dragging it upward close to your torso, while letting your elbows slide backward. This motion takes a lot of focus to prevent the stress from spilling into your back and making it a half-assed upright row. Concentrate on contracting your biceps harder as your elbows move back. There should only be stress on the biceps,nowhere else.

Hope that helped!

one other thing eveiled forgot to mention is that the smith drag curls hit the peak of the bicep really good and after about 2-3 sets at a good moderate weight your biceps will have a hell of a pump and yes they will be sore for a while.