What's going on guys back with another Water Buffalo Training Method weekly blog. Today we are going to be talking about 3 EASY tips to getting insane biceps!
Before reading we recommend you check out the PDF we made showing each area of the arm so you can see where you lack!
Copy and Paste Link, or email Wbtrainingmethod@gmail.com for PDF
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VuYjUOrYWyMdDHFnaae3v0--yma1blMv/view?usp=sharing
TIP 1:
Make sure you have exercises that hit each of the bicep head.
The Bicep has 2 heads, long and short. The long head of the bicep is the "peak" of your biceps. This makes your arm appear big from the side or when flexing your arm in the typical bicep flex. While the short head is the "inside" of the biceps makes your arm appear thick from the front when flexing. The way you train these two muscles is by training your biceps with different elbow positioning. Since the long head attaches further "back" on the scapula (shoulder joint) you want to train doing exercises like Barbell Curls, Drag Curls, or Incline Curls. While the short head of the bicep attaches further "up" closer to the front delt/pec area, so is best activated when the elbows are in front of you. This can be done in exercises like Preacher Curls, Spider Curls, or Concentration Curls.
Typically I like to go heavier on the short head exercises, since you will have max tension of the bicep because of the angle you are pulling at. While on exercises I like to go lighter and get a better contraction to make sure I get better activation since I lose tension at the bottom since its a longer range of motion. But you can train them however you'd like
Sample workout
Long Head
Drag curls 4 sets of 12-15 reps
Incline curls 4 sets of 15-20 reps
Short Head
One arm preacher curls 3 sets of 6-8 reps on each arm
Spider curls 3 sets of 8-10 reps heavy
TIP 2:
Make sure you train the Brachialis and Brachioradialis:
What the hell are these you say? These technically aren't "part of the biceps" however they do compliment the bicep. Make sure to check out the link above with the PDF of the anatomy of the bicep so you can a better idea.
So the Brachialis is the arm of the arm that actually makes our arms look "thicker and wider" from the front. While having short head mass can help make your arms thicker and more dense from the front, the Brachialis actually gives width to the middle part of the arm. The way you can train this small muscle group is only when the wrists are in a neutral position. So this means doing exercises like Hammer curls, Rope curls, and Zottman Curls. Furthermore, some people say that close grip pull ups/ neutral grip pull ups helps develop this muscle since you are in the same position and you are using a lot more resistance. I would recommend really going with a moderate weight and trying to squeeze this muscle for max results.
Furthermore, the Brachioradialis is the muscle that is "above the forearm, on top of the elbow" (really look at the PDF it makes it so much easier). This muscle while doesn't directly effect any of the biceps appearance, it compliments it and allows for your bicep to appear more massive from the "side". Like I said while this is more of a forearm muscle, it is still important to train. So the way you train it is by having your wrists facing up. Some exercises that hit this muscle is Reverse Barbell Curls, Reverse Preacher Curls, and Reverse Wrist Curls. Like the Brachialis I like to train this muscle group with lighter weight focusing more on the contraction of the muscle and execution of the lifts.
Sample workout:
Brachialis
Hammer curls 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Hammer rope curls 3 sets of 15 reps
Brachioradialis
Reverse curls 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Reverse wrist rope curls 3 sets of 25 reps
TIP 3:
SQUEEZE THE SHIT OUT OF YOUR BICEPS WHEN YOU TRAIN THEM.
This can be seen more as bro science. But I don't give a fuck, isometric contractions have been proven to help produce muscle tissue breakdown. When thinking about "squeezing" the biceps more will help you develop a mind to muscle connection like no other.
This tip takes time because it develops the more and more you lift. It also develops stronger and stronger as you continue your workout. So next time you train biceps, I want you to squeeze your bicep at the top of each curl for at least 2 seconds. This will help you connect directly with the biceps allowing you to feel a connection with the muscle group. This over time will help you turn more of the direct weight into the biceps vs the front delts, forearms or another muscle group you feel when training biceps.
Lastly, as we squeeze the muscle tissue no matter that be biceps, chest, back etc, it allows the higher yield of muscle fibers being recruited. As you get better and more in tuned with "squeezing" the muscle group you train, you will get a better more meaningful range of motion and in turn recruit more muscle fibers, and newer fibers that you might have been missing if you missed the peak contraction, or a part of the range of motion.
If you liked this idea about squeezing the muscle, definitely contact us about joining the Water Buffalo Training Method, squeeze is part of the 8-S-T training technique that Matthew Nguyen developed. The training program offers 8 S principles that will help attack and breakdown your workouts.