Biceps and HST

R

Renky

Member
Hi Everyone!

I have been using HST for a few cycles now. Great program and am very happy with the results.

Except... Biceps. All my other body parts are really starting to dwarf my biceps in regards to symmetry. When I flex my arm, my triceps stand out really well (I have the horse-shoe shape too). My biceps are really lack-luster. I am wondering if I need to add volume or back off on volume. I believe I am eating well and having a meal every 2-3 hours. I am on my 5 Rep max weeks and here is what I am doing for biceps (3 X a week);

1 - Chin-ups (with 25lbs in a back pack). 4 sets of 4 reps
2 - Hammer Curls. 2 sets of 5 reps with 66lb dumbbells

I use basic exercises for all other body parts (Benching, Pressing, Squatting etc). How much volume can you go with biceps?

Thanks!
 
Replace the hammer curls with supinated curls. Try incline dumbbell curls, or regular barbell curls, standing or use a preacher bench.
Hammer curls are not ideal for biceps IMO, the neutral wrist position throws more load on the other arm flexors, whole a supinated curl will put heavy strain on the biceps brachi.
 
Biceps have a heavily genetic component. But yes, drop hammer curls because they are basically in the same class as tricep kickbacks. Do some real curls that actually hit biceps as recommended by sci.
 
Couple of things:

-As Totentanz said, biceps' shape is largely genetic. Some have a high peak, some have longer, some shorter, some have more volume on the inside of the arm than the most-anterior side.

-Hammer curls are great for forearms and grip strength but don't do much for biceps.

-Heavy chins will do more for biceps than any other exercise.

-Triceps account for ~60-65% of upper arm muscle mass (non-bone LBM, connective tissue mass counted with the muscle). Your tri's are *always* going to be bigger and more impressive, and they should be. If your bi's are bigger or stronger than your tri's then something is definitely amiss.

-Biceps are really small muscles. Their volume is v.small. Sure, they're at the front, people see them when you're face-to-face and you see them in the mirror, they're easy to flex etc ... but they're tiny compared to lats, traps, pecs, delts, quads, glutes, hammies even calves ... pretty much the smallest relevant muscle.
 
Good point by Alex. People comment on my "big arms", but really the biceps are way small compared to triceps. Biceps also seem to grow way "slower" simply because they are relatively small muscles to begin with.
 
Thanks for all your comments, thanks.

I have been focusing heavily in Chin-ups and was using the hammer curls as a supplement. I will ditch the hammers and go with regular curls. Are dumbbell curls ok, or should I go the bar?

Also, what do you think for volume? I will be continuing to use Chin-ups as my main exercise.

I understand about the genetics thing. I just feel that even if my genetics are not going to give me a high peak, I just think my biceps are not very developed compared to my other body parts.

I am around 215lbs with maybe 12-15% body fat (estimating here). My chest is huge and my shoulders have grown significantly.

Thanks,
 
Is there a reason why you're hooked on this dumbbell thing for curls? I don't like them because it is too easy to cheat. Obviously curls are something people cheat on massively anyway, but DBs seem to be even worse. Could just be the gym population I encounter though. I'd actually almost prefer to see you using a curl machine, the right piece of equipment almost locks you in to using proper form. Clearly the load used will be way higher than on a BB or DB using a machine but that's fine because you can just progress.
 
I can use an e-z bar for curls, no problem... I work out at home, so equipment is limited.

I would be keen to know what maximum volume you guys would suggest.

Thanks.
 
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Renky said:
I can use an e-z bar for curls, no problem... I work out at home, so equipment is limited.

I would be keen to know what maximum volume you guys would suggest.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

You can up the volume if you want. Try 3 sets of chin-ups and 3 sets of curls. You may have to cut back if you begin overtraining though.
 
gbglifter said:
It seems he´s already doing 4sets at the moment.
Click to expand...

Oh yes, I just saw the 2 sets of curls. Yeah 4 sets of chin-ups plus 2 sets of curls 3x/week should be plenty of volume for anybody. Many guys would get overtrained even on that.

Just switch to barbell curls and watch out for any pain in the elbow area that signals overtraining. And be patient!
 
Thanks for your help guys... It looks like I will stick to around 5-6 sets on the 5 Rep range (25-30 Reps total per workouts for biceps).

Thanks.
 
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