5 Tips to Maximize Biceps Growth

Biceps growth is something many athletes take seriously. You know a muscle group is popular when it has its own emoji and you know you’ve used it at least once. Obviously if you’re going to put all that work in to training them then you want to see results.

By Roger Lockridge

It would be a shame to be that motivated to do all the work you’re about to do and not stretch your sleeves or be able to flex on Friday for social media. Put these tips into practice and your arm day will be that much more rewarding.

Start With One Arm at a Time

Establishing a mind-muscle connection is a must for any muscle group and even more so with the arms. So you shouldn’t begin training biceps with a two-arm movement like barbell curls. Instead, start with a movement like single arm preacher curls or concentration curls. Doing this will not only help you feel each bicep working immediately but it will help you focus on making sure they keep working throughout the workout.

Don’t Skip Machines

Free weights are great and I love using them, but that doesn’t mean that machines don’t have their place for biceps growth. Curl machines and cable curls are great isolation movements that work the biceps. They also allow you to feel tension throughout the rep so your biceps will work longer. Another bonus: since the movement is restricted you have a decrease chance of injury than with a free weight movement.

Don’t Be Afraid to Add Weight

It can be fun to train heavy with chest or back movements but since the biceps are smaller, some athletes are concerned about going too heavy because they think they won’t see results from it. The biceps are muscles too and they want to work. Going as low as five, four, or even three reps occasionally can serve you well. Furthermore, stronger biceps could potentially help you with back training.

Train Biceps After Back

Speaking of back day, you know your biceps are involved with back work too, right? This is because both the lats and biceps are pulling muscles. So when the back tires out, the biceps instinctively are recruited to assist. Well, since they’re so anxious to do something, go ahead and hit them directly after you finish back training. They’re already warmed up so you might as well. Training them with back as well as a part of your arm training means more volume and more opportunity for improvement and biceps growth!

Use Bar Grips

These are awesome accessories that can take little space in your gym bag but help you make great gains in the upper arms. Having to hold a bigger object when curling recruits the forearms as well as the biceps. This means a stronger grip, better forearms, and better biceps. You likely won’t be able to use the same weight that you would with a normal bar but eventually the strength gains will come. You can use these grips on bars, dumbbells, or on machine handles.