What would you add?

[thewickedtruth]

to this bicep routine.

My arms are starting to lag behind my other body parts which has always been the story of my life. Here's the current routine I've been using to try and hit them at every angle to make sure I get maximum work for my efforts

seated alternating dumbbell hammer curls 65x8x2,60x10x1
dumbbell preacher curls 65x10x3
reverse grip barbell curls 135x8x3

should I add anything? Looking at it, if i can move 65lb dumbbells for that many sets, I should probably move up in weight on the preacher curls.    Let's hear some thoughts. This is all I'm doing for bi's at the moment.

[NoCalBbEr]

I would change the  reverse bb curls to palm forward bb curls. When i use to do them, they seem to would more of the forearms and the they are an elbow killer..  I would do this to gain some bis size.

standing bb curls
standing DB curls
EZ bar preachers

you only need three movements for bis.

[dontknowit]

Missing incline curl.

Try it out, bench at 45 degrees or try it even at 30 degrees. Just start out with light weights, it can be harsh.

[Sculpter]

Wouldn't add a thing actually.I would drop the reverse barbell curls (forearm work) but if wanting to do forearms put db hammer curls in their place.As to the other 2 exercises I would simply add an extra set & after warming up increase the weight from what you are doing now for each successive set.

[Bluto]

you say your arms are lagging but only mention biceps, whatabout triceps and their routine? also when do you work your arms, different days? special day? first or last in the program? that might make a difference.

[The Squadfather]

you can reverse barbell curl 135 for 8 and your arms lag? i smell poundage claim bullshit.

[jpm101]

Might try the following for a chance of pace...4 to 6 weeks and than go back to whatever you like for biceps.

Incline DB curls (suggested by DKI)..start with a hammer grip at bottom & twist on the way up..contract bicep at finish
EZ bar close grip curl, elbows braced against the sides
Zotterman DB curl

1 or 2 sets of 7-10 reps, each.

That reverse 135 for 8 is impressive. Reverse curls are a very over looked exercise for full bicep development, it is not just a forearm movement. Best I ever witnessed was 185lbs in a regular workout, but have heard of much more. Good Luck.

[The Squadfather]

Might try the following for a chance of pace...4 to 6 weeks and than go back to whatever you like for biceps.

Incline DB curls (suggested by DKI)..start with a hammer grip at bottom & twist on the way up..contract bicep at finish
EZ bar close grip curl, elbows braced against the sides
Zotterman DB curl

1 or 2 sets of 7-10 reps, each.

That reverse 135 for 8 is impressive. Reverse curls are a very over looked exercise for full bicep development, it is not just a forearm movement. Best I ever witnessed was 185lbs in a regular workout, but have heard of much more. Good Luck.

hahahahaha, 185 pound reverse curl, ok "jpm".

[thewickedtruth]

you can reverse barbell curl 135 for 8 and your arms lag? i smell poundage claim bullshit.

There is some cheating involved in that movement after the 3rd or 4th rep.  I do them up against the way but you can still get a little swing in the upward movement. I just do my best to get it an 8 count on the way down. It also depends on what you mean by lagging. My arms are about 17 and 1/2" now and were a tad over 18" before I started dieting. I'm hoping not to go under 17" when it's all said and done but am told you lose about an 1" for every 10lbs lost and vice versa for weight gained. Why do you think a standing barbell movement would be hard if I can do seated dumbbell curls and preacher curls easily with 60-65lbs? I don't get your reasoning behind this. I'm also 6' so lagging arms is relative to my physique. My biceps look great but would like more thickness. My tri's are where I need the work done. I'm 226lbs as of today. Why I'm justifying this I really have no idea. I'm just wondering why you're calling bullshit.

[thewickedtruth]

Might try the following for a chance of pace...4 to 6 weeks and than go back to whatever you like for biceps.

Incline DB curls (suggested by DKI)..start with a hammer grip at bottom & twist on the way up..contract bicep at finish
EZ bar close grip curl, elbows braced against the sides
Zotterman DB curl

1 or 2 sets of 7-10 reps, each.

That reverse 135 for 8 is impressive. Reverse curls are a very over looked exercise for full bicep development, it is not just a forearm movement. Best I ever witnessed was 185lbs in a regular workout, but have heard of much more. Good Luck.

I like them because I feel like it works a different angle and aspect of my arms and when moving heavy equipment at the station or in the garage, that movement helps out alot.

[thewickedtruth]

you say your arms are lagging but only mention biceps, whatabout triceps and their routine? also when do you work your arms, different days? special day? first or last in the program? that might make a difference.

I work my bi's on chest day and my tri's on back day. twice a week. Here's my typical tricep workout

closed grip bench press: 135x10x1 for a warmup,315x8x3, 365x2x1
hammer strength dips: 4 plates for 10 for a warmup, 8 plates for 8 reps for 2 sets
over head rope extensions: 125x12x3
OR instead of overhead extensions, I'll do 3 sets of 225lbs for 10 reps on the french press machine. I don't do french presses anyone save on the machine due to the last time a "spotter" offered to help and I damn near broke my nose when he dropped one side on the hand off.    I always work them last to really get all I can out of my chest and back before working the minor muscle groups.

[Cap]

to this bicep routine.

My arms are starting to lag behind my other body parts which has always been the story of my life. Here's the current routine I've been using to try and hit them at every angle to make sure I get maximum work for my efforts

seated alternating dumbbell hammer curls 65x8x2,60x10x1
dumbbell preacher curls 65x10x3
reverse grip barbell curls 135x8x3

should I add anything? Looking at it, if i can move 65lb dumbbells for that many sets, I should probably move up in weight on the preacher curls.    Let's hear some thoughts. This is all I'm doing for bi's at the moment.

Concentrate on isolatin the bicep and using tricep contractions on shoulders.  Dropping my seated DB ext from 110 to 85-95 range has brought my long head up.

[thewickedtruth]

how much more isolating can you get beyond a preacher or seated curl?    the incline curl was a great idea and I'd love to give those a try. What do you mean contracting the triceps? Squeeze and hold for x amount of time?

[Cap]

how much more isolating can you get beyond a preacher or seated curl?    the incline curl was a great idea and I'd love to give those a try. What do you mean contracting the triceps? Squeeze and hold for x amount of time?

Preacher curl but many people swing the weight and don't focus on the squeeze and still let the delts take over, I see it all the time with ego lifters.  Spider curls that start and end at a dead hang focus solely on bicep contractions.  Incline curls two arms at a time, slow, are good.  I did them yesterday with a ligth weight but focused on slow contraction.  Triceps, you don't want to feel it in your elbows.  You want to feel the stretch in the triceps and squeeze the muscle, dont use the joint to move the weight.  I lower behind my head squeezing down for a 2-3 count and squeeze up for the same.  Quick lockout squeeze and repeat.  Same for dips, reverse grip dips.  Squeezing the muscle has made a difference to me.

[thewickedtruth]

Preacher curl but many people swing the weight and don't focus on the squeeze and still let the delts take over, I see it all the time with ego lifters.  Spider curls that start and end at a dead hang focus solely on bicep contractions.  Incline curls two arms at a time, slow, are good.  I did them yesterday with a ligth weight but focused on slow contraction.  Triceps, you don't want to feel it in your elbows.  You want to feel the stretch in the triceps and squeeze the muscle, dont use the joint to move the weight.  I lower behind my head squeezing down for a 2-3 count and squeeze up for the same.  Quick lockout squeeze and repeat.  Same for dips, reverse grip dips.  Squeezing the muscle has made a difference to me.

Good stuff. Thanks for the advice. I hear ya on the preachers. I see alot of people leaning over the benches to swing the weight back up. On the tri's DON'T lock out?

[Cap]

Good stuff. Thanks for the advice. I hear ya on the preachers. I see alot of people leaning over the benches to swing the weight back up. On the tri's DON'T lock out?

Lock out just enough to squeeze but don't put the pressure on the elbows for long.  I did that with the 110 lber and I fucked up my elbows and stopped all entensions for a long time.

[jpm101]

TWT: The SquadFather is not use to people lifting heavier weights.  He call's any poundage lifted, beyond his scope of understanding, BS. He does seem to have a overwhelming affection for TA, though. Just have to pat him on the head like a little kid and tell him to go away.

Reason I mentioned the Zottermen DB curl is because is has a similar effect on the biceps and forearms as the reverse curl does. Might be a good change of pace for you. Just a suggestion. Good Luck.

[pumpster]

hahahahaha, 185 pound reverse curl, ok "jpm".

AKA the usual claims.

Notice that "jpm" now recommends the close-grip version of E-Z curls, but only after he was corrected on this. Until then he left out the close-grip part i added.

Reason I mentioned the Zottermen DB curl is because is has a similar effect on the biceps and forearms as the reverse curl does. Might be a good change of pace for you. Just a suggestion. Good Luck.

It's "Zottman", not "Zottermen". Also, it is not do the same thing as reverse curls, they're quite different. Do i have to teach you everything? This isn't the first time you've gotten it wrong in the last week or so. There was that claim about E-Z curls being the same as DB curls LOL.

[jpm101]

Actually I was never corrected about close grip EZ bar curls. Read any of my many post as JPM  or jpm101 (new handle due to putting in a better MB and CPU) to understand this. Have alway included the benefits of this position with either a straight bar or EZ bar. Also suggested the three grip curl (wide, medium and close) with either type bar, depending it's affect on one's wrist/forearms.

I may be wrong but I believe that the Zotterman curl was named after Art Zotterman who hung around the original Muscle Beach in the '50. Anyone know out there?

That 185lb reverse curl was not done by myself. Just something I witnessed  a few year back. I've heard, but not seen, of others using more. Good Luck.

[pumpster]

Actually I was never corrected about close grip EZ bar curls. Read any of my many post as JPM  or jpm101 (new handle due to putting in a better MB and CPU) to understand this. Have alway included the benefits of this position with either a straight bar or EZ bar. Also suggested the three grip curl (wide, medium and close) with either type bar, depending it's affect on one's wrist/forearms.

I may be wrong but I believe that the Zotterman curl was named after Art Zotterman who hung around the original Muscle Beach in the '50. Anyone know out there?

That 185lb reverse curl was not done by myself. Just something I witnessed  a few year back. I've heard, but not seen, of others using more. Good Luck.

More backpeddling. Revisionist history in full effect.

Last time on this, let's see if we can nip that budding senility. It's Zottman..basic stuff. I'm going to have to start charging for this.

Zottman Curl is a combo of standard and reverse DB curl. The reverse curl is done on the negative ROM. Can also be done using a Scott bench. If you believe that the negative portion of ROM is more beneficial as some theory suggests, this might be more effective for forearms:
http://www.ironbarbell.com/Articles/ZottmanCurls.html

http://www.americanpowerliftevolution.net/Zottmanarticle1.html

[jpm101]

Did a Google of Zotterman curl and had many hit's on that spelling. But that article (1924) gave the old time strongman Zottman with the original concept.  Also had hits on that name version of the curl. Always been told it was Zotterman from older veterans of BB'ing. To me, it's six of one and a half a dozen of the other.

Feel free to check any of my past post. I don't delete anything like some people do. You know, the CYA factor. Good Luck.

[The Squadfather]

Actually I was never corrected about close grip EZ bar curls. Read any of my many post as JPM  or jpm101 (new handle due to putting in a better MB and CPU) to understand this. Have alway included the benefits of this position with either a straight bar or EZ bar. Also suggested the three grip curl (wide, medium and close) with either type bar, depending it's affect on one's wrist/forearms.

I may be wrong but I believe that the Zotterman curl was named after Art Zotterman who hung around the original Muscle Beach in the '50. Anyone know out there?

That 185lb reverse curl was not done by myself. Just something I witnessed  a few year back. I've heard, but not seen, of others using more. Good Luck.

hahahaha, man you're high as a kite, there isn't a human being on earth who can do a reverse curl that doesn't look like a power clean with 185.

[leonp1981]

to this bicep routine.

My arms are starting to lag behind my other body parts which has always been the story of my life. Here's the current routine I've been using to try and hit them at every angle to make sure I get maximum work for my efforts

seated alternating dumbbell hammer curls 65x8x2,60x10x1
dumbbell preacher curls 65x10x3
reverse grip barbell curls 135x8x3

should I add anything? Looking at it, if i can move 65lb dumbbells for that many sets, I should probably move up in weight on the preacher curls.    Let's hear some thoughts. This is all I'm doing for bi's at the moment.

The way I see it, you haven't got enough compound movements.  The hammer curls will stimulate the brachialis more, and the reverse curls will hit the forearm extensors.  Not enough emphasis on the main biceps brachii muscle.  So:-

Standing barbell curl - the time-tested best mass builder.  4 sets x 10/8/6/6
Incline db curl - both arms together. 3 sets x 8
Preacher curl - strict form, don't fully extend the arm.  3 sets x 8

Change things around constantly, using alternate db curls, concentration curls, etc.

There was a recent article about shocking the bi's into growth:- One-arm preacher curls done to failure, then use the spare hand to lift the weight and do negatives to failure, then do static peak contractions to failure.  Then swap arms for 3 sets.

Anyways, just another option.