Tips of the week Build your biceps with science-based methods

The best training methods for biceps

1 - Use heavy weights

Because the biceps are made up of even more growth-friendly type II muscle fibers than the triceps (by at least 60%), they tend to grow more when heavy weights are used. A study by Lagally et al. found that each jump at the relative load (in the range of 30 to 90% of 1RM weight) resulted in better muscle activation. This means you should aim for full contractions and use heavy weights.

2 - Pull yourself up

Whether you think you can build big biceps with multi-joint exercises alone or not, pull-ups with an underhand grip are an excellent biceps exercise. In fact, scientific research has shown that pull-ups with an underhand grip activate the biceps at near maximal levels (Youdas et al. 2010). The biceps crave loading and nothing can beat pull-ups here.

3 - Let the shoulders come forward

The long muscle head of the biceps works amazingly well when you tense your shoulders slightly and curl forward in a standing position. Due to the strength curve, you will achieve maximum contraction of the biceps in the middle section of the movement, which also corresponds to the strongest position. However, do not curl the barbell too far up (towards the shoulders) as this will take the strain off the muscle.

4 - Rotate to give your biceps the rest

The biceps rotate the forearm and flex the arm. Forcing your biceps to do both will maximize stimulus, especially for the short head of the muscle (Staudenman et al. 2015).

5 - Sit down and stretch

Dumbbell incline bench curls are the ultimate building exercise when it comes to the short muscle head of the biceps. The hyperextended shoulder position stretches the long muscle head (Oliveira et al. 2009), which means that the short muscle head has to do extra work.

How should you train your biceps?

Taking all of these techniques into consideration, you should bombard your biceps with multi-joint exercises and then target each of the two muscle heads with a specific exercise selection.

• Use heavy weights to maximally activate your biceps and train the type II muscle fibers. Stick to the tried and tested and perform the majority of your exercises with a 3 to 8RM weight.
• You should start your bicep training with pull-ups with an underhand grip. Over time, you will be able to increase the weight continuously.
• Train the long muscle head of the biceps with standing barbell curls. Make sure you go to at least 90 degrees of elbow flexion and squeeze your biceps as hard as possible. Allow your shoulders to flex naturally as you curl, rather than limiting the weight by keeping your arms at your sides.
• Perform dumbbell incline bench curls last. Start the exercise with your palms facing your body and turn your palms upwards during the curl movement.

Tip: Stop thinking in terms of body types

Endomorph, ectomorph, mesomorph: stupid type designations from the 1940s that were never intended for exercisers. Here's the real story

By Chris Colucci

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-stop-labeling-your-body-type

A system of built-in excuses and apologies

A somatype is one of three labels people like to use to describe themselves. Fat people who say they have trouble losing weight claim to be endomorphs, skinny people who say they have trouble gaining weight claim to be ectomorphs, and the lucky ones who say they can build muscle no matter what they do call themselves mesomorphs.

It's a popular system of categorization because it seems so clear-cut. If you look like so and so, then you are called so and so and you have these inherent disadvantages, which means you need to train and diet accordingly. This is why this concept is so appealing to exercisers. It's a system of built-in excuses. "Oh, I'm ectomorphically inclined, which is why it's not my fault that I'm 180 cm tall and only weigh 65 kilos. I have something like a serious medical condition."

The big problem

The problem is that these three categories were originally described in the early 1940s by Dr. William Sheldon, who used them as a way to assess people's personalities based on their general appearance. These categories had nothing to do with improving physical appearance. Scheldon's work was based on the earlier research of Dr. Ernst Kretschmer, who attempted to establish a link between physical appearance and behavior in the 1920s. Kretschmer basically believed that fat people tend to be happier and that thin people are most often nervous. The more "extreme" the physical appearance was, the more extreme the personality should be. Yes, the whole thing was just as accurate as it sounds.

This is the problem with exercisers who are all too quick to categorize themselves with these labels. This concept simply has no real connection to how you should train and eat in the real world.

Perhaps it's a mental reassurance for the underweight novice to "know" that Frank Zane was also ectomorphically inclined and still managed to win three Mr. Olympia titles. Maybe the flabby rookie looks at Mr. Olympia winner Jay Cutler and thinks "Wow, if that endomorph can build that much muscle and get that lean, so can I."

But neither exerciser will accomplish anything until they stop using psychological terms to influence their physical preparation. Get rid of these labels and see yourself as an individual.

No more labels

If you are 180 cm tall and weigh 65 kilos, you don't have to eat like an ectomorph. You need to eat like a tall, slim person who is trying to gain weight. Maybe you have a fast metabolism (a stereotypical ectomorph trait) but maybe not. Want an easy way to find out? Eat a certain amount of food for a week. If you don't gain weight, then eat more during the next week.

On the other hand, if you are 170 cm tall and weigh 110 kilos, then you are not endomorphic. You're just a fat guy. Get rid of your excuses and take care of your diet. It's simple physiology. A fat person can become a lean person by training with weights plus cardio plus smart nutrition. There's nothing endomorphic about it.

All ectomorphs or endomorphs who have become successful bodybuilders have a few things in common:

1. They train damn hard
2. They eat intelligently
3. They have kept both up for a long time

It's amazing how these three simple steps can magically overcome any unflattering somatype.

Tip: Optimize your warm-up

Here are 5 ways to improve your warm-up and get better results with heavy workouts

By Charles Staley

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-optimize-your-warm-up

A good warm-up can positively impact your entire workout. A poor warm-up is a waste of time and can even affect your performance during the actual training session. I have 5 rules for a perfect warm-up:

1 - Skip the general warm-up

Traditionally, the warm-up consists of the general warm-up like 10 minutes of running on the treadmill before squats and the specific warm-up - lighter sets that prepare you for the working weights of the day. But unless you're an 85-year-old arthritis patient preparing to use your max weight on snatches and deadlifts at 6 a.m. on a cold winter day, you should skip the general stuff and get right down to business.

While general warm-up activities may indeed "warm you up", they don't allow you to repeat the technical skills of the exercise you're warming up for. So it's better to kill two birds with one stone. For example, if you're warming up for squats, you can start with a bodyweight exercise or light goblet squats to warm up your knees. Then take the bar on your back and start preparing for the main event.

2 - If your warm-up weights are still light, don't rest 3 to 5 minutes between sets like you do with your heavy sets

This is just a waste of time and leads to distraction and procrastination. Or use the time between these early warm-up sets to stretch or work with the foam roller.

3 - Your last warm-up set should be a preparation set

Its sole purpose is to close the gap between your last warm-up set and your first work set. Here is an example of a squat training session:

• 20 x 5
• 45 x 5
• 65 x 5
• 90 x 3
• 110 x 1
• 130 x 1
• 155 x 1
• 170 x 1 (preparation set)
• 190 x 1 (working set)

4 - Mix your warm-up sets for the next exercise with the working sets of your current exercise

Example: If you're currently doing deadlifts and your next exercise is pull-ups with additional weight, then there's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't do a couple of light sets of pull-ups between your final working sets of deadlifts - you'll end up using completely different muscle groups. In this case, when you're done with deadlifts, you can move straight on to your pull-up work sets.

5 - Combine exercises intelligently

This is not a warm-up tactic in the purest sense, but it will reduce your warm-up time. Arrange your exercises so that each exercise becomes a warm-up for the exercise that follows.

An example from the field of weightlifting would be a training session consisting of reps, followed by pulls, followed by deadlifts. A trainee who moves a maximum of 125 kilos when repositioning can start their pull with 135 kilos and start their deadlift with 155 kilos. Similarly, previously performed pull-ups can reduce or eliminate the warm-up sets for curls and bench presses can eliminate the need to warm up for triceps exercises.

Tip: Take on this 9 minute fat loss challenge

Burn fat with this swing & clap finisher

By Chad Waterbury | 05/07/16

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-take-the-9-minute-fat-burning-challenge

What is a finisher?

A finisher is an intense exercise or combination of exercises that stimulates all major muscle groups to produce the highest possible metabolic cost. Basically, it's the longest 10 minutes of your life. And as the name implies, a finisher should be performed at the end of your training session. There are two reasons for this.

Firstly, your available energy stores are much lower after a strength training session. This depletion generates the ideal time to increase energy requirements as your metabolism will trigger a release of hormone-sensitive lipase in the adipocytes to provide this energy. In German, this means that you can stimulate a lot of fat burning at the end of a training session.

Secondly, if you've done a finisher correctly, you won't want to do anything else afterwards. A finisher should be exhausting to the point of nausea and even if you feel a little sick for a few minutes afterwards, you can be proud of the fact that you've revved up your fat burning machine.

Kettlebell swings and push-ups with hand claps.

This combination is popular because all you need is a kettlebell. You can do it almost anywhere. This is a 30/20/10 double countdown. Look at the work and rest intervals and you'll know why.

1. Start with as many kettlebell swings as you can do in 30 seconds and then rest for 30 seconds.
2. Then do as many push-ups with clapping hands as you can do in 30 seconds and then rest for 30 seconds.
3. Then perform as many kettlebell swings as you can in 20 seconds and then pause for 20 seconds.
4. Then do as many push-ups with clapping your hands as you can do in 20 seconds, followed by a 20-second rest.
5. Finish with 10 seconds of kettlebell swings, 10 seconds of rest and 10 seconds of push-ups while clapping your hands.
6. Pause for 30 seconds and repeat the whole sequence one more time.

Note: If you find push-ups with clapping your hands too difficult, start with regular push-ups.

Tip: Prepare this peanut butter & jelly parfait

Are you tempted to snack? Eliminate your cravings with a double portion of protein. Here's the recipe.

By Dani Shugart

It's easy to avoid junk food when the alternatives taste better. Turn that childhood sweet tooth into an adult dessert - one that will fuel your growth.

Ingredients:

• 2 scoops of vanilla flavored protein powder
• ½ scoop defatted peanut butter powder
• 1 cup of rolled oats
• 1 cup of water
• ½ cup Splenda or a sweetener of your choice
• ¼ cup chopped pecans
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 heaping cup of fresh or frozen berries
• Optional: coconut flakes or flakes

Directions

1. Mix everything together except the berries.
2. Layer this mixture with berries in a jar
3. Sprinkle with coconut flakes if desired
4. Chill the dessert in the fridge for a few hours

Makes 2 small or one large portion.

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-build-biceps-with-science-backed-methods

From Adam Bentley