The visibility of your cephalic vein, which curves over your biceps from your shoulder to the inside of your elbow, has nothing to do with how many curls you can achieve. To make this vein pop, you need to drop your body fat to below 15 percent. And don’t be surprised if the vein is more pronounced on one arm than the other: genetics also play a key role in determining its prominence.
- Devoting a little attention to your biceps goes a long way towards making them grow, especially when compared to the growth you find in other muscle groups. This is because at a microscopic level, the muscle fibres of a bicep are pinnated, or feather-shaped. The parallel fibres of this “feather” are what give biceps the special ability to bulge.
- The average guy’s biceps contain about 450g of muscle. That totals up to just three percent of the muscle mass in your entire body for both arms combined. Remember that number: it’s a good way to keep perspective on how much you should train your biceps compared to other muscle groups.
THE MOVES
1. CLOSE-GRIP CHIN-UP
Grab a chin-up bar with an underhand grip, your hands about 15cm apart. Hang with your arms straight, making sure not to lock your elbows. Facing straight ahead and keeping your elbows pointed down, pull yourself up until the bar is directly under your chin. Then lower yourself to the starting position.
2. DUMBBELL BICEPS CURL
Grab a dumbbell in each hand, using an underhand grip (palms facing forwards). Let them hang at arm’s length next to your sides. Without moving your upper arms, curl the weights up towards your shoulders, then slowly lower them.
TIP: Stare straight ahead at all times – it will limit momentum. If your elbows move forwards, you’re cheating. Keep them pointing down.
3. DUMBBELL INCLINE OFFSET-GRIP CURL
Set an incline bench to a 60-degree angle. Grab a dumbbell in each hand so that your hands are closer to one side of the weight and your thumbs touch the plates (instead of holding it at the centre of the handle). Lie on the bench holding the dumbbells at arm’s length, palms facing each other. As you curl the weights, rotate your wrists so your palms face you at the top of the move. Reverse to the starting position.
TIP: Grasp the weight so your hand is against the side of the plate, not in the centre.
4. ROPE-CABLE HAMMER CURL
Attach a rope to a low-pulley cable and stand 30 to 60cm in front of the weight stack. Grab an end of the rope in each hand with a neutral grip (palms facing each other). With your elbows tucked in at your sides, slowly curl your fists up towards your shoulders, then return to the starting position.
TIP: Don’t allow your wrists to bend as you curl the weight.
5. TOWEL INVERTED ROW
Lie under a Smith machine or squat rack with your legs straight and a bar set a few centimetres higher than arm’s length. Loop two small towels over the bar, spaced shoulder-width apart. Grab each towel. Keeping your body straight, pull yourself towards the bar. Pause, then slowly lower yourself.
TIP: Using towels challenges your grip, so it also builds your forearms.
6. DUMBBELL SINGLE-ARM ISOMETRIC CURL
Grab a dumbbell in each hand. Curl the weight in your right hand until your elbow is bent 90 degrees. Holding that position, curl the weight in your left hand towards your shoulder, then lower it. Complete your reps while maintaining a right angle with your right arm. Repeat on the other side.
TIP: Keep one arm bent 90 degrees as you curl with your other arm.
PICK YOUR PLAN
Three routines for the results you want
1. THE CHIN-UP CHASER
Chin-ups work your biceps harder than curls do. Combining the two can be even more effective. Use this combo routine to gain strength, burn fat and build bigger arms.
HOW IT WORKS
Do three sets of the close-grip chin-up [1] followed by three sets of the dumbbell single-arm isometric curl [6]. Rest for 60 seconds after each set. Do as many chin-ups as possible in each set, and do 10 to 12 reps in each set of curls. Complete this workout twice a week, resting at least two days after each session.
2. THE SUPERFAST CIRCUIT
Working your biceps with a variety of exercises and repetition ranges is an effective way to stimulate maximum growth. This routine does just that and takes only eight minutes, twice a week.
HOW IT WORKS
Do the towel inverted row [5], the rope-cable hammer curl [4] and the dumbbell incline offset-grip curl [3] in a circuit, completing one set of each exercise before resting. Do as many reps as you can of the first exercise, five to seven reps of the second move, and eight to 10 of the last exercise. Rest for 60 seconds, then repeat the circuit once or twice more. Perform this routine two days a week, resting at least two days after each session.
3. THE MULTITASKING WORKOUT
Underneath the bicep muscle, or biceps brachii as it is anatomically known, is the brachialis. If developed, the brachialis will help push your biceps even higher. This workout trains both muscles by modifying an exercise every man is familiar with: the classic biceps curl.
HOW IT WORKS
Grab a dumbbell in each hand, choosing the heaviest weight that allows you to do eight to 10 repetitions of the dumbbell biceps curl [2]. For your first set, perform the exercise as described, with one exception: use an overhand grip (palms facing backwards) to begin with. Do as many reps as you can, then rest for 60 seconds and do a second set of biceps curls with a neutral grip (palms facing each other). Rest again for 60 seconds and do the move once more with an underhand grip, as shown. Repeat once for a total of two rounds. Do this workout twice a week.
HARD MOVE, HARDER MUSCLE
Ready for a challenge? Try this exercise at the end of your biceps workout. Do two or three sets of 12 to 15 repetitions, resting for 60 seconds after each set.
SINGLE-ARM CROSS CURL
Stand between the weight stacks of a cable crossover station and grab a high-pulley handle in each hand, your palms facing up. Hold your arms out to the sides so they’re parallel to the floor, but keep your elbows slightly bent. Without moving your left arm, curl your right hand towards your head. Flex your biceps. Then slowly allow your arm to straighten – control the weight throughout the exercise. Repeat the move with your other arm.
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