Dedicated to Your Physical Transformation
Q: I’ve seen lots of recommendations, even in some studies, for preacher curls as a great biceps builder. Where does it fall in Positions of Flexion? Is it a stretch exercise?
A: You do get some biceps elongation loading, but to fully stretch the biceps, the upper arm should be behind your torso, as in an incline curl… [Read more…]
Drug-Free Mr. Universe and biomechanics expert Doug Brignole was against using the preacher curl for biceps mass. [Read more…]
Q: I’ve always liked the feel of barbell curls over dumbbells. More control maybe? Are they really that inefficient? Should I go to dumbbells for better gains? [Read more…]
Most bodybuilders use palms-up curls to target the biceps and a neutral hammer grip to better activate the brachialis, the muscle that snakes under the biceps, as well as the brachioradialis, the muscle on top of the forearm.
A recent post by respected researcher Chris Beardsley may have us rethinking that conclusion and our biceps workouts… [Read more…]
Shoulder pain can make holding dumbbells at your sides painful. Such is my predicament…
That means alternate dumbbell curls are out as my ideal exercise. I cringe just thinking about it… [Read more…]
A few newsletters ago, I had photos of the first Mr. O Larry Scott in his prime and later in life after he decided to see if he could reshape his biceps—higher peak—by removing preacher curls from his arm workout and emphasize “peak-contraction” exercises. Results… [Read more…]
Mr. America and 2019 Drug-Free Mr. Universe Doug Brignole says that if you’re doing the ideal exercise for a muscle, you will train the majority of fibers throughout—even a two-headed muscle like biceps… [Read more…]
Q: I want to specialize on my arms now [while I’m training at home] so they look much more impressive. I’m hoping to really shock people the first time I wear a tank outside. My question is, using your arm-specialization programs [listed in X-traordinary Arms], is it okay to mix up the exercises. What I mean by that is do a biceps-peak exercise for midrange, then the stretch move followed by a contracted-position biceps exercise for width. I like the idea of training for width and peak/sweep at every workout rather than emphasizing one over the other at alternating workouts.
A: We always applaud experimentation. We believe it’s necessary for anyone interested in gaining the most muscle possible as quickly as possible. Your idea has merit because no matter what arm exercise you choose, you’ll affect all heads of the muscle to some degree. In other words, you can’t work the inner biceps head while the outer head takes a nap or vice versa; however, you can stress one over the other, as we explain in X-traordinary Arms. [Read more…]
Sergio Oliva’s monster mass, wasp waist, and incredible proportions are legendary—and his physique is still shocking, even by today’s over-drugged standards…
[Read more…]
In our Zen 3 newsletter, we talked about Arnold’s biceps peak and his full-range workout (POF: standing curls, incline curls, concentration curls).
But Arnold’s secret to eye-popping bi’s: He trained his brachialis muscles directly. Those lengthy muscles snake under the biceps and connect down on the forearm. When the brachialis are beefed up underneath, they push the biceps higher when flexed—sky-high peaks. [Read more…]
