The biceps are one of the more challenging muscle groups to develop. While it can take a while for gains to begin showing when you start working out, growing your biceps is even slower. Studies have found strategies for mitigating this effect, crafting a path to faster biceps growth. It won’t be overnight, but you won’t feel like all your hard work was for nothing.
Why Might Be the Problem?
Sometimes, your biceps aren’t growing because of personal reasons, which we will explore below:
1. Failing to meet the requirements for gains
Source: manofmany.com
It doesn’t matter how much time you commit to going to the gym, you won’t see gains if you flout the requirements for healthy development: fuel and rest. Perhaps your form is perfect, and your routines are in order, it could be that your post-workout routine is the problem. Nutrition, for one, can’t be ignored. You want to stay hydrated, eat right, and use the correct boosters. As far as boosters like steroids and supplements go, your source also matters. It’s best to get them from reliable producers and sellers, such as pur-pharma.is. Then, there is rest and sleep, which help with recovery, injuries, and soreness, preparing you ahead of your next schedule.
2. Late training
Studies found that muscle groups that are trained as a priority tend to develop better than others. It could be that you are working on your biceps at the end of your routine when you are too tired to train to sufficient levels of fatigue. You might want to consider putting it first.
3. Overtraining
Source: hss.edu
Overtraining is counterproductive to biceps gains. It’s easily one of the first groups people try to develop, so they end up putting too much attention there. The more they don’t see gains, the harder they go. Continuing down this path will only result in injuries. The biceps aren’t like large muscle groups that require extensive routines.
4. Avoiding the squeeze
When curling, strong contraction is key to the best results, especially at the peak of the curl. So, when curling, briefly flexing and squeezing your bicep muscles will boost muscle activation and increases the chances of growth and development.
5. Speeding through the process
Source: boxrox.com
Training to go through a set of curls quickly with some heavy weights won’t help with gains. And this is a mistake many people make at the gym, believing that heavier weights and faster workouts are key for biceps gains. But it isn’t. Instead, using smaller weights and taking your time will help tension your muscles properly. Try spending five more seconds on one bicep curl rep and see how much better your gains become.
6. Ease off the heavy lifting
You don’t have to load the bar or barbell until it bends under the load to make your biceps bigger. Instead of trying for a new record per rep, consider loading weights you can easily lift up to 12 to 15 times. Because the more effort you apply per rep, the more testosterone you burn. Testosterone contributes or muscle growth and development. So, the more you use up, the fewer goes into muscle gains.
What to do?
Here are some tips for better results when growing your biceps:
1. Train less
Source: coachmag.co.uk
The best strategy for developing your biceps is to play hard to get. Sounds silly, but if you only commit a meager 20 to 30 minutes to your biceps weekly, you will see gains faster. The idea is to avoid overload, giving enough time for muscle recovery and growth.
2. Improve your balance
Working on your biceps every day won’t make them grow any faster. Instead, consider balancing your routines, mixing in cardio, chest days, leg days, core, and back days. Besides preventing injuries and other health issues, you will achieve better body balance and definition. You don’t want to look top-heavy with the bottom half of a cellar spider.
3. Mix up your routine
On the days you want to work on your arms, don’t just go for the two routines you know best. Mix things around to engage all the muscle heads in your biceps. You can better target them by changing the angles of your arms during a workout.
4. Better your technique
Source: menshealth.com
Since the biceps are a small muscle group, it’s imperative to work them with perfect form. Otherwise, they may grow poorly. Let your routines target full-range motions. And don’t be in a hurry to go through it. Take your time to activate each muscle head.
6. Perfect your range
Failing to complete a full range of motions on your biceps could also lead to stunted growth. While half reps are a great workout, the best way to achieve good gains is to go for full bicep curls, because it properly fatigues the muscle, encouraging recovery and growth.
7. Care for your body
What do you do when you aren’t in the gym? These activities also contribute to the size of your biceps. So, if you aren’t getting enough sleep, stressing too much, eating unhealthy foods, or consuming controlled drinks, your biceps won’t grow and develop properly. It isn’t enough to lift weights; you must also maintain a decent level of well-being.
8. Biceps Workouts to Try
Here are some exercises that work your biceps thoroughly and develop them:
9. EZ-bar curls
The curve on the EZ-bar helps reduce the strain that would otherwise affect your wrists. This makes it easier to lift heavier weights across a broader range of motion compared to barbells and dumbbells. Squeeze your biceps at the peak of every rep and stretch your hands full at the bottom. Complete 3 or 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps.
10. Underhand row
Move into position for a barbell bent-over row, getting a hip-width underhand grip. This activates your biceps. Proceed to move the bar towards your sternum, pause, and squeeze your biceps. Doing so will tension the muscles more. Complete 3 or 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps.
11. Chin-up
An underhand grip is one of the best ways to train the biceps and grow your arm size. Complete slow, controlled 3 or 4 sets of 6 to 8 reps.
