When I was the editor of Iron Man magazine, my training partner, Jonathan Lawson, and I did a number of photo shoots with master physique photographer Michael Nevuex…
Mike always said that Jonathan had the best drug-free arms he had ever photographed….
Jonathan’s biceps were big, thick and peaked—and, yes, he was often accused of using steroids. But he is lifetime drug-free.
So what’s the ideal exercise for mega-mountain peaks like JL’s? We both favored dumbbell or cable curls—instinct told us they did the most for our biceps…
And according to resistance-curve analysis and biomechanics experts Mr. America Doug Brignole, we were correct…
Doug favored alternating arms; we preferred simultaneous curling most of the time so that one arm didn’t rest while the other worked.…
Dumbbells and cable provide more freedom of movement and independent action as opposed to a barbell; however, cables get the #1 ideal award due to continuous tension—resistance doesn’t fall off at the top…
Best add on moves: Arnold-style concentration curls for the contracted position and incline curls for stretch…
CAUTION: While preacher curls can provide unique biceps stretch, they can be dangerous. Magnified resistance at the stretch point can rip the biceps tendon from the bone. If you do them, use a dumbbell with your working arm over an incline bench. The bench will stop the DB short of hyperextending your arm at the bottom.
NOTE: The ideal exercise identified and described in the past few newsletters—and ones coming up—are NOT the result of my genius. They come from Mr. America and biomechanics expert Doug Brignole…
His analytic brilliance helped me understand how these exercises are the best of the best for getting the most mass bang for your effort buck…
To prove it, he won the 2019 AAU Drug-Free Mr. Universe at age 59, using only ONE IDEAL EXERCISE for each muscle group…
For more on his training and how it evolved—including sets, reps, ideal exercises and more—see Never Stop Growing.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
Steve Holman
Former Editor in Chief, Iron Man Magazine
X-Rep.com
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