I the recent issue of Muscular Development, Branch talks about his training with Markus Ruhl and Ron Harris. When asked wether his arms responded early on in his lifting career he admits:
"I went too heavy and arms are the only body part I would say that about . . . when I sacrificed form to use heavier weight on my arms, they didnt grow.
Going too heavy actually held back my arms for years.
"My triceps were fine, but my biceps were always more of a challenge. Part of that is genetics, but my sloppy form and going too heavy also contributed to the imbalance.
"Hitting [biceps] twice a week, going lighter and tightening up the form did the trick. I can get better results with 60 or 70 lbs dumbells, going more strictly and squeezing, than I could by
slinging 100s around like an idiot.
Although his fom didnt seem all that strict in his dvd, it's clear than Branch learned his lesson regarding arm training (2 muscle tears will do that). Personally, I too have found better results for biceps by going much lighter and really focusing on form, squeezing, and contracting the muscle. Before, the soreness would be in the forearm but now it's deep down in the bicep tissue.
Far too many people go far too heavy for biceps or overtrain them. For such a small muscle group, more than 10 working sets seems excessive.
