Biceps

[patrick_mcmurray]

General question: I would quite like them. How do I get them?

Specific question: Should I lift every day or take breaks?

Specific question 2: Should I take supplements of any kind?

Background: I have been going to the gym every day, and doing work on the chest-press, pull-downs, bicep curls using dumbells (15kg, 5 reps each arm, 3 sets each arm), and curls using weights on the bar (similar sort of weights and reps). Also cardio (bike). Just 2 months so far.

Not enough progress for my liking though.

Thanks in advance.

[Dudd]

You might want to work some leg work in there. It's not going to get you biceps, but it'll make you a hell of a lot stronger than just working on your upper body.

[DarrenX]

NOTE- I am not a trainer by any means, but have worked out semi-consistently for 15 years.

I notice you have no specific exercises for triceps, which make up 2/3rds to 3/4ths of the upper arm mass, depending on who you ask. I would throw in some dips, push ups and/or tricep extensions to up the overall bulk of your arm, which will, in turn, make your biceps more prominent.

When you are initially starting out it's recommended that you do a basic full body workout (hit all major areas- legs, chest, back, bis, tris, shoulders and abs). Do one major exercise for each part, 3 sets of 10, increasing the weight slightly each set. ONLY work out every other day.

As you become more comfortable (2-3 months) you can transition into a workout where you concentrate on 1-2 body parts per day, 3-4 exercises per body part, and work out 4-6 times/week.

This is all general info. If you're serious about bulking up nothing beats a consultation with a certified trainer, who can customize your workout to fit your needs. Hope this helps and good luck.

[Matt R.]

If, for whatever reason, you JUST want biceps (don't care about legs, back, etc.) then simply do some heavy compound exercises like bench press mixed with various curling movements. While working out, start with your heaviest/most difficult exercises -- i.e. do barbell curls before you do stuff for individual arms like concentration curls or "machine" work (the equipment with the pulleys). Even though the bench press isn't a "biceps exercise", if you really want some size you need to throw in some exercises that work many muscles in your upper body together. You could probably do okay with just various curling lifts, but I don't think your results would be optimal.

Again, this is solely for biceps size, but I would do something like this. Start out for maybe 3 weeks or so with bench presses, standing barbell curls, and concentration curls. Do say 3-4 "hard" sets to failure (of course get a spotter for benches). Take at least 2-3 days off between workouts -- depending on how hard you can push yourself you may need more recovery time. Do not do another heavy or intense workout if you are still sore from your previous one. Once you get comfortable with this stuff, maybe add in some more specific curling lifts or even some shoulder presses for another compound/heavy exercise. Just remember to go in order from your heaviest/"biggest" lifts to your lighter ones when you are working out. There are so many different possible biceps exercises, it is really a matter of personal tastes and switching your routine up when you feel you need it. I'm sure you can google it to find whatever exercises you like.

I would do 8-12 reps for each set, and once you can do more than 12 just up the weight. Other rep ranges are fine too, but I feel this is optimal as it's not too heavy so you can keep ideal form, and it's not too light where you're doing 20+ rep sets which take forever.

Supplementation is definitely unnecessary in the beginning. Just make you are getting plenty of calories and protein, and you're getting a decent mix of carbs and fats with your total calorie intake (since you're just doing biceps, you don't have to be crazy worried about nutrition... getting enough protein/calories etc.) Just be sure you're not neglecting anything -- protein in particular. If you eventually branch out to working your whole body you may want to invest in a protein supplement or something and get more serious about nutrition.

[patrick_mcmurray]

Darren, Matt, Dudd - thanks a lot. Learned a lot from your posts.

[cpitt398]

steriods help

[willie]

learning how to do deadlifts properly would be very beneficial

there is no more involved compound excercise that hits your upper body and lower body together (very much including biceps)

[skunkworks]

Just don't do your barbell curls in the squat rack. That is all.

[Confused1]

I think the 'trick' to big biceps is really big triceps. The actual bicep muscle can be built, but the upper arm is easier to build. It comes off as just 'big guns', and if you disected my 'big guns', I'd say half of them are 'other than bicep', but if you measure with a tape measure, it all counts (you have to to around the whole thing.

[Warik]

[ QUOTE ]
Specific question: Should I lift every day or take breaks?

[/ QUOTE ]

You do not want to be lifting every day. Your muscles do not grow IN the gym, they grow while they are resting and repairing themselves. Your best strategy would be to split the parts of your body out to train.

[ QUOTE ]
Specific question 2: Should I take supplements of any kind?

[/ QUOTE ]

Not as a beginner. Why? Your body has a heap of untapped natural potential. You will grow like a weed in your first few months of lifting. Save the supplements for when you stop growing quickly.

[ QUOTE ]
Background: I have been going to the gym every day, and doing work on the chest-press, pull-downs, bicep curls using dumbells (15kg, 5 reps each arm, 3 sets each arm), and curls using weights on the bar (similar sort of weights and reps). Also cardio (bike). Just 2 months so far.

[/ QUOTE ]

You will never get the progress you want like this. You see, when you work out, you subject your muscles to great stress, they get damaged, you rest and they repair themselves, and get bigger and stronger as time goes on. When you work them out every day, you never give them enough time to rest and rebuild themselves. Right now you're suffering from a severe case of overtraining.

Break your workouts up and only lift a few times per week. Muscle does NOT grow while you're in the gym. They grow when you're resting.

A good split for a beginner would be:

Day 1: Legs (Quads, Hamstrings, and Calves). Squats are a must here.

Day 2: Chest, Triceps, Shoulders

Day 3: Back, Biceps, Traps.

If you're mainly looking for growth and are not concerned too much with strength, do 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps of each exercise. Leave your ego at the door and work with a weight you can handle and do a full, correct range of motion. If you can only bench press 100lbs while keeping proper form, then do so.

Most importantly, be sure to warm up properly. Stretch thoroughly and before working out each muscle group, do a few warmup sets with light weight. I like to warm up with 50% of my working weight for 12 reps, 50% for 10 reps, 2/3 weight for 6 reps, 80% for 3 reps and finally 90% for 1 rep. After that, I can be confident I won't injure myself from being poorly prepared.