Building Biceps

[txbandit]

The one problem area I have for developement is my biceps. They are strong, but not rock solid and peaked. I've seen all kinds of training advice on biceps and tried most of them. My arms are 16" (5'8" and 185lbs) and I want to be 17-18" by the end of the year. I am training them twice a week with 4 sets of 8-12 reps for 3-4 exercises. I include dumbbell curls (together, not alternating), straightbar curls, hammer curls (again, together until failure and then alternate to finish the set), and concentration curls. I use very strict movements. If I lift too heavy I don't get the burn and have to cheat it to finish the set. What exercise do you guys with the monster arms recommend to get me past my plateau?

 

[huskyguy]

squats

 

[DADAWG]

The one problem area I have for developement is my biceps. They are strong, but not rock solid and peaked. I've seen all kinds of training advice on biceps and tried most of them. My arms are 16" (5'8" and 185lbs) and I want to be 17-18" by the end of the year. I am training them twice a week with 4 sets of 8-12 reps for 3-4 exercises. I include dumbbell curls (together, not alternating), straightbar curls, hammer curls (again, together until failure and then alternate to finish the set), and concentration curls. I use very strict movements. If I lift too heavy I don't get the burn and have to cheat it to finish the set. What exercise do you guys with the monster arms recommend to get me past my plateau?

12-16 sets x 8-12 reps x 2 times a week will lead to overtraining for 99% of us and its probably your problem as well .
work the back HEAVY in the 6-8 rep range for 6-9 sets 1 day a week , make sure you include some heavy rows . 3-4 days later hit bis go absolutely qas heavy as possible without slinging the weight and drop your reps to 5-8 and maybe 6-8 sets maxx .
quit worrying about the pump in the gym , the pump is a nice feeling and may or may not help flush lactic acid from the muscle but is not NOT a indication of muscle growth . if you dont agree do 100 rep curls with 5 pound dbs and check out the awesome pump , do you really think curling 5 pounds is adding mass lol .
also everyone is obsessed with biceps from arm size but guess what triceps are at least half if not more than half of overall arm size .
if you want mass do heavy compound excercises for lower reps and as heavy as possible . squats,benches,deadlifts.rows,etc. are what add mass not 1 armed concentration curls

 

[txbandit]

Thanks for the help. Could not going heavy enough on my back be the reason my biceps are short? I'll try the heavy back and bicep routine for a few weeks and see if I get the results. I lift heavy on my back but could do more if I wanted to, just afraid of that injury that will knock me out of training for a week or two. Don't get the squats response, though. Anyway, thanks for the advice.

 

[Bimmer]

squats

 

[Starkraven]

Thanks for the help. Could not going heavy enough on my back be the reason my biceps are short? I'll try the heavy back and bicep routine for a few weeks and see if I get the results. I lift heavy on my back but could do more if I wanted to, just afraid of that injury that will knock me out of training for a week or two. Don't get the squats response, though. Anyway, thanks for the advice.

actually he wasnt kidding. squats are probably the best compound exercise (involving more than 1 major muscle group) and trained heavy, results in a massive surge of test, gh, etc and this allows your whole body to benefit and grow from it and not just in the legs. the legs are a huge muscle group and when trained, alot of hormones are being released into the blood.