cyberheater

I've stopped doing direct bicep work. I do between 2 to 3 full body workouts a week with suitable rest periods after a 4-5 week cycle (dual factor training) and i've basically stopped doing any arm curls etc...

I find that after i've done my seated chins and seated cable rows, my biceps feel sufficiently hammered. Certainly, it's the biceps that give up first when doing these exercises rather then my back.

My biceps are growing. Am I mad. Am I short changing myself?

TH&S

Nope. I rarely do direct Bi work. After deads and rowing 120kgs (Palms Facing) my Bi's are shot.

I wish I could say I had massive arms - I don't - but I've added 1.5" to my arms naturally in a year without any real direct Bi work.

As ever if it works - dont stop.

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D: 220 | B: 110 | S: 170 | Target: 550

d@n

i could never get way with not doing any direct arm work, i didnt do any for years as i bought into the whole brawn thing and now im paying the price i may even start training them twice a week.
i think some people can get away with it but not most, the only way to find out is to give it a go

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Captain Hero

I know a lot of people dont do direct bicep work and they have big arms, just the big movements as Tall said.

Baz doesnt directly train his forearms but they are like popeye just to give you an example

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TH&S

Interesting.

I can never understand why people want to train a small half the size of a tin of beans twice per week and yet will happily do back (which is 70% of you upper body) once per week...

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D: 220 | B: 110 | S: 170 | Target: 550

d@n

i can see your point but i think the % of the body a muscle happens to be is irelavent, if its falling behind your doing something wrong.

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cyberheater

Thanks guys. Certainly, once i've done my chins (slowly) and my seated rows (palms facing) my bi's are pretty shot and they don't seem to be lagging behind any other body part.

TH&S

Thats one of the key issues with training naturally though - only those with amazing genetics and years of training will get large arms...

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D: 220 | B: 110 | S: 170 | Target: 550

d@n

i think its mostly to do with arm length as if mine where 2" shorter we probably wouldnt be having this discussion lol.

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TH&S

I'm 6ft 6" buddy... I feel your pain...

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D: 220 | B: 110 | S: 170 | Target: 550

cyberheater

I'm 6ft 6in (in the morning at least) as well. I know i'd have to put a huge amount of muscle on to even look big but when I do. I'll look like a monster

wogihao

Problem is recently its become the in thing to say "i dont directly train my biceps" in the same way people used to say "i dont do squats, they make your glutes big.."

usualy the guys that dont directly train the arms end up with amorphous blobs for arms, where is the definition the detailing?

Theres nothing wrong with bicep curls ect, lol if it was good enough for generations of bodybuilders then its good enough for me.

as long as theres a comprimise between the heavy compounds and isolation movements then your golden but to neglect one or the other seems flawed.

I apreciate that some of you may have build impressive arms without direct work (rare but nether the less possible) however i predect a group of 18%+ bf hitters/dc'ers showing me a 18" arm of mainly fat. Show me the evidence that it works and i beleve you but the guys that built enormous arms all did isolation and direct bicep work. why would you doubt this?

Also even somthing so derided as a bicep or barbell curl can be made to become a compound if you want to, for years a series of cheat curl sets were used by champions to build fantasic arms but this has falen into neglect due to a change in marketing in the magazines.

So in conclusion, i would say its a combination of compound movments and a series of isolation movements that make a truely good arm.

Aftershock

I don't directly train biceps anymore and they are not lagging, but then again the never have been. I don't train them atm because it just doesn't fit into my current workout schedule and id rather spend time prioritizing other body parts that are lagging.

I wouldn't go as far as to say they don't need direct work but I would say that for most people (especially newby's) they are one of the most over trained body parts.

Most people would progress more by actually training them less and allowing them to recover more IMO.

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Aftershock

chrisj22

Brilliant post.

It's because it's cool & amazing to have big arms, that's why. There's a lad in the gym I go to who trains them about 3 times a week - I can't help but giggle when he wears his shorts every session & to see a pair of legs that have never done a squat.

I've seen more meat on a KFC drumstick.

It's also cool to have big arms when your out clubbing it on a Friday night.

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Con

I dont think so, i do one set for bi and one set for brachialis per week and i can tell NO difference to doing 20 sets twice per week besides not being bored as ****.