Help with biceps, pic included

[residue]

1Here is a picture from me this summer, about a year and 4 months after I started to lift weights. As evident by the picture I have a bit of a problem developing my biceps

Believe it or not in that picture my arms are about 16.5 inches, but they look terribly under developed. I’ve gotten my arms up to 17.5 with a pump, but the overall shape of my biceps have yet to change.

I am not quite sure what to do. I know not everyone can develop a peak but I would like my biceps to be clearly distinguishable from my delts. I’ve been many things from a lot of people; high biceps, delts too big and the sort.

Does anyone have any advice, perhaps a routine? I’ve been told everything; you’re new at this, keep adding mass you’ll fill in, more concentration work to develop peak, work brachialis to lengthen arms, ect…

This what I do now, pretty basic;
Barbell curls: 8X 4
Dumb Bell curls: 8x3
Ez-bar Preacher curls: 8x3
Cable curls 15x3

[Aido]

First things first I suppose, you cannot change the shape of your biceps, this is determined by genetics, the best you can do is develop your existing shape.

First thing I would suggest is to get a little bit leaner, as this will bring out the detail in your development a lot more.

Also no offence dude, but your forearms a little underdeveloped, so just wondering if you do things like deadlifts on back day? These will actually help to bring up your bi's again.

Also I would recomend lowering the volume on your biceps and hitting them heavy and hard, nice and fast and then leaving them plenty of time to recover. As the Universal ad says " Hit them hard and heavy and they will grow like weeds"

This is what I do at the moment

Warm up with EZ Bar, moderate weight for 2 sets of 12 reps.

HEAVY EZ bar curls ( easier on my wrists ) all I can handle for 8 solid, strict reps, for 2 sets.
HEAVY Preacher Curls, all i can handle for 10 solid, strict reps, for 2 sets.
HEAVY Concentration curls, all I can handle for 10 solid, strict reps, 2 sets and thats it I'm done.

I sometimes change it al around, doing different excercise, but the weight is always heavy ( for me ), the form always super strict.

I have noticed a big difference between when my mind things I should fail and when my body actually does. Keeping uping the weights just alittle each week, or try and eek out one more rep that last week, eat well and rest well and those bad boys will grow!

Also well done for posting your pic dude.

[sarcasm]

you're not doing enough reps and you're prolly not eating enough of the right foods, your genetics don't look very good to be honest, but you need to drop the fast food.

[JPM]

One of the more overlooked bicep exercises is the reverse grip BB curl. This incorporates the biceps with the forearms very strongly and has been know to give added growth to this region. Use a straight bar, medium grip, and try to keep the elbows close to the body (don't allow to flair out) coming up. Also the Zotterman DB curl is a excellent arm movement but will take a little time to learn it's correct preformence. The close grip (the first inside bend) EZ bar curl, with the elbows resting against the stomach, affects the biceps strongly. If you mean 8 (sets) X 4 (reps)  than I might suggest reducing the sets to 2-3 and upping the reps between 6-10. As you know, getting a great pump is not to be confused with actual muscle growth. It just means that you have gorged an area with way too much blood, that has no place to go at that time. It's backing up.

Example workout:

1) Reverse BB curl...medium grip
2) EZ bar curl...close grip
3) DB curls..standing
All 2 sets of 6-10 reps

Could also do:
1) BB curl... knee action & slight body bend (cheating is not a sin..you can make remarkable gains this way, as long as you have complete control of the bar during the exercise)
2) Zotterman DB curl
3) Incline DB curl...alternate
All 2 sets of 6-10 reps.

There are dozens of bicep (and tricep) combinations to try. Might give one of the above programs a try and see what happens. As said before, muscle inserts, bone length, etc influence weither you have a peaked or flat bicep. Same with the tricep or any other muscle group; high/low lats, shoulder width, hi/low calf's, etc. But you can always improve to your greater potentional with well planned out workouts. good Luck.

[240 or bust]

For great arms...

train legs harder

eat more

train arms 2 days a week

use supersets

train longer

[haider]

For great arms...

train legs harder

for a testosterone boost right 

[mem]

Part of (the look) that you want man
Just takes time - That mature muscle thing.
At 23 years old - how long have you been lifting.
Keep it up! I have told some of my *younger budies*
It not how much you lift - IT MORE HOW YOU LIFT!
Think into IT - it will come . . .

Aido made really valid points . . . simplified . . .

Also I would recomend lowering the volume on your biceps and hitting them heavy and hard,
nice and fast and then leaving them plenty of time to recover. As the Universal ad says
" Hit them hard and heavy and they will grow like weeds"

XX for 8 solid, strict reps, for 2 sets.
XX for 10 solid, strict reps, for 2 sets.
XX for 10 solid, strict reps, 2 sets and thats it I'm done.

I  A G R E E  with (other informed) comments about intensity- volume
and the mind body connection - SEE IT!

I usually do 6 hard sets for bis
And 8-9 hard sets fo tris

[Ledd]

One of the more overlooked bicep exercises is the reverse grip BB curl. This incorporates the biceps with the forearms very strongly and has been know to give added growth to this region.

It also will help develop your brachialis(hope I spelled that right) which is on the outside of your arm between bicep and tricep, this will increase size and arm delineation.  Really hits the forearms too.
Also remember to do shoulders as that will create separation between delts and bi's.

[Arnold jr]

I agree with what most have said, up your reps.  Another thing is try and make sure your not doing the exact same routine every time you hit bi's. Be it switching the exercises, or just simply switching the order, for example one week you do bb curls first and then the next you do them last. If you are stuck in the same routine then can really hinder progress.

Two things that have helped me develope my bi's are incorperating drop sets. And second, I really like hitting bi's with back. After I train back my bi's are already primed. If you do this you won't be able to go as heavy, but since you are after developement who cares. Good luck!

[pumpster]

-Bodyfat's way too high. Not much will show until that's reduced.

-Too many sets and reps. Do a total of 6-8 sets, 2 exercises, to failure and on the last set or 2 of each exercise, beyond failure. Same amount of work you're doing, in less sets.

-Protein powder into liquids, consumed between meals.

[PhoenixBuff]

Take a look at the crap on the table, not to mention the "pop" your buddy Haji standing next to you has in his hand -- that could be your problem bro - eliminate it completely.

Try hammer curls man - they do wonders.

[IronMan23]

You need to work on building mass and peak.  Thats what your lacking.  I'm a trainer so just pm me and I will send you a program to make those look like large apples.  This is just a little sample.  4 sets of standing barbell curls done heavy and strict,  4 sets seated incline curls "these build both peak & length, 3 sets hammer curls, 4 sets preacher curls,  3 sets concentration curls.  Your arm workouts should never last anymore than 45 mins, try for 30.  Do bi's and tri's on the same day.  Just pm me and I'll give you a program called Armageddon.

[residue]

Take a look at the crap on the table, not to mention the "pop" your buddy Haji standing next to you has in his hand -- that could be your problem bro - eliminate it completely.

Try hammer curls man - they do wonders.

It was a bbq? What do you expect to be on the tables? besides i'm jewish i wouldnt eat that tripe if it was covered in gold. i'm sure most of that shit's not kosher

[residue]

but thanks for the help guys, i will try to do what you recommend. i'll reduce the number of sets i do but try to increase the intensity.

[Hedgehog]

1Here is a picture from me this summer, about a year and 4 months after I started to lift weights. As evident by the picture I have a bit of a problem developing my biceps

Believe it or not in that picture my arms are about 16.5 inches, but they look terribly under developed. I’ve gotten my arms up to 17.5 with a pump, but the overall shape of my biceps have yet to change.

I am not quite sure what to do. I know not everyone can develop a peak but I would like my biceps to be clearly distinguishable from my delts. I’ve been many things from a lot of people; high biceps, delts too big and the sort.

Does anyone have any advice, perhaps a routine? I’ve been told everything; you’re new at this, keep adding mass you’ll fill in, more concentration work to develop peak, work brachialis to lengthen arms, ect…

This what I do now, pretty basic;
Barbell curls: 8X 4
Dumb Bell curls: 8x3
Ez-bar Preacher curls: 8x3
Cable curls 15x3

If you're eating crap you will look like crap.

Drop the noodles, drop the jasmine rice, drop the fast food, the white bread. And now THIS IS IMPORTANT: Get yourself a book on Glycemic Index. It will help you understand somewhat the basics of why you cannot drink coca-cola, eat hamburgers and pizzas.

You need to stop eating regular pasta as well, generally. You should look for whole-grain pasta.

Why all this? Because you need to do something about your diet. You need to eat lots of good carbs. Plenty of veggies, and then just a LITTLE bit of fats, the good kind. Buy a bottle of regular flax oil in at the supermarket, instead of fish oil.

And the biceps... sarcasm was right when he mentioned the food. I don't know about you having shit genetics though. I think you probably have good genetics, but you looks like someone who eats very poorly, who knows squat about nutrition.

I guess that's good news for you. Just get your nutrition know-how together, and you will look good.

Stop humiliating yourself by eating shit though.

YIP
Zack

[mem]

??How long HAVE you been lifting man?? yes it was a question ??

I realize *the mature muscle thing* must (suck) to hear. (not meant as condescending)
It takes time to develop quality muscles...patients is (not) a virtue for many.

I guess what I was trying to say, it is ALWAYS better to train smart(er)
don't (just) train hard.

[residue]

??How long HAVE you been lifting man?? yes it was a question ??

I realize *the mature muscle thing* must (suck) to hear. (not meant as condescending)
It takes time to develop quality muscles...patients is (not) a virtue for many.

I guess what I was trying to say, it is ALWAYS better to train smart(er)
don't (just) train hard.

a little under a year and a half

[Overload]

a little under a year and a half

keep training hard and heavy...shape and peak is determined by genetics. get leaner and add some mass to your biceps and they will look more "peaked".

i do this for bi's but i change it every 2-3 weeks

3 warm up sets of 15-20 bb curls

2 sets standing BB curls - 6-12 reps

2 sets seated DB hammer curls - 6-12 reps

2 sets preacher curls - 6-12 reps

focus on your bi's the entire time, squeeze at the top and hold for 2 seconds, slow negative. 6 sets is plenty if you do it right and are natural.

personally i would try JPM's two workouts back and forth for a few months. clean up your diet and lose 15 pounds. you will be amazed at how much your bi's look improves from just losing some fat.


 

[ToxicAvenger]

for a testosterone boost right 

actually Haider as Stewart Mc Robertish that sounds dude is right....you need to put on overall mass for your arms to grow...

[Slippedisc]

so whats been yer problem?

[none]

I guess that's good news for you. Just get your nutrition know-how together, and you will look good.


YIP
Zack

You need to work on building mass and peak.  Thats what your lacking.  I'm a trainer so just pm me and I will send you a program to make those look like large apples.  This is just a little sample.  4 sets of standing barbell curls done heavy and strict,  4 sets seated incline curls "these build both peak & length, 3 sets hammer curls, 4 sets preacher curls,  3 sets concentration curls.  Your arm workouts should never last anymore than 45 mins, try for 30.  Do bi's and tri's on the same day.  Just pm me and I'll give you a program called Armageddon.

hedge.  thats the hardest part.    so i dont know if thats such good news. 

ironman.    you got the man doing 18 sets for biceps only.     i dont even think lee priest does that many sets for bi's.

my suggestion would be to stick with 6-8 sets for bi's.  dont forget your bi's, tri's get worked out in almost all upperbody exercises you do.   

[loler]

Drop the noodles, drop the jasmine rice, drop the fast food, the white bread. And now THIS IS IMPORTANT: Get yourself a book on Glycemic Index. It will help you understand somewhat the basics of why you cannot drink coca-cola, eat hamburgers and pizzas.

nothing wrong with jasmine rice

[weedoutheweak]

Larry Scott's Stolen Bicep Peak workout

You're going to do a tri-set x 4

This all revolves around the standing preacher curl

1 - 8-15 reps of Straight bar curls (curl your wrist as you go up to work the forearm)
1 - 8-15 of db preacher curls 
(curl your wrist as you go up to work the forearm)
1- 8-15 of reverse barbell curls

do this 4 -times w/ a break of 30 seconds inbetween each tri-set.  IT is awesome.

[brianX]

I can't believe some of the moron advice that gets posted on this board. Plenty of people have built big arms without knowing about the "glycemic index".

You need to gain overall strength and muscle mass. Start doing some heavy bench presses and bent over rows. Once you can bench 405 and do rows with 315, I guarantee you will have big arms.