What do Eddie Robinson, Ron Coleman, and Arnold Swazz’sname all have in common? With their giant biceps, you can bet that they know all the secrets of bicep training for mass.
I see it all the time in the gym. The most misunderstood thing about the Bicep muscle is that it’s a single muscle. If you think that you would be very wrong.
Bicep Training for Mass
I want to break down the Bicep muscle so you can see what it is, and how to train it for mass. So let’s get into it.
The Anatomy of the Bicep Muscle
The biceps, also biceps brachii (Latin for “two-headed muscle of the arm”). Is a large muscle that lies on the front of the upper arm between the shoulder and the elbow. Both heads of the muscle arise on the scapula and join to form a single muscle belly which is attached to the upper forearm
Frequency of training
Smaller muscle groups like the bicep can recover from a hard and heavy workout a lot quicker than say the chest, back, or leg muscle groups.
A lot of people don’t realize you have trained it more frequently throughout your program split. Assuming of course your split is five days or more in length.
Now you need to be smart here you don’t want to train the biceps on day 1, back on day 2 the biceps on day 3. You will burn out the smaller muscles quickly.
But if you structure your workout split, lie First bicep session training for mass target both long and short heads, then the second workout for shape focusing on the short head.
Don’t be scared to mix it up.
Pre-exhausting muscle groups
This is a favorite of mine, try training the biceps straight after you train back. You’ve already warmed up your biceps with your back training. You can get stuck into bicep training for mass, by starting to lift heavier weights.
Just remember, if you’ve just gone for a heavy back-back session of pulldowns your biceps might be fatigued. Don’t think that you can lift the same weight for the biceps.
Prioritize the head with a mass-builder
This one is simple bicep training for mass 101, start with a heavy compound exercise, like standing bicep curls.
Do this exercise with heavy weights, and low reps. You want to hit the 6 – 8 zone for the 2- 4 sets. I prefer standing wide-grip barbell curls with a straight bar, but a slightly wider grip on the bar can shift emphasis to the short head.
You can mix it up as well, do 2 sets with a narrow grip then 2 sets with a wide grip.
Don’t stuff it around with the weight, load it up and lift it heavy. Remember you want to be a failure at 6 – 8 reps, if you are pounding out 8 or more reps, you ain’t got enough iron on the bar.
It’s all about the Short Head baby
While you can never really isolate a particular muscle with a muscle group, you can certainly empathize with it by hitting it from different angles, changing grips, and changing intensity.
So I recommend emphasizing the short head and if you not already add some short head-focused movements into your routine.
So you can add exercises like Preacher Curls, which focus on the short head, and there are plenty of variations as well like – One arm dumbbell, EZ bar version, Scott curls, sanding, or seated.
Go to failure
The only way you will build bicep mass is by training your training to failure. You need to be hitting the sweet spot of 6 – 8 reps to fail. To force your biceps to grow.
The following are an advanced training technique
- Forced reps
- Supersets and or halves
- Drop sets
- Go for the pump
Bicep training for mass is easy. As always keep it simple, train heavy, train hard, don’t be afraid to mix it up. Although stick to your program for at least 6 weeks, before moving on to another program.
