Beautiful Biceps


Sculpt Peaks of Perfection

By Tom Bonanti

  

 

Besides a well-rounded, firm set of glutes or tight abs, no muscle group or body part seems to turn heads more than a bulging pair of biceps. True, your triceps make up most of the mass of your upper arms, about 75% to be exact, but it’s the biceps most people refer to when they admire a great set of “guns.” For maintenance, work biceps once a week for 20 minutes or so using an array of arm curls. To increase your size and perfect your shape, work them out twice to three times a week for the same amount of time. Make sure to give your biceps as well as every muscle group 48 to 72 hours rest between workouts. This gives broken down, exhausted muscle fibers a chance to recover and grow thicker and denser. I like to combine biceps with chest, shoulders or even legs, but never with back because any decent back routine is going to tax biceps, thus preventing you from really giving them their due.

Here are my favorite biceps exercises. Do two or three of these routines each time you work biceps and make sure to stretch between exercises and sets.

Cable Curls: These are a nice alternative to barbells and dumbbells. Attach a straight bar to the lower cable assembly and grasp the bar with a medium-width, underhanded grip. Stand upright with the arms straight and the bar resting in front of the thighs. Keep your upper arms tight at your sides, bend the elbows and curl the bar up to the chin level. Pause briefly, squeeze the contraction and lower the bar back down slowly to starting position. Perform 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps.

Standing Dumbbell Curls: Here’s a way to isolate each bicep. Stand upright holding a dumbbell in each hand at your sides in a palms-in grip. Keep the upper arms motionless as you bend the elbows and curl the weights upward turning the hands so that the wrists face the shoulders at the top. Pause, squeeze and lower back down twisting to the palms-in position. Perform 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps and feel the burn!

EZ Curls: Standing with knees slightly bent, grip an EZ curl bar (this bar is made explicitly for biceps training, it is bent in the middle to facilitate your grip) with palms facing up, shoulder-width apart. Curl the bar by flexing your arms at the elbow. Your elbows should remain close to your sides. Lower the weight in a controlled manner to starting position. Perform 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps and flex those guns! Remember to hold a powerful contraction at the top and slowly lower the weight down on the negative.

Incline Dumbell Curls: Sit on a bench at a 45 degree incline. Keep your back straight, feet flat on the floor and arms at your side. Curl the dumbbell by flexing arms toward the shoulders. (You can do single alternating arms as well.) Slowly lower dumbbells in a controlled motion until your arm is extended. Perform 3-4 set of 8-12 reps. Make sure when you do dumbbell curls, especially, that you do not swing the weights too much. Remember to keep proper form and execute each rep in a controlled and calculated manner.

Here’s to a New Year of progress and dynamite workouts! Contact: trainertomb@aol.com with questions anytime!

 

TOM BONANTI IS A CERTIFIED PERSONAL TRAINER AND
OWNER OF PUMP’N INC GYM AT 1271 NE 9TH AVENUE
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33304, www.pumpnincgym.com.