Less bicep work

[HisAngriness]

i decided to cut my direct bicep work to a minimum starting this week.
up until this point i have been hitting biceps directly on chest day, alternating between BBcurls, incline DB curls, hammer curls, drag curls, concentration curls, etc...(i'm not doing all these in one workout for the record). i usually do 2-3 exercises directly on my biceps after my chest workout.
my problem is that while everything else is growing, my biceps arent. i put a quarter inch on them over 6 months, but they havent moved in over a month now and now is the peak of my current cycle.
so i decided to focus more on compound lifts and less isolation work (maybe 1 DB exercise just to hit em directly a little). i know that most times when arms dont grow its because they're too easily overtrained, and my back workouts always get the blood flowing to them. so lets see how this works out.
anybody have similar experience with their arms, or better yet SUCCESS with them?

 

[Hanniballickedher]

First off, I pin directly in Biceps so that is an advantage, I do Chest and Bi's all the time and I have noticed growth the reason is when I work Chest I am working Tri's but not hard (but they are still getting worked), follow me here, then I work Bi's. On my back and Tri day when working back I am also working Bi's but not hard so you end up hitting them at least 2 times a week at the minimum. Here is my Chest/BI routine.

4 x 12 Dumbell Press and set of flys after each set (medium weight)
4 x 20 "Overhead cable Curl" Link (usually start with 85 and go down 5 each time)
4 x 12 Incline and set of flys after each set (Medium weight)
4 x 15 Cable Concentration curl - I do this on the cable row machine, put a pull strap on, put your arm flat on the seat and curl. (usually start with 55 and go down each)
4 x 15 Machine Flys - 295, 275, 255, 225
4 x 15 Machine Preacher curls ONE ARM AT A TIME - Start with 110 and go down each set.
4 x 12 Cable Flys pull out front of chest (4x12) then sweep up from floor (4x12)
4 x 12 Concentration curls - I lean over and do these not sitting - Start with 55lb and work down each set.

I promise, do this for 2 weeks and you will see results, also go check this out it has helped me ALOT!!! - TOP SECRET ARM ARSENAL! - Flex Online

 

[fixxer]

^So when you do chest, you alternate chest and bicep exercises within the workout?

 

[Hanniballickedher]

^So when you do chest, you alternate chest and bicep exercises within the workout?

Yes sir I do, that way it gives my chest a rest while I am doing Bi's then I can blast it again.

 

[dragevo]

Great strategy^^^ May have to try this

 

[HisAngriness]

here is what i did different today:
being that it is international chest day i did chest/biceps today instead of wed like i normally would.
5 sets flat bench (including warmup sets),
followed immediately by 5 sets BB curl (moderate working sets),
then straight to 5 sets incline presses,
then incline DB curls from there. that was it for biceps.
did some dips to finish up. (5 sets of 10xBW)
this is a lot less volume than what i'm used to (pretty much cut my workout in half), but went heavy on chest and moderate on biceps, and tried Hanni's method of switching back and forth instead of doing my whole chest workout and then biceps...

 

[Hanniballickedher]

here is what i did different today:
being that it is international chest day i did chest/biceps today instead of wed like i normally would.
5 sets flat bench (including warmup sets),
followed immediately by 5 sets BB curl (moderate working sets),
then straight to 5 sets incline presses,
then incline DB curls from there. that was it for biceps.
did some dips to finish up. (5 sets of 10xBW)
this is a lot less volume than what i'm used to (pretty much cut my workout in half), but went heavy on chest and moderate on biceps, and tried Hanni's method of switching back and forth instead of doing my whole chest workout and then biceps...

How did you like the switching? It gives my muscles time to rest while I am doing the other group, then I can go blast them again.

 

[HisAngriness]

yea bro, definitely hit the spot. kinda reminded me of circuit training like we used to do for boxing.
got a great pump, especially considering the fact that it was less work than i'm used to and i could tell the difference in strength when i went back to chest after biceps and vice versa. plus it adds another dimension to my training that my muscles arent used to. keeping em guessing

 

[ketsugo]

Bro it will probably work out well for you. I used to have the same issue- I didnt train my bis for 13 months and they still grew. Even now I barely train bis tris and they seem to stay ahead of everything else. I train my back heavy so get alot of stimulation

 

[Get Some]

Back day is when you need to focus on bis bro, IMO. Close grip pullups or weighted close grip pullups along with heavy barbell rows are what I would advise.

The main mistake I see people make is doing too many bicep isolation exercises througout the week. Really, what needs to be done for size is cut down on the number of exercises and increase the number of sets and move up in weight considerably with each set. most curl exercises do the same thing so pick 2 per week to focus on and switch it up each week. One arm internal cable curls (pull up toward middle chest with elbow at side) one week, and the next week seated dumbbell curls. Preacher curls one week and the next week cable curls with a straight bar lying on the ground. Try to have at least 1 cable exercise mixed with a free weight exercise in each workout rather than 2 cables or free weights in the same day. This way you get a different feel in each exercise and have a better chance of stimulating both heads of the bicep as best you can.

So, I would shoot for at least 4 sets of 10 reps, with the last being to failure. And that's 4 sets AFTER one warmup set with light weight that should be about 15 reps to get the blood flowin. If you have trouble increasing weight after each set then try lowering the number of reps per set... 10, 8, 6, failure or something similar.

Hopefully there was at least one thing in there that helps

 

[HisAngriness]

thanks GS.
i definitely feel it in my biceps on back day fo sho. thats why i'm starting to think i been doing too much.
never done any type of cable curls though. always free weights and leverage machines. perhaps i will incorporate some next time

 

[oldschool1967]

i decided to cut my direct bicep work to a minimum starting this week.
up until this point i have been hitting biceps directly on chest day, alternating between BBcurls, incline DB curls, hammer curls, drag curls, concentration curls, etc...(i'm not doing all these in one workout for the record). i usually do 2-3 exercises directly on my biceps after my chest workout.
my problem is that while everything else is growing, my biceps arent. i put a quarter inch on them over 6 months, but they havent moved in over a month now and now is the peak of my current cycle.
so i decided to focus more on compound lifts and less isolation work (maybe 1 DB exercise just to hit em directly a little). i know that most times when arms dont grow its because they're too easily overtrained, and my back workouts always get the blood flowing to them. so lets see how this works out.
anybody have similar experience with their arms, or better yet SUCCESS with them?

hey bro, a little heads up for you, my arms were this close to 20'', but then i had an injury, my arms were trained once per week, directly, i was on the 5x5 3xs per week, 4 sets curls, 4 sets close grip benches. hope you see what im saying!