How to pump up your biceps: exercises for development

Egor Fukalov

fitness trainer

How to pump biceps correctly and why its growth may slow down?

Strong and sculpted biceps are the dream of many men. A well-pumped muscle makes a person stronger both physically and visually. The shape of your biceps is determined by genetics, so it cannot be changed. Some have it in the form of a ball, while others have the shape of an elongated oval. Each option can look incredibly aesthetically pleasing with the right training.

The main function of the biceps is to bend the arms at the elbow joint. All muscle pumping exercises will consist of this movement. The position of the elbows will determine which part of the biceps muscle is activated more. The wider the hands are from each other, the more the inner part works; the narrower the hands, the more the outer part is turned on.

The biceps are small and grow slowly. Muscle growth is measured in millimeters, unlike the back, chest or legs, where progress is measured in centimeters. Don't rush to grab the dumbbells. Let's look at some training features that will help pump up your biceps.

Photo: unsplash.com/@buduczki

Anatomical certificate

The biceps includes a pair of muscles that perform dual functions:

• Brachial muscle. It originates from the middle of the arm in front, passes through the shoulder and attaches to the ulna. Its main function is to flex the elbow. Directly involved in elbow flexion, but not in supination.
• 2-head muscle of the shoulder. Includes a pair of heads starting at different locations on the scapula. The heads are connected on the radius, which can rotate. Its main function is to supinate the forearm and flex the elbow. The 2-major muscle is assisted by the semibrachial and brachialis muscles.

The structure of the muscles of the arms

In order to avoid any questions throughout the article, let’s look at the anatomy of the arm muscles. The arm consists of the biceps, triceps and brachialis. The biceps is a biceps muscle - it is also a flexor of the arm.

Triceps is a triceps muscle whose main function is to extend the arm. Consists of medial, posterior and anterior heads. It makes up 60% of your entire arm, so you shouldn't skip triceps workouts.

Brachialis is a muscle that is located between the biceps and triceps, thanks to which the arm looks thicker and more voluminous. You can pump up big and beautiful arms outside the gym, namely at home. To do this you will need dumbbells, a barbell and a horizontal bar.

The muscles of the forearm, which are responsible for compression, as well as rotation of the hand and holding the barbell.

Why doesn't my biceps grow in width?

The most common mistake athletes make when pumping up their biceps is overtraining.

Many athletes, in an effort to quickly achieve the desired result, train for hours in the gym, doing one set after another of curls with dumbbells, with a barbell, on a machine.

Most of these exercises are performed without any meaning, and as a result the athlete wastes time without achieving any results.

To avoid this, you should train according to a specific program created by qualified specialists.

Another common reason why some people fail to increase the size of their cups is due to improper bending technique.

You need to stand straight, pull your shoulders back and lower them down so that most of the load falls on your biceps.

Previously, we talked about how to pump up your breasts.

Close grip pull-ups

To get the brachialis to work, you need pull-ups with a narrow straight grip. They can be performed either on a regular bar or in a machine if the muscles do not have sufficient strength to perform the required number of repetitions.

Technique

• Hang on the horizontal bar so that the distance between your palms is about 20-30 centimeters.
• Slowly, as you exhale, pull yourself up to the bar so that the bar is at chin level.
• Hold for a moment and, while inhaling, slowly return to the starting position.
• Do the required number of repetitions.

Biceps width: exercises

So, we’ve sorted out the anatomy and the main mistakes. Now let's figure out how you can pump up your biceps in width.

Below are exercises created by experienced fitness trainers to achieve maximum results after every visit to the gym.

Use only optimal technique and do not lift too much weight, so as not to harm your own health:

1. Curling arms with dumbbells, with a barbell. Grasp the barbell with a shoulder-width grip and press your elbows tightly to your sides. Concentrate all your attention on your biceps. Do bending with 100% amplitude, without wasting time resting at the highest point. Squeeze your biceps and return to your previous position.
2. To perform curls with dumbbells, stand straight, keep your hands holding the equipment strictly along your body. When bending your arms, try to rotate your wrists so that at the top point of the amplitude, your palms are turned up and your thumbs are facing outward. At the extreme point, squeeze your muscles and return your arms to their original position.
3. Approximately in the middle of a training session, when the muscles are tired and proper exercise technique and balance are extremely important, use the Smith machine. Rest your chest on the elbow pad, with your arms hanging down. Using a shoulder-width grip, grab a moderately weighted barbell, lift it up and lower it.
4. Bent over arms with dumbbells on a bench. This is an excellent special tool for gradually increasing muscle mass. Set the bench slope to 45°. Lie with your back on the bench, and so that your shoulders are in contact with its surface. Raise and lower your arms straight with dumbbells. Repeat this about 10 times.
5. Bends in a sitting position. Sit on the edge of the bench. Bend forward with a dumbbell, resting your elbow on your thigh. Bend your arm with the dumbbell toward your shoulder. Use the weight that is optimal for you, which you can not only lift, but also control. Don't help yourself with your shoulder, let your biceps do all the work.
6. Hammer Curls. Helps pump up the upper biceps. Lower the dumbbells along your torso, trying to keep your wrist motionless. Bend upward, squeeze your muscles, and then return to your previous position. Bending can be done alternately, with both hands at once.

Dumbbell Cross Raises

How to increase the width of your biceps? It is enough to slightly change the technique of the popular hammer exercise to shift the load. To do this, you need to lift the dumbbells not straight up, but up diagonally - towards the solar plexus.

Technique

• Hold dumbbells in your hands with a neutral grip: palms facing your body.
• As you inhale, lift the right dumbbell diagonally towards your solar plexus.
• Pause at the top and, as you exhale, slowly return the dumbbell to its starting position.
• Repeat the same with the other hand.

Features and Tips

Beginners should not train daily, since muscles should be accustomed to loads gradually, and not immediately.

For example, you can start with three training sessions over a week lasting 1 hour.

We must not forget that you can get beautiful “cans” only through a large number of repetitions and exercises through strength.

To increase the size of your biceps, do 8-13 repetitions.

To prevent muscle adaptation from occurring, alternate exercises after a couple of training sessions.

The most effective stimulating factor is a gradual increase in the load level.

After 2-3 training sessions, add weight.

Just don’t overdo it, otherwise all your efforts will go to waste, but you don’t have to cut yourself any slack either.

Principles of training to increase arm size

Previously, in previous articles, the book “Hands of the Titan” was covered, which details how to train to create huge hands. The theory that the author promotes is to train the whole body with heavy compound exercises and not spend any time on the arm muscles. It sounds absurd at first glance, because the goal of training the readers of this article is to develop their hands.

In fact, the theory is logical. The fact is that there are no large muscles in the arms, which means that this muscle group does not have a positive effect on anabolism. That is, you can do biceps curls as much as you like, but the result the athlete needs will not be achieved, since the main goal in developing arm muscles will be to increase anabolism. But the book talks about those athletes whose arms did not exceed 40 centimeters at the shoulders. Of course, with large volumes, even those that a person had before training, it will be necessary to change the training process and implement exercises for each of the muscles of the target group.

Features of the training will be the use of free weights without isolation. It is very important to devote time to each muscle, namely: triceps, biceps, brachialis, as well as forearms and hands. It is also important to perform exercises with an emphasis on a specific bundle of the muscle being worked.

So, to summarize the above, two stages of the training process should be distinguished. The first is to perform basic exercises without using specialized (isolating) exercises aimed at training the arm muscles. And the second is to perform isolation using free weights.

Forearm exercises at home

The forearm is the muscles located from the elbow joint to the hand. This is not the most visually noticeable muscle group, but it performs a number of important functions and is often ignored during training.

Advice! The forearms are a small muscle group. To get the most out of them, do 15-20 reps per set.

Wrist flexion with a weight . Using dumbbells will make bending at the wrists more comfortable, however, as in previous cases, you can replace them with another comfortable weight. While sitting, place your hand on a hard surface so that the hand hangs palm down. Flex your wrist using your forearm muscles.

Extension at the wrists. The exercise is similar to the previous one, but the projectile is taken with an underhand grip, palms facing up.

Concentration on the inside

It will not be possible to isolate the load separately and direct it 100% to the short muscle, but you can specifically pump the internal area and raise the top of the biceps using different grips, inclination angles and different body positions.

After you have done a heavy basic exercise with standing arm curls, it’s time to concentrate the maximum load on the internal area, this is achieved through curling on the Scott bench, bending on the upper block and bending on the lower block.

Set the weight so that you can perform 10 repetitions, try to use a different angle of inclination and body position each time so that the muscles receive a varied load, this will allow you to constantly load different muscle areas, all this will lead to an increase in volume.

How to pump up your biceps

The biceps biceps muscle is a large brachialis muscle, clearly visible on the front of the shoulder. It got its name because it consists of two heads - short and long. The long one starts from the supraglenoid tubercle, and the short one starts from the coracoid process of the scapula. Both heads connect and form a belly, which ends in a tendon.

It’s not difficult to pump up your biceps – they readily respond to the load. In addition, the biceps is a small muscle group that grows after large muscle groups. This means that it will develop, even if you just make a base.

The muscle tendon is attached at a slight angle, which is why the biceps can turn the hand towards the thumb. Therefore, to develop the biceps, you need to bend and rotate the forearm relative to the elbow.

The short, inner head of the biceps works in almost all exercises. And to work out the long one, you need to move your elbows back, so the head stretches and receives additional load. It is also useful to use a narrow grip. A wide grip and bringing your elbows forward pumps up the inner biceps.

Biceps exercises

The most effective:

• Barbell curls for biceps.
• Lifting dumbbells with supination.
• Pull-ups on the horizontal bar with a reverse, narrow grip.
• Lifting dumbbells while lying on an inclined bench (the long head is pumped).

Biceps can be pumped in a variety of ways: on the horizontal bar, with dumbbells and a barbell, working with your own weight.

Pump up your biceps after your back

This is an excellent solution to the problem when immediately after the back there is a load on the biceps. Typically, all traction exercises are basic, so the arms receive a serious load, which involves all the muscles.

Therefore, after training your back, you should finally train your arms in order to maximize muscle hypertrophy and bring the sensation to complete muscle failure.

Just don’t try to do the opposite, biceps, and then rows for the back, otherwise you will somehow work your back, the strength will drop, and the grip will weaken.

Why do exercises

The wrist joint is a relatively weak joint, and in many cases is the stress joint. It consists of eight small bones called the carpals. They form the carpal duct or tunnel, which contains tendons and nerves and is covered by a ligament that supports it.

Repetitive movements, incorrect weights, forced postures, impacts or injuries... can lead to wrist injuries.

The most common are:

Focus your efforts exactly on target

We have to repeat this over and over again: the biceps is a very small muscle, so heavy weights when working with it are simply contraindicated. Excess weight almost completely eliminates the biceps from working, forcing you to perform the movement with the help of your legs, shoulders, and back. Light weight not only allows you to direct your efforts exactly to the target, but also teaches you to very subtly feel the biceps and its individual sections. By working with moderate weights in the exercises listed in this article, you will very soon learn to feel exactly the lower part of the biceps. And from this moment the harmonious development of the biceps brachii muscle is literally a stone's throw away.

Standards

So, let’s take as a basis the standards of the Amateur Powerlifting League (AWPC) with doping control. The exercise is performed once (one biceps curl), the athlete is given several attempts, after which the best result is counted.

In this exercise, when passing the standards, a curved bar is used, but these lifts are performed against the wall. That is, the man must lean his back against the wall. Your shoulders should be pressed against the wall, as should your buttocks. The bar is held by its inner edges.

Let's just say that this is a very difficult exercise and it is very difficult to fulfill the standards indicated in the table.

The world record was awarded to Denis Tsyplenkov. He managed to lift a barbell weighing 113 kilograms onto his biceps.

The importance of exercise for the arms

Hands are a part of the body that is almost always visible, especially in the warm season. In modern urban conditions, the arm muscles do not receive enough load and gradually lose their shape, becoming weak and flabby. The desire to have beautiful and toned arms arises not only among men. Women also want to see this part of their body beautiful and fit.

Most of the set of exercises presented in this article is suitable for both men and women. With systematic exercise, the result will be visible after a few weeks.