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Biceps...

oHUTCHYo

oHUTCHYo

oHUTCHYo

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7 Jun 2005
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Im currently trying to fit in 3 visits to the gym a week. It hard keeping a set schedule due to work commitments.

I normally break my workouts down to chest/triceps one visit, then back/biceps the other.

My problem is, without sounding arrogant, I have poweful shoulders, back and chest, but my arms dont look as defined as I like. I do have strong triceps, but my biceps are my weakest part in contrast. I understand body fat is the key to defintion, but in terms of really working my biceps, how much can I work them in a week? Is once sufficient or can I get away with maybe twice a week?

Im doing 15KG preacher curls, 30KG EZ curl bars, 20KG EZ curl bar, 15KG hammer curls and 15KG standing "normal arm curl things" and if I have enough steam left, some wire resistance curl things at 15KG per arm. All 3x8. Is this session insufficient?
 
you do 5-6 different types of curl in one session? I think that would be too much.
To work them more than once a week you could split it to chest/biceps and back/triceps so they're getting worked with the back and on the other day.
 
I find biceps are practically the easiest muscles to work. Whilst working my back I find they get a fairly decent hit, then I'd just simply finish them off with a few sets of curls, dumbbell or otherwise. Don't overwork them, 2 separate exercises max, imo.
 
Too much at 3x8? I was considering trying 3x12 for a while and dropping the weight?

In terms of body-fat, Im definitely overweight. I have a fat gut. Im running 1 mile to the gym and 1 mile back on each visit to try and reduce body fat. No avoiding though, I am obese :-(

...Im a strong fatty though lol
 
shifty_uk said:
I, for one couldn't lift after doing any cardio. I'd be slightly knackered and fear not getting the most from my lifting.
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Im the same apart from doing a 5 min warm up, if you find 1 mile pretty hard going though I'd not run down to the gym, just run back afterwards and see if the lifts improve.
 
shifty_uk said:
I, for one couldn't lift after doing any cardio. I'd be slightly knackered and fear not getting the most from my lifting.
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I do 90 Minutes of Muay Thai in which I probably burn in excess of 1300 calories and I get a 15 minute break afterwards while I drive to the gym for a weights session. I top up my energy when getting there with a yoghurt covered flapjack and then I'm good to go.

I am very careful with my diet that day though and make sure I get a large amounts of energy in with a large hit before Muay Thai. It only happens once a week as on the other days Muay Thai and Weights don't overlap. If you watch what you eat its perfectly doable, I find I am only slightly weaker than I would be if I had just done the normal 20 mins X-trainer warmup.
 
you arent working them hard enough.

while im at it, you arent working your back enough either (i refuse to accept that you can isolate your back and work it well enough and still be able to do all that bicep work afterwards :p )


suggestion:

change to back/tris and chest/bis. that way you work the bi's twice a week, once indirectly and once directly.
 
Agreed with Morba. The best bicep builders are heavy back workouts! Try doing close-grip palms in chin ups until you're fried and then doing all those curls :p

You aren't going to build muscle messing about with loads of little exercises, lift big, lift smart. Focus on heavy compounds... you can't build a big back without having some impressive biceps! Similar you can't build a big chest without big, strong triceps.
 
Morba said:
you arent working them hard enough.

while im at it, you arent working your back enough either (i refuse to accept that you can isolate your back and work it well enough and still be able to do all that bicep work afterwards :p )


suggestion:

change to back/tris and chest/bis. that way you work the bi's twice a week, once indirectly and once directly.
Click to expand...

Chong Warrior said:
Agreed with Morba. The best bicep builders are heavy back workouts! Try doing close-grip palms in chin ups until you're fried and then doing all those curls :p

You aren't going to build muscle messing about with loads of little exercises, lift big, lift smart. Focus on heavy compounds... you can't build a big back without having some impressive biceps! Similar you can't build a big chest without big, strong triceps.
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Amen brothers! :cool: :D
 
shifty_uk said:
I find biceps are practically the easiest muscles to work. Whilst working my back I find they get a fairly decent hit, then I'd just simply finish them off with a few sets of curls, dumbbell or otherwise. Don't overwork them, 2 separate exercises max, imo.
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I do. Well 1 exercise for biceps and then one for forearms. I had a stage where I was doing 3 dropsets of cable curls, 3 different grips, close, wide and hammer. Was too much after a decent back workout!
 
I have quite long, thin muscles so my biceps looks crap. For that reason I don't bother training them directly anymore. They get hit plenty with heavy back work as mentioned above anyway.
 
If you're going 3 times a week maybe try Shoulders/arms, back chest, legs. that way your arms won't be knackerd from the heavy compound movements you'll be doing with back & chest?
 
If you are only doing 3 times a week and are fat then don't waste soo much time on your biceps. You need to be lean for them to look good, so don't worry too much until you get the fat under control. Big controlled lifts will be much more beneficial :)
 
Thanks for the tips guys. I definitely need to lose some body fat, again, without sounding arrogant, Im sure there must be a muscular physique under all of this flab considering how hard Ive been working.

On a side note, my forearms do sometimes feel like they are goign to burst open, as so something is pressing against them internally. I took some advice form a fellow gym goer who advised me to try glucosamine. Its certianly reduced the pain but I dont think my body agrees with the stuff, Im firing black stuff as opposed to the normal brown stuff (sorry).
 
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