Biceps wont gain

[OmidHariri]

Originally Posted by mmahany

Hmm, I wonder why no one else mentioned that....Why make a thread about this if you have no intention of actually listening to any of the advice?

i did listen actually, i took some of the advice.

[Signal513]

Originally Posted by scipio

I've found that pull-ups have done much more for my biceps than any isolation work ever did. Compound movements involving them see to stimulate growth much more.

This works for me too. Granted, curls of this sort or that sort seem to get folks pumped-up a lot, but like the other posters mentioned, biceps are a small muscle.

I gained a lot more size by doing compound exercises like pull-ups too. These worked great for me to not only build the biceps and upper body.

[Adam123]

The muscle are a small muscle so you only need to do 1 or 2 workouts, most people you see do foolish installs of places, quantity will never make them develop, but advancing your loads will, pick 2 workouts and focus weekly on defeating your a couple weeks ago by 1 or more rep....

[RambleJ]

Originally Posted by Adam123

The muscle are a small muscle so you only need to do 1 or 2 workouts, most people you see do foolish installs of places, quantity will never make them develop, but advancing your loads will, pick 2 workouts and focus weekly on defeating your a couple weeks ago by 1 or more rep....

Im sorry, but 1 to 2 workouts will not do anything for my arms.. Maybe because I am further along and not a noob, but If I only do 2 worksouts for my bi's I won't even be warmed up.

[richardbb85]

genetics genetics genetics

mine won't grow for shit no matter how hard i train it

[RambleJ]

Originally Posted by richardbb85

genetics genetics genetics

mine won't grow for shit no matter how hard i train it

Sorry, but you can get past genetics. For some its harder than others, but its not an end all to gains.

[kennyfrc]

You need this.

[Delta0311]

If your eat like a mouse you are not going to gain, period!
If you avoid squats, deadlifts, and other compound movements, you are not going to gain.
If you don't get enough sleep, yup you guessed it no gains.
If most of your protein comes from shakes, well you already know.

[RambleJ]

Originally Posted by kennyfrc

You need this.

Same one i've got.

[RambleJ]

Originally Posted by UMBC2015

Umm no, you can't. Unless we are talking medical procedures. But naturally? It is simply impossible to defeat biology.

Sorry, that's lazy person talk. It may take a while and you may give up because you don't see instant gratification. But it WILL happen.

[nate5ks]

I usually hang out in the coding and maintenance forums but I feel the need to chime in here. Genetics is just an excuse people use to defeat themselves when trying to achieve their goals. I was genetically predisposed to be a 130lb 6' scrawny dude but I picked up lifting and I'm fast approaching 200lbs. I expect to pass that by December.

Besides an effective and evolving lifting routine, you must be truly dedicated to attaining your goals both inside and outside the gym. Lifting is important but it must be supported by a healthy and plentiful diet. The hardest part for me is fitting the required eating into my daily routine with work and all, so I make up for missed meals (I like to have 5 per day) with a weight gainer shake. Don't kill yourself, but try to come close to full whenever you eat. Also, watch what you eat. Cinnabons will help you gain weight but not the right kind. Eggs, milk, yogurt, and meats are all excellent sources of protein so eat these often and fat has nutritional value so don't eliminate fats entirely. In order to gain weight your caloric intake must exceed your caloric output and throwing complex carbs into the mix and help you with this. Also watch your alcohol intake, not only does alcohol contain a lot of empty calories, it also promotes estrogen production which you don't want.

No matter which muscle group you want to improve, it is always important to emphasize the compound lifts that hit multiple groups at the same time. For bigger biceps, pull ups (or pull downs) and bent over rows are a must. You can do many variations of these exercises so change it up periodically. After you have hit the large groups then focus on the smaller groups with your isolation exercises such as curls. I also can't stress enough the importance of hitting all of the major muscle groups. Skipping over legs because they don't penetrate your t-shirt is a big no-no. Squats and dead lifts are key to stimulating natural testosterone production because they work the largest muscles in your body. Higher testosterone will help you achieve gains in all areas.

Last, if you choose to incorporate supplements (which I recommend), do your homework and learn how and when to use them for maximum effectiveness. Protein is always good right after a workout because your muscles are looking for extra nutrients to help them recover. If you take a weight gainer formula, don't skip the gym because your body would love to turn those extra calories into fat. Creatine monohydrate can provide a helpful boost to get those few extra reps in and pre-workout energy formulas can be very effective. Just be sure to cycle on and off the pre-workouts because your body will develop a tolerance and their effectiveness will diminish if you don't. The recommended cycles can usually be found on the packaging.

I hope this helps, and don't let others' defeatist attitudes get you down!

[Signal513]

Originally Posted by tjnitsche

+1 people focus on them way too much because they are visible. I felt that my arms didnt grow even with direct excercise, but then I started focusing on the large muscle groups (back, chest, legs, core) with the goal of getting stronger overall and I saw my arms start to grow.

If you want bigger biceps try doing heavy bent over rows, weighted pull ups, or other heavy back exercises. Make sure your diet is good and you keep mixing up your rep ranges, weights, and types of excercises. Also go to bodybuilding.com they have a ton of great resources

+1 to both of these guys.

[pgviper]

Biceps are useless. Go heavier on back.

[TXSTYLE]

Originally Posted by pgviper

Biceps are useless. Go heavier on back.

Biceps, stomach, shoulders and chest are the FIRST parts of the body anyone including FEMALES notice first. So unless you are NOT trying nor wanting to get noticed, yeah, ignore your arms.

[pgviper]

Originally Posted by TXSTYLE

Biceps, stomach, shoulders and chest are the FIRST parts of the body anyone including FEMALES notice first. So unless you are NOT trying nor wanting to get noticed, yeah, ignore your arms.

I'm more of a function over form type of guy. However I respect form developed from function.

Let me just add that too much or too little of something is never a good idea. Therefore, I originally should have written that I barely train my biceps however considering that they are a secondary muscle for all back exercises and several other chest exercises, they get plenty of work out.

All i'm trying to tell the OP is that biceps are not a functional muscle. They are a "show" muscle as you clearly pointed out. For some people like you, looking like popeye may be your thing but for me, it's more about being athletic and proportional.

[TXSTYLE]

Originally Posted by pgviper

For some people like you, looking like popeye may be your thing but for me.

You were doing just fine until your juvenile jab at the end.

I'll play though... I personal trained for nearly a decade and have been in the gym and or exercising for the better part of two decades. I've had the opportunity to train with professional athletes and pro bodybuilders. Even at 43, married with kids, I still hit the gym, eat well and keep myself looking quite well. Since you don't know me personally, leave the chump talk out of it. I simply pointed out what the majority of guys workout for anyway: appearance. I'm pretty sure OP is wanting to get size/cuts in his arms for appearance. OP, correct me if I'm wrong?
With ALL that being said, I stand by my original post in this very thread as advice: Seated inside & outside Preacher curls with a EZ bar is my # 1 exercise followed by Dumbbell Concentration Curls for cuts and growth in Biceps.
OP didn't mention 'balance, total workouts, etc' he asked for one specific muscle group suggestion.
Carry on.

[pgviper]

Originally Posted by TXSTYLE

You were doing just fine until your juvenile jab at the end.

I'll play though... I personal trained for nearly a decade and have been in the gym and or exercising for the better part of two decades. I've had the opportunity to train with professional athletes and pro bodybuilders. Even at 43, married with kids, I still hit the gym, eat well and keep myself looking quite well. Since you don't know me personally, leave the chump talk out of it. I simply pointed out what the majority of guys workout for anyway: appearance. I'm pretty sure OP is wanting to get size/cuts in his arms for appearance. OP, correct me if I'm wrong?
With ALL that being said, I stand by my original post in this very thread as advice: Seated inside & outside Preacher curls with a EZ bar is my # 1 exercise followed by Dumbbell Concentration Curls for cuts and growth in Biceps.
OP didn't mention 'balance, total workouts, etc' he asked for one specific muscle group suggestion.
Carry on.

No jab at all bud. I have no idea of your background, you should know this since you clearly stated that this is the internet. You can't blame people for drawing conclusions from a small amount of material. Your statement summarized the typical guido workout lol (you forgot about traps though). What is anybody supposed to believe.

Anyway, to the OP, TXSTYLE summarized a great bicep workout. Only difference is that I usually throw in some cross body hammer curls. I notice that it is a good exercise to add thickness to the bicep since you def don't want them to look 2 dimensional.

[JRob23]

This may have been mentioned already, so I apologize if I'm repeating anything here as I just skimmed through the thread.

Less is more when it comes to biceps. If you want bigger arms, focus a little more on triceps as they have three heads and make up 3/4 of arm girth while your biceps have only two heads. With that said...less is more as I mentioned because generally people think if they want something to be bigger, well why not train it more right?

The problem is both the triceps and biceps are accessory muscles in just about every other exercise you do. So this can very easily lead to overtraining. I can prescribe many different ways to go about this, but assuming everything else is in line, to kiss (or keep it stupid simple), just train your bi's and tri's for only 7-9 sets each.

[OmidHariri]

Originally Posted by JRob23

This may have been mentioned already, so I apologize if I'm repeating anything here as I just skimmed through the thread.

Less is more when it comes to biceps. If you want bigger arms, focus a little more on triceps as they have three heads and make up 3/4 of arm girth while your biceps have only two heads. With that said...less is more as I mentioned because generally people think if they want something to be bigger, well why not train it more right?

The problem is both the triceps and biceps are accessory muscles in just about every other exercise you do. So this can very easily lead to overtraining. I can prescribe many different ways to go about this, but assuming everything else is in line, to kiss (or keep it stupid simple), just train your bi's and tri's for only 7-9 sets each.

It was just in time until my biceps started to grow. They got huge now. With enough work they were able to create a foundation and have since got big. My triceps are huge though. They look like horseshoes when I do a straight arm flex.
And I don't think triceps are accessories. Biceps are but not the tri's. they help for just about every push motion

[JRob23]

Triceps are not an accessory muscle? Biceps help with pushing movements?

[OmidHariri]

Originally Posted by JRob23

Triceps are not an accessory muscle? Biceps help with pushing movements?

I meant that biceps are accessory muscles. The triceps are one of the primary muscles for pushing.

[burakkose]

Originally Posted by OmidHariri

I meant that biceps are accessory muscles. The triceps are one of the primary muscles for pushing.