We all want big biceps. The first image that comes to mind when talking about flexed muscles is the biceps.
Bicep training is the easiest thing to do in the gym, right? Well no …
In this article we will talk about 4 common mistakes when training our biceps.
4 common mistakes when training our biceps.
1. Cheat from the first string
The Bicep Curl is probably the easiest exercise to cheat. Anytime your arms are not resting on a bench (during the preacher or machine curl), all it takes is a bit of a twist to shift the tension from the arms to the front delts a bit and do that one rep with much weight easier. Cheating is a valuable tool to push past strict sets, failure sets, etc. But if you do, you will probably never stress your biceps. In an effort to work with heavier weights than they could possibly use, many bodybuilders fool themselves from the first rep to the last.
Solutions:
-
Do strict repetitions until you reach failure. If necessary, stand with your back against a wall during the Z-bar curl and press your elbows out to the sides.
- To remove your legs and hips from the movement, do a seated dumbbell curl
- To push beyond the tight and fit sets, do two or three extra reps with a slight swing of the arms.
2. Train your biceps a lot
Compared to your lats and quads, your biceps are negligibly small so bombarding them with lots of sets (12+) is very bad. More than any other muscle, the biceps are frequent victims of overtraining, stopping or reversing your gains.
Solutions
- Beginners should do only six sets for biceps. After four to ten months of training you can gradually add 3 more sets.
- Advanced bodybuilders should typically do 9-12 sets for the biceps.
- At most, only push a final set past failure through techniques such as cheat sets, forced reps, negatives, and drop sets.
3. Variety of exercises
Although the biceps are simple two-headed muscles that are worked almost exclusively through barbell curls, you still have to perform various types of curls to properly stimulate the multiple muscle fibers. Too many bodybuilders only do standing bicep exercises.
Solutions
- Perform a Z-bar or regular bar exercise, a dumbbell exercise, and a cable or curl exercise at each workout.
- Do one of the exercises while standing, one sitting and the other with your arms on a bench.
- Do at least one unilateral exercise in every bicep workout.
- From time to time, do an exercise as unique as the hammer curl or pulley rope so that you train your biceps from different angles.
4. Not contracting the biceps properly
The contraction is the crucial component of a curl, which is why it’s unfortunate that so many bodybuilders completely go over contracting their biceps against resistance. Generally, this is because they use too much weight and perform their repetitions quickly and with excessive momentum.
Solutions
- Use a weight that you can handle for 8 to 12 strict and complete reps.
- Do the curl slowly. Take about two seconds to lift the weight, hold the contraction for one second, then take about two seconds to lower the weight.
- Turn each curl into a “concentration curl” by flexing your biceps with each contraction.