Big arms are the mark by which recreational lifters and professional bodybuilders inevitably make comparisons. In fact, they have their own lexicon: guns, cannons, firearms. Heck, can you even name the pro bodybuilder with the biggest chest or quads? Probably not, but I bet you can visualize the heavy artillery of your favorite. In my experience, better gains can be made by training smarter rather than relying solely on effort and sometimes blindly emulating the programs of the genetically blessed. After going over some of the concepts inherent in smart biceps training, I’ll point out the best exercises and how to include them in your routine.
FOOT BAR CURL
This is the classic mass and strength builder, working all three major arm flexors (brachialis, lateral and medial biceps), but the medial head will feel most of the emphasis. Go heavy but be strict.
TIP: Keep your shoulders down and back, chest up, and focus on the range of motion from 15 to 115 degrees of flexion. Keep your elbows at your sides to better isolate the muscle, and use a smooth, controlled motion. Use an EZ bar, with an external camber grip, if the straight bar causes forearm pain.
DUMBBELL CURL
When you’re using a lot of weight, this exercise can stimulate some serious growth! This move can also be done seated, which reduces body English and really forces you to use good form. Supine whenever you can during curling movements; It is the most natural way to curl and provides the most stimulation to the muscles involved in bending the elbow.
TIP: Start with the dumbbells in a neutral position at thigh level and raise them as high as they will go, rotating your wrists slightly as you lift the weight.
CABLE CURL (WITH ROPE)
This is one of the best kept secrets of bodybuilders who have really huge arms. Essentially, this move combines some of the best elements of both barbell and dumbbell exercises, engaging all three major arm flexors, with special emphasis on the biceps brachii.
TIP: Start with your hands on your thighs and palms facing in (neutral grip). As you lift the weight, slowly supinate your wrists so that your palms are facing your body at the top of the movement. Keep your elbow close to your body at all times.
INCLINED DUMBBELL CURL
The lesser the incline, the greater the stretch at the top of the biceps. If you normally rotate your wrists during this movement, occasionally try to maintain a neutral position throughout the range of motion. This puts incredible pressure on the anterior brachialis and lateral head of the biceps, while affecting the medial head to a lesser degree.
TIP: Curl the dumbbells simultaneously, keeping your head back against the bench and your elbows back as best as possible. Supine and squeeze each contraction as hard as you can.
CURL APPROACH
This maximum contraction exercise develops both the brachialis and the biceps.
TIP: Keep your elbow square against your inner thigh. You can also use a supination movement here starting with your hand in a neutral position.
MODIFIED Preacher Curl
The ultimate in strict curls and one of the best bicep builders around. Keep your upper arm perpendicular to the ground by reversing the direction of the bench. For a different feel, try using a barbell, EZ bar, cable, and dumbbells.
TIP: With a barbell, use a grip slightly wider than shoulder width. For those last two reps, let your wrists extend back at the bottom, and then start by flexing your wrists to give the bar a little more momentum.
HAMMER CURL
Providing the optimal position for developing the brachioradialis, neutral-grip hammer curls with dumbbells or cable attachments (like rope) put the finishing touch on a biceps workout.
TIP: Keep your upper arms at your sides and hold maximum contraction for a while. Do partial reps at the end of your set to over-fatigue the muscle.
TO DECEIVE OR NOT TO DECEIVE
The use of momentum to achieve a lift deserves a mention because I see it a lot in arm training. Cheating does have a place in arm development, but probably not for beginners or intermediate trainers because it’s hard to do correctly and effectively. When you cheat, by design you are exceeding the “normal” (concentric) force limits of the muscles, and the movement is ballistically performed with less stability of the entire torso and shoulder girdle.
Cheating increases the risk of injury and can reduce overload on the target muscle. Many other equal or superior methods increase the overload and intensity of the exercise. If you cheat, use just enough swing to help you get past the sticking point when you might not otherwise, and always lower the weight slowly to emphasize the eccentric portion of the rep.