Biceps Development For Rookies

In this article, Biceps Development For Rookies, we will look at biceps anatomy and function, plus I will provide nutritional and supplement guidelines. I will also provide a good example biceps routine, and tips to help you get the maximum benefits out of it. If you’re ready to get to work on this wildly popular muscle, let’s hit the gym and train those guns!

The Anatomy And Function Of The Biceps

The biceps brachii consists of 2 heads. They are located on the front part of the upper arm between your elbow and shoulder. 

 

• Your biceps assist in bending your arm at the elbow (elbow flexion). 
• They also help your arm move from palm down to palm up, otherwise known as supination. 
• Finally, the biceps assist in raising your arm in front of you (shoulder flexion). 

 

There is also the brachialis, a small muscle that lies underneath the biceps brachii. 

 

• This muscle is a pure flexor of the elbow joint. 
• It also helps stabilize the elbow joint during a controlled movement.

 

 Developing it helps build impressive biceps thickness. (1)

The Functional Aspects Of The Biceps

As you can most likely understand, the biceps comes into play in literally any movement that involves using your arms. For example, lifting your coffee cup, opening doors, or carrying any object. It’s a “pulling” muscle, whereas the triceps, which makes up two-thirds of your upper arm size, is a “pushing” muscle. 

Routine Basics – Progressive Overload

Before I give you an example routine, we need to understand this principle. Progressive overload is a key training principle that is essential to gaining size and strength. If your goal is to get bigger and stronger, it all comes down to using this principle effectively.

So What Is Progressive Overload?

Progressive overload can be defined as the action of consistently increasing the weight on the bar over time. That is the primary way to apply it, especially for rookies.

Why It’s Important For Biceps Development

This is one of the most important of all training principles. Think about it. How else can you consistently get stronger? And if you don’t get stronger, how much quality size can you build? 

 

There are two very common mistakes rookies (and sometimes even more experienced lifters) always make. First, in many cases they always do the same workout with the same weight and the same number of reps, sometimes for decades.

 

The second most common mistake many lifters make is the concept of “constantly switching things up” or “muscle confusion”. Yes, this approach can work for advanced lifters who have reached their strength ceiling. But if you are a lifting rookie, or haven’t been lifting very long, you need to concentrate on building a strength foundation. This only happens by using a routine that does not change and implementing progressive overload to build strength and size. Believe me, you will get stronger and bigger following this approach.

How It Works

Using the progressive overload principle lets you gradually move towards your strength goals over time. It’s a very common principle used by scores of bodybuilders, powerlifters, and any other athletes that train with weights who need to get stronger and bigger. (3)

 

By gradually adding plates to the bar, you will get stronger and you will get bigger. This makes sense because most lifters expect to get stronger as they continue through their lifting career. 

 

Not to mention, most weight lifting authorities advise using this principle right from the beginning of your lifting journey. It is hands down the best way to build a foundation of strength and size.

What About “Muscle Confusion”?

This is important to talk about because there is a lot of confusing information out there. There’s a lot of lifters, including some big names, who will encourage you to “shock the muscles” by “never doing the same workout twice”. 

 

First of all, that would be great if the muscles knew they were being “shocked” or “confused”. Since they don’t, the only reason to “mix things up” is for your own mental stimulation. The lifters that use this approach have already been lifting a long time, and in many cases have long since reached their size and strength goals. But, how do you think they built their foundation?

 

Secondly, if you constantly change things around, how can you build any meaningful strength? To get stronger and bigger, you have to work the same core exercises and consistently add weight to those exercises.

 

If you can do a 150 lb bench press today, but don’t come back to this exercise for a couple of weeks because you’ve been busy “shocking your muscles”, do you really expect to be stronger on the bench press? 

 

The bottom line here is simple: save techniques like this for when you are as big and strong as you plan to get. 

OK, So How Often Do I Increase Weight?

The most practical way is to use a rule called the 2 x 2 rule. This rule states that you should increase the weight by 10% on large muscles and 5% on small muscles once you can perform 2 additional reps beyond your target rep total for 2 workouts in a row. 

Here’s An Example Biceps Routine

I assume you’re doing biceps after back, so they will be warmed up and ready to go. 

EZ Bar Curls

2 sets x 8-10 reps 

Lat Pulldown Curls

2 sets x 8 -10 reps

Hammer Curls

2 sets x 8-10 reps

Notes

For some, 6 sets might not seem like enough work. After all, there are a lot of exercises for biceps. But, your goal is to build mass and strength. The EZ Curl is your main mass builder. Take each set to failure, and as discussed, consistently add weight to the bar.

 

If you’ve never done Lat Pulldown Curls, you’re in for a treat. For this exercise, you use a close (2-3 inches) underhand grip. Better yet, if your gym has a lat machine with unilateral D-handles or unilateral L- handles, use that machine. Why? The L-handles (also the D-handles) allow you to use both a palm-facing grip and a standard overhand grip. You might be surprised how hard this hits the biceps. Plus, you can use a lot of weight on this exercise.

Additional Performance Notes

You do not want to rush your sets, or do partial repetitions. Do a full, complete rep. Use the following tempo: 2 second concentric (lifting) phase, 4 second eccentric (lowering) phase, and a 3 second pause in the fully stretched position, just before lock out. BTW, if you are stopping at a target rep number but could have easily done 2-3 or more reps, add weight. 

 

Also, rest about 60 seconds between sets. None of this sitting on your phone for 10 minutes nonsense. If you can’t tear yourself away from your phone, leave it in your locker. 

Nutritional Guidelines

I suggest consuming about half of the day’s carbohydrates (that should include all of your simple carbohydrates) in the hours that surround your workout. Plus, I advise following a high protein diet at all costs. Also, I suggest ingesting a minimum of 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. It is logical to divide this amount of protein over several meals and a couple of shakes per day. 

Supplement Guidelines

Your supplement arsenal should be based around products that are considered foundational. Your first product should always be a good quality protein powder. I suggest Hi-Tech Precision Protein. It not only tastes delicious, but what makes this an exceptional protein powder is that it optimizes leucine absorption. If you don’t know, leucine stimulates protein synthesis, which is a key trigger of muscle growth. As a side note, if you don’t know about this concept, I strongly urge you to read about it. 

 

Next up is a quality pre-workout (I never train without one). My recommendation is Gorilla Mind Gorilla Mode, one of the best pre-workouts currently available. I also suggest creatine monohydrate, such as AllMax Nutrition Creatine. Finally, don’t forget your post-workout shake. I suggest Hi-Tech Precision Protein with the fruit of your choice, and Greek yogurt as desired. 

Summary

In this article, I have given you everything you need to get in the gym and train those biceps! Make sure you fully utilize all the tips, and work the routine hard. Don’t add tons of sets or exercises. If you can do more work, you aren’t using enough weight and you aren’t training hard enough. Stick to the plan and you’ll have huge guns in no time!

References:

1. Delavier, Frâedâeric. Strength Training Anatomy. Human Kinetics, 2010.