Everything You Need To Know To Build Bigger Biceps
You want bigger biceps and so does every other guy hitting the gym.
With tons of fitness content out there telling you about the ‘one specific exercise you should be doing to add 5 inches to your arms’, I hope to help you understand the underlying principles which can help you improve your bicep training by the time you reach the end of this article.
While this article isn’t about nutrition, I’m still going to throw in the minimum you need to be focusing on if you wish to build bigger biceps.
We aren’t going to waste any time so let’s get started.
Nutrition For Building Bigger Biceps
You can’t effectively build bigger biceps if your diet is just Twinkie’s and Soda.
While you don’t have to micro-manage every single variable of your nutrition to build bigger biceps, here’s the minimum you should focus on to build bigger biceps.
1. Eat enough food.
Being in a slight caloric surplus will be the most optimal situation for building bigger biceps.
Does this mean you need to go on an all out bulk?
No.
Does this mean you cannot grow your biceps if you’re overweight and want to enter a fat loss phase?
No.
All it means is that having more food can put your body in a more favorable situation to build more muscle.
If you want to make the best progress, check out Bulking Without Gaining Too Much Excess Fat.
If you are dieting down, focus on a slow cut with a not so aggressive calorie deficit to allow you to increase your chances of building muscle.
2. Eat sufficient protein.
If building bigger biceps is the goal, eating enough food will not be enough if all you’re eating is Pop-tarts.
You’ll just end up with a bigger belly (if you bulk) or a skinny-fat look (if you cut) that way.
This means that you need to focus on eating a high protein diet.
This is anywhere between 0.8-1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.
Here’s an article explaining everything you need to know about setting up your nutrition.
Now that we have this out of our way, let’s get to the training side of things.
Multi-Joint Versus Single-Joint Movements
You should not rely on single-joint movements to make up the bulk of your workouts.
Simply put, you should spend more time performing compound movements (multi-joint) when compared to ‘isolation’ (single-joint) movements.
This is even more important if you are relatively new to training or in the first few years of proper training.
If bigger biceps are what you want, you should spend the majority of your time getting stronger on movements like chin-ups and rows.
You’ll never see someone with big arms struggling to rep out chin-ups.
At the same time, I’m not telling you to rely completely on compound movements for growing your arms.
As a natural, it is very important to train arms if you wish to maximize development.
This means that the compound movements should make up the majority of your training and the ‘accessory’ work can be done towards the end.
How Much Frequency For Bicep Training?
Your biceps are a small muscle. (No, I’m not mocking you!)
Your biceps are much smaller compared to muscles such as the glutes and lats.
This means that:
1. They will recover faster.
2. Training them frequently isn’t as hard on your Central Nervous System.
Along with this, the fact that most research shows that higher frequency training could be superior to lower frequency training because of more frequent spikes in Muscle Protein Synthesis, it probably makes sense to give out a general recommendation saying that you should at least hit your biceps times x a week, whether directly or indirectly.
Whether the benefits of frequency are practical or only valid on paper is still debatable, but in either case, splitting your bicep volume will lead to improving the quality of the volume.
This means that instead of training 9 sets of biceps in the same workout, you can train 3 sets of biceps 3 times a week.
You’ll get in the same number of sets, but you will be performing them with better quality reps because you’ll be hitting them fresh when compared to hitting all 9 sets on the same day.
This is just an example, but I hope you get the point.
It is better to split the volume and train the muscle multiple times a week.
This does not mean that you should train your biceps daily.
While those will great recovery capabilities and brilliantly periodized programming could still pull that off for a short period of time, most of us will just end up with overuse injuries.
Thus, finding a frequency that works for you will be the key here.
As a general guideline, training biceps 2-3 times a week will be sufficient for most.
Again, I repeat, this doesn’t mean that you have to 3 full blown arm days in a week.
As little as 2-3 sets 2-3 times a week is more than enough to hit your weekly volume target.
(Remember, we spoke about how the compound movements work your biceps too?)
How Many Sets Of Bicep Work A Week?
Most guys at the gym are doing a lot more than required for their biceps.
If only doing more and more sets lead to more gains, most guys at the gym would be walking around with 20 inch arms.
But the truth is that, in most cases, a few effective sets of direct arm work a week will be more than enough to maximize arm growth, given that the rest of your training is structured properly.
Before we head into more general guidelines, keep in mind that no one can give you a specific number of sets that will work for you.
People respond differently to different doses of volume and the only way to find out what works for you is to try.
That said, we know that a good place to be at with volume is between 5-10 effective sets a week.
Keep in mind that your biceps will be getting a lot of indirect work from the compound movements, so for starters, even 5 sets a week can be sufficient.
If you’ve been doing tons of aimless sets of bicep work in the gym currently and are paranoid of training with lower volume, try cutting it down to 3 sets of bicep work 3 times a week.
This might sound too less but there is a pretty good chance of you making better progress this way.
Rep Range For Bigger Biceps?
Go to an online forum and you’ll see people argue about how their specific rep range leads to more gains, where that be 6-8 reps or 15-20 reps per set.
The truth of the matter is that latest evidence shows that the rep range might not affect hypertrophy as much as we once thought it would.
So if you’ve been thinking that anything under 8 reps isn’t going to help with gaining more size, you can actually tap into some additional gains by training in a new rep range of 6-8 reps which will allow you to lift an even heavier load.
At the same time, if you’ve been thinking that using 15 rep sets are nothing but cardio, you can benefit from new stimulus by training in that rep range.
But I get what your question is.
Which rep range should you spend the majority of your time in?
The answer to that question is around the 6-15 rep range, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with going below or above those numbers.
That said, almost any good coach will tell you that you should train in a variety of rep ranges.
Sample Set Up Of Varying Rep Ranges Through The Week
Here’s what that could look like if you just want to periodize the load weekly on a 3 sets of biceps 3 times a week set up.
*Keep in mind that this is after you have performed your compound movements for the day.
Sunday - Biceps 3 sets x 4-6 reps
Monday - Rest
Tuesday - Biceps 3 sets x 10-15 reps
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - Biceps 3 sets x 6-10 reps
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Rest
Sample Set Up Of Varying Rep Ranges With Reverse Pyramid Training
Here’s my favorite way of making sure I train in all the rep ranges every time I train biceps.
If you don’t know what Reverse Pyramid Training is, it is basically the opposite of Standard Pyramid Training.
In standard pyramid training, you lift a weight for a certain number of reps.
In the following sets, you increase the weight and drop the reps.
In reverse pyramid training, you perform your heaviest set first.
You then proceed to drop the weight and perform back-off sets for higher reps.
Why does this even matter?
Not only does it reduce the risk of injury, but it also helps you progress better by lifting the heaviest weight when you’re the strongest.
Once you finish the heavy set, you rest, drop the weight, and perform higher rep sets.
This allows you to get the benefit of heavy bicep work and also get a pump from the higher reps.
Here’s what it could look like on a 3 sets of biceps 3 times a week set up.
*Keep in mind that this is after you have performed your compound movements for the day.
Sunday - Biceps Set 1 - 4-6 reps
Biceps Set 2 - 6-10 reps
Biceps Set 3 - 10-15 reps
Monday - Rest
Tuesday - Repeat Sunday
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - Repeat Sunday
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Rest
As you’ll see, you still end up getting 3 sets of 4-6 reps, 3 sets of 6-10 reps and 3 sets of 10-15 reps by the end of the week just like the previous set up.
This means that you can select the way of varying rep ranges you like, and focus on progressing with that, which brings us to our next point.
Progression Versus Chasing The Pump
Your main focus has to be progressive overload.
I cannot stress this enough.
Please don’t be that person who goes to the gym with the sole purpose of getting a pump.
While the pump does play a role in maximizing hypertrophy, the majority of your results will come by getting stronger over time.
Be consistent with your form and try to increase the load over time.
Don’t let soreness or the pump be the main indicators of whether or not you had a good workout.
Track your training, and make sure you’re getting stronger periodically.
To Cheat Or Not To Cheat?
Should you cheat on bicep curls?
The answer is that it depends.
Cheat curls are a brilliant exercise if done correctly.
At the same time, strict curling plays an important role in maximizing development of the biceps.
My opinion on whether you should cheat or not?
Cheat if you have planned to perform cheat curls.
Don’t cheat just to swing and lift heavier weight.
For example, don’t be that person who performs normal curls one week, then cheats and uses momentum the following week just to lift heavier.
Decide what you’re going to do in advance and don’t let your ego get the best of you.
Stop Trying To Confuse The Muscle
Muscle confusion is one of the myths that has been debunked long ago.
If you’re a natural athlete, your focus should be on progression first.
You can’t progress optimally if you’re changing workouts every week.
This is because every time you change your routine, there is some level of re-learning you have to do to get proficient at the movement.
If you keep hopping around from one routine to another, while you will still be able to get decent pumps (which we cleared isn’t the main focus of our training), you will not be able to progress as efficiently as you could otherwise.
Does this mean I’m telling you to perform the same exercises for the rest of your life?
Absolutely not.
Again, you don’t have to be at the extremes.
Training the same movement again and again, especially if it is a single-joint movement, could make you more prone to overuse injuries.
This means that you should rotate variations sensibly.
While this will always depend on context, a good idea can be to rotate movements every 8-12 weeks.
Some athletes can go longer and some might need to change in 4 weeks.
The point here is that you have to look at your training objectively and focus on what matters; progression.
For example, if you have been performing the incline dumbbell curl as your primary bicep exercise for 12 weeks and you feel that you aren’t able to add any more weight or reps to the exercise, you could change to another movement like the standing hammer curl for a few weeks.
This will allow you to get in variety, avoid overuse injuries by repeating the same pattern all year long, and make consistent progress, without needing to hop around from one exercise to another on a session by session basis.
Best Exercise For Bigger Biceps
By now you should know, there is no “one” magical exercise that will add inches to your biceps.
This isn’t an anatomy class and I’m not going to break down the bicep here.
The point is, as long as you focus on getting stronger with curling, you’ll be sorted.
Doesn’t matter if it’s barbell, dumbbell or cable.
They all have pros and cons.
Do what you enjoy and stay consistent.
Here are a few exercises I like to train with:
(Doesn’t mean you have to like them!)
Alternating Dumbbell Curl
Alternating Dumbbell Hammer Curl
Cable Rope Curl
Cable Rope Hammer Curl
Incline Dumbbell Curl
Incline Dumbbell Hammer Curl
Bayesian Curl
You are not limited to the exercises on this list!
Also, I don’t perform all these exercises in the same block.
I select two exercises and perform them for 6-8 weeks with a focus on progression.
Then I swap them for other variations.
This is how I like to do it.
Feel free to do what you like as long as you are following the underlying principles.
Don’t Forget Your Triceps For Bigger Arms
While this post is all about biceps, I don’t want to mislead people into thinking that big biceps are everything.
You have to remember that if your goal is to get bigger arms, you cannot ignore your triceps.
Your tricep makes up two-thirds of your arm, so if you think you can curl your away to big arms, you’re just going to end up disappointed.
I’m not going into the details of tricep training in this article, but the same principles will apply.
Focus on progression using a majority of compound exercises like the bench press, overhead press and dips, and throw in 5-10 sets of tricep accessory work (isolation exercises) a week.
As long as you’re not an advanced lifter or you aren’t someone who’s trying to bring up a lagging part, this should be sufficient.
If you are doing this for aesthetics, make sure you work on for both, the long head (example: skullcrushers) and the lateral head (example: tricep rope extension) of the tricep.
That’s all for now.
If you have anything you’d like to add, feel free to drop a comment below!
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