How to increase biceps volume - the best exercises for biceps mass

How to pump up 40 cm biceps?

The first and most important rule is that your arms will only grow from hard training with iron.
There are no other options to gain muscle mass (not fat!). However, you should not grab heavy weights from the start. A fatal mistake for beginner naturalists is using overly heavy shells. In pursuit of large weights, athletes always make many mistakes in technique. Performing exercises with unbearable weights leads to constant cheating and “involvement” of the muscles of the back, chest, and legs. This will not affect arm hypertrophy in any way, but it will easily lead to unpleasant consequences in the form of cramps, sprains, dislocations and fractures.

Muscular, voluminous arms are formed step by step. Sometimes this takes years. If a beginner came to the rocking chair with thin “matches” of 25 cm, then he will not reach a straight arm volume of 40 cm in a year or even less time.

It is worth noting the fact that the training of each athlete is individual. There is no template program that will work for everyone. Blindly copying the training splits of the “pros” has never brought much success to anyone. The best coach of any athlete is himself. By feeling their muscles, athletes, through trial and error, determine which exercises work for them and which do not bring much benefit.

It's time to find out what exercises to pump up your biceps using only free weights - barbells and dumbbells. So, meet the top 5 exercises to increase biceps!

There are various equipment that can change the shape and position of the workout. Some machines allow you to reduce the load on the rest of your body or perform a stationary workout while increasing the resistance. Whatever you use, resistance is most important because it is weight and resistance that pushes the boundaries of the muscles and causes them to repair and grow.

Pumping up your biceps with a barbell and dumbbells is the most productive solution, since these equipment provide the most powerful biceps workout. But do not forget that performing these exercises requires maximum concentration and precise technique to avoid injury.

Standing barbell lift

If you want to grow your biceps and look like a tank, regular barbell curls are the best biceps exercise. Regardless of the working weight, when you curl your arms, the body will use all of the biceps muscles and some of the forearm muscles. Standard lifts force the arm to work in relative isolation from the back and shoulders, but under one condition - it is performed without cheating.

It is common to see your body swaying during exercise, but this should be avoided if you want a more effective workout. It is necessary to remain motionless, bending your elbows and not moving your upper body. Perform the lift while holding the barbell with both hands. Hold the weight with your palms facing outward and let the bar rest on your hips so that your arm is fully extended downward.

Alternating dumbbell raises

This exercise falls somewhere between the hammer curl and the regular sit-up. It is simple and yet very effective for those who want to increase their biceps. Instead of doing a one-arm curl using both biceps, or lifting two separate dumbbells at the same time, alternating curls allow you to focus the intensity of your workout on each biceps individually.

Often your body will also swing during this exercise, so keep your elbows close to your body. Start in the starting position of regular raises (arms fully straightened at your sides, palms facing your body. As soon as the dumbbell passes along the body, turn your arm so that your palms are facing you.

Hammer style curls

While much of the focus here is on the biceps, some muscle groups in the forearm will also be worked. The thing is that the emphasis in this exercise is on lifting with rotation, which also includes the brachialis and brachioradialis muscles of the forearm.

Starting position: stand straight, arms extended along the body, palms facing inward. The elbows remain pressed to the body, the shoulders are motionless. Without rotating the dumbbells and forearms, lift the weight to the point where the weight almost touches the shoulder of your working arm. Imagine that you are swinging a hammer, because that is why the exercise got its name.

Bent-over barbell row

We suggest you read How to quickly gain weight at home

How to increase biceps? Just like other muscles, the principle will be the same: resistance stimulates muscle growth, and more weight means more resistance. You can add more weight to your biceps workout: Bent-over rows allow you to double the weight of a regular dumbbell or barbell curl.

Take a straight barbell with a reverse grip, hands shoulder-width apart. Remove the weight from the racks (or lift the barbell off the floor) to a standing position. Once the weight is at the top, bend over until your back is almost parallel to the floor. Don't round your back or strain your lower back while lifting. Bent over, lift the barbell until it touches your stomach, keeping your elbows close to your body. Lower the bar to the starting position without fully straightening your arms and repeat.

Pull-ups

Not all pull-ups will help you get bigger biceps, only close-grip pull-ups will. While bicep curls or rowing can give you a wonderful workout, actually lifting your own body weight, say 70 kilograms, is quite a challenge for your back and your biceps. And pull-ups with a narrow grip focus the load on the biceps.

You can use any type of crossbar. Grasp it with a narrow grip, palms facing you and located at a distance of 15 cm from each other. Pull yourself up and keep your legs straight/crossed so they don't touch the floor. It is important to achieve a position where your chin is above the bar and your arms are fully bent. Maintain tension in your muscles as you lower and don't relax at the bottom of the rep.

Let's rest our hands

By constantly working your hands, you don't give them a chance to grow. The arm muscles are small and easy to overwork. Give your arms the rest they need so you can work them harder later.

The good news is that creating strong and beautiful hands is not as difficult as you might think. The fact is that almost any exercise for the muscles of the upper body requires the participation of the arms. And if you intensively work the muscles of the upper body, then your arms are trained at the same time. Thus, we recommend that you do only one workout per week specifically for your arms and, if desired, combine it with a shoulder or chest workout.

Don't push yourself to the limit during your workout, just have a good feeling!

Exercises to increase arm volume

To make your arms 40 cm in volume, you need to gradually but regularly increase the working weights. Therefore, the basic training plan for the muscles of the upper limbs will remain unchanged for many years.

The main biceps exercises are standing barbell curls and dumbbell hammer curls. They must be practiced regularly with constant addition of training weight. You can “finish off” the muscles at the end of the workout each time with new isolating exercises: curling your arms on a Scott bench, concentrated lifting of dumbbells, bending your arms on a lower block (bent or cable handle), alternating bending your arms with dumbbells.

Bench press with a narrow grip and dips on the uneven bars are the basis for the triceps. These are the exercises that should always be included in every arm workout. You can experiment with the end of the workout, just like when working on biceps, by adding a variety of isolations: arm extension with dumbbells while standing on an incline, extension at a vertical block, or extension of arms over your head.

Biceps and triceps training must be combined into one workout using alternating methods. The arm muscles are made up of different types of fibers. Some of them respond to pumping, others to strength work. Periodization of exercises on individual muscle bundles will achieve maximum hypertrophy. Such approaches will most effectively increase endurance, improve muscles and allow you to make arms with a volume of 40 cm. Their essence is as follows (3 options):

First, exercises are performed in several sets for the triceps, then an exercise for the biceps. And so in a circle: again working on the triceps, and then returning to the biceps.
The athlete performs a triceps set, then rests as long as he needs, and then performs a biceps set.
Superset: one set of two exercises (biceps and triceps) that are performed consecutively without a rest pause or with a very short break of 15-20 seconds.

In order for all parts of the arms to develop harmoniously and proportionally, one should not forget about pumping up the forearms. This muscle group is worked by dumbbell curls, hammer curls, and barbell wrist curls.

At the end of the training process, after heavy weight exercises on the arms, it is recommended to do some stretching. She will not allow loss of mobility and stagnation in growth. Good quality stretching will relax, calm and accelerate muscle growth.

Although all of these exercises are designed to build bigger biceps, they should be part of your overall training program. If you want to build muscle, it would be a mistake to increase only the biceps, of course, the exception is the situation of imbalance in the body, when the biceps are significantly lagging behind.

If you have really weak muscles, load your biceps 1, maximum 2 times a week. These workouts will help you get the biceps you're looking for!

We suggest you read How to pump up your biceps with dumbbells - 4 best exercises

Rules for registration of additional work

In order to correctly process the additional payment, you need to correctly document the increase in the scope of work. Each stage involves drawing up a corresponding document.

Application for increasing the scope of work

The application is drawn up in a standard form: “header”, title, text itself, date and signature. Let's take a closer look at the list of information that needs to be included in the document:

Manager's position and place of work.
Full name of the head.
The employee's position and full name.
Title of the application (“on consent to perform the work”).
Request for an increase in the scope of responsibilities.
Content and scope of work, duration of their implementation.
Amount of surcharge.

At the end of the application there must be the position of the manager and his signature.

Service memo

Based on the application, a memo is drawn up. It is sent from the head of the company to the director. Let's consider the information that needs to be mentioned in the memo:

The title of the manager's position, his full name, and the name of the company.
The employee's position and full name.
Document's name.
A request to assign additional work to an employee and its justification (for example, one of the employees going on vacation).
A request for additional payment in the established amount.
The position of the sender of the note and his signature.

The form of the memo is also not established by law.

Order on the introduction of work and additional agreement

After receiving consent from the employee, an agreement should be drawn up, which is attached to the employment contract. The document contains the following information:

The content of the work.
The period of its introduction.
Amount of surcharge.

Based on this agreement, an order is drawn up. It contains the following data:

Name of the organization.
The name of the document and its number.
Date of preparation.
An order to assign additional work with reference to the relevant articles of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (in particular, articles 60.2, 151).
Manager's signature.

The employee must be familiarized with the order and signed. Without this, the document will not be valid.

Workout for Beginners

Barbell curl

2 approaches
8 reps
Body part: Biceps Equipment: Barbell

Alternating dumbbell curls while standing

2 approaches
12 reps
Body part: Biceps Equipment: Dumbbells

Hammer grip dumbbell curls

1 approach
10-12 repetitions
Body part: Biceps Equipment: Dumbbells

* — The service is in beta testing

A large bicep should have a sharp peak and clear shape. What to do if your biceps are not growing - read our article.

How to determine the amount of surcharge?

The amount of additional payment is determined, as a rule, on the basis of an oral agreement between the employer and employee. The legality of the agreement between participants in the labor process is established by part 2 of article 151 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. When calculating the amount, the following factors are taken into account:

Content and scope of new responsibilities (Article 151 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
Qualification of the employee, complexity of the work, volume of work and its conditions (Articles 129, 132 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
The obligation to introduce equal pay for work of equal value (paragraph 6, part 2, article 22 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

The surcharge can be entered either as a flat amount or as a percentage. The law is silent on the exact amount of (minimum/maximum) remuneration.

Biceps workout for intermediate level

Barbell curl

3 approaches
8 reps
Body part: Biceps Equipment: Barbell

Reverse grip pull-ups

2 approaches
repeat until failure
Body Part: Lat Equipment: Bodyweight

Hammer grip dumbbell curls

2 approaches
10 reps
Read also: Gain muscle mass quickly - taking steroids
Body part: Biceps Equipment: Dumbbells

Alternating dumbbell curls while standing

2 approaches
12 reps
Body part: Biceps Equipment: Dumbbells

* — The service is in beta testing

If you have already worked your whole body, it’s time to move on to real “male” loads! Do this advanced biceps workout.

Fanaticism is not our friend

Exercises are different from exercises.

Your goal is to sculpt your figure by building muscle mass, so you shouldn’t train like a man, spending days in the gym.

You should temporarily reduce your cardio training - no more than two runs per week for 20 minutes. Otherwise, the muscle tissue will be “burnt.”

Important!

Experts do not advise eliminating “cardio” altogether: it supports the heart and trains endurance.

What else will help?

1. The ability to relax and get good sleep. Muscles repair and grow during sleep.

2. Setting specific goals: results are easier to achieve and control.

Expert commentary

Vladimir Patshin, master trainer

If you decide to take care of your body and gain muscle mass, then you are already halfway to success, it’s time to take action. To achieve your goal, you need a clear plan and an understanding that you will need to change a lot in your life.

First, let's decide on the direction of training. Which is preferable for you:

traditional training in the gym or new technologies, such as EMS (electrical stimulation training).

In both cases, it is necessary to draw up the correct program; it is advisable to entrust this mission to a professional, i.e. a qualified trainer, and not a sports neighbor in the stairwell. You can safely check whether you have a specialized education and a supporting document. The specialist will choose exercises and appropriate nutrition that suit your body’s needs.

At the initial stage, you should not rush to all the exercise machines; accustom yourself and your body to new loads. Use basic exercises for two or more muscle groups. The compiled program can be worked out both in a regular gym and in EMS studios.

What are the differences?

In the amount of time for studying. 20 minutes of EMS training is equal to 2-3 hours in the gym. Unfortunately, precisely because of the short duration of the workout, EMS is unfairly considered fitness for the lazy, but EMS is a technology that has spread throughout the world: an electrical impulse allows you to work out deep muscles, thereby accelerating the process of achieving results.

By the way, you can safely combine both areas of training, but without fanaticism. Train no more than 3-4 times a week in the gym (depending on the training program), on an EMS simulator - no more than 2-3 times a week.

Nutrition

Without receiving the necessary building elements for muscle growth and body functioning, you will not make progress. Don’t make the main mistake of thinking that for muscle growth you need a lot of consumed kcal, all excess will be stored in fat depots! For maximum quality gain, you do not need to exceed by more than 500 calories the mark that the body spends on its vital functions. You can figure out how to build a correct and competent diet for muscle growth yourself, or contact a specialist in this field. It's up to you, again, to decide.

Rest and sleep

Without proper recovery and quality sleep, you will also not make progress. Muscle growth happens in the rest phase, not in the training room, where you just push growth, shock the muscles and force them to become stronger and fuller. Allow at least 7-8 hours for sleep and eat regularly.

Only by adhering to these three basic rules in combination will you be able to achieve your goal!

Women can build muscle while maintaining the basic elements of strength training, so don't train to the point of exhaustion like a champion powerlifter.

Biceps workout for advanced

Alternating dumbbell curls while standing

3 approaches
12 reps
Body part: Biceps Equipment: Dumbbells

Bent-over dumbbell row

3 approaches
8 reps
Body part: Middle back Equipment: Dumbbells

Reverse grip pull-ups

3 approaches
repeat until failure
Body Part: Lat Equipment: Bodyweight

Barbell curl

3 approaches
10,8,6 repetition
Body part: Biceps Equipment: Barbell

Hammer grip dumbbell curls

2 approaches
10 reps
Body part: Biceps Equipment: Dumbbells

* — The service is in beta testing

Method 28

Most athletes are already familiar with the classic method of increasing biceps volume using the 21 system, which was popularized by bodybuilding legend Arnold Schwarzenegger. Almost every young athlete has used it to increase muscle mass in their biceps.

We have developed a new method - 28, which is based on method 21. The main goal of the method: creating more tension in your muscles

If you don't know, method 21 followed this principle:

1. You perform 7 partial range reps. From full extension of the arms to the point when the forearms are parallel to the floor.

2. Then 7 partial repetitions from the middle until the full range of motion is completed. Finally, you'll finish with 7 more reps using a full range of motion. For a total of 21 repetitions.

Technique for performing method 28

The exercise can be performed sitting, standing, or on a Scott bench (using either a barbell, dumbbell, or EZ bar), without resting between reps:

1. Perform 7 partial reps through a partial range of motion to mid-range of motion.

2. Perform 7 repetitions in the full range, holding in the middle of the range for 7 seconds.

3. 7 repetitions from the middle to the end of the amplitude

4. 7 repetitions in full amplitude without delay in the middle.

Using these 4 methods, you can vary your workouts, which will provide a good workout for your arm muscles. Thus, you will achieve an increase in biceps volume.

Related article: “One-arm dumbbell row”

The best exercises for arm muscles Choose your type of nutrition to achieve results faster!

Nutrition for weight gain Nutrition for weight loss

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Create your personal training program:

Workout for Beginners

Barbell curl

2 approaches
8 reps
Body part: Biceps Equipment: Barbell

Alternating dumbbell curls while standing

2 approaches
12 reps
Body part: Biceps Equipment: Dumbbells

Hammer grip dumbbell curls

1 approach
10-12 repetitions
Body part: Biceps Equipment: Dumbbells

* — The service is in beta testing

Methods for calculating the optimal volume

The second direction of practical use of such an indicator as the volume of goods produced is the optimization of the enterprise from the point of view of the business model. How to determine the optimal production volume? This can be done in several ways. In the Russian economic school there are two main ones. The first is based on working with gross indicators.

The second is based on a comparison of figures belonging to the limit category. In this case, calculations are carried out, as a rule, for each type of goods produced by the factory. It also implies that the company strives to maximize profits during the analyzed period. Another calculation factor: the optimal values for two parameters are identified - price and production volume itself. It is assumed that other elements of the factory's operations remain unchanged.

Nutrition for gaining muscle mass

No matter how hard an athlete works out, no matter how strictly he follows all the rules for gaining muscle mass, it is unlikely and almost impossible to “accelerate” his arm to 40 cm without a properly formulated diet.

The body must receive sufficient amounts of proteins, fats and carbohydrates for muscle growth. Just like with training, there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to nutrition. It will be different for everyone, depending on their goals, body characteristics and taste preferences.

Lean, wiry athletes who lack just a little arm size to achieve success need to focus on carbohydrate foods to compensate for the loss of energy costs. Athletes who are prone to obesity should, on the contrary, eat more dietary meat, fish and eggs in order to build up muscle cells in the arms to a volume of 40 cm of protein. But the food consumption plan should be equally fractional for everyone: at least 6 meals a day in small portions.

Eat well and fully

You are not a girl in adolescence, so your meals should be hearty. There is no point in increasing the size of your arms if your overall weight does not change. As a rule, for every extra centimeter you gain on your arms, you need to gain 2 kg of muscle mass. Eat 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight, 3-4 grams of carbohydrates and 0.5 grams of fat. Stick to this diet for 5 days and then change it up for 2 days by cutting your carbs to 1g per pound of body weight and doubling your fat intake.

This will ensure that you don't develop insulin resistance, which will keep your body stressed. People with poor carbohydrate tolerance (you know if this applies to you) can follow a diet that is 5 days low carb and 2 days high carb. At the same time, high protein intake is maintained. In terms of fluids, you should consume a liter of water for every 20 kg of body weight per day, so an 80 kg athlete will need about 5 liters of water per day. If your workouts are in hot, humid areas, drink more fluids during your workout. Study the site for more information about the principles of nutrition for weight and do your own experiments.

Biceps workout for intermediate level

Barbell curl

3 approaches
8 reps
Body part: Biceps Equipment: Barbell

Reverse grip pull-ups

2 approaches
repeat until failure
Body Part: Lat Equipment: Bodyweight

Hammer grip dumbbell curls

2 approaches
10 reps
Body part: Biceps Equipment: Dumbbells

Alternating dumbbell curls while standing

2 approaches
12 reps
Body part: Biceps Equipment: Dumbbells

* — The service is in beta testing

Sales volume factor

One of the methods simultaneously calculates production and sales volumes. In other cases, the condition is allowed that the total number of goods produced is equal to the number of samples sold. That is, sales dynamics do not matter. Whether or not to take into account the corresponding criterion depends on the type of enterprise and the specifics of the business. For example, if we are talking about retail in the consumer goods segment, then marketers, as a rule, still take into account such a factor as sales dynamics. If, for example, an enterprise assembles military equipment to order in accordance with existing contracts, the pace of implementation is usually of secondary importance.

Biceps workout for advanced

Alternating dumbbell curls while standing

3 approaches
12 reps
Body part: Biceps Equipment: Dumbbells

Bent-over dumbbell row

3 approaches
8 reps
Body part: Middle back Equipment: Dumbbells

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Reverse grip pull-ups

3 approaches
repeat until failure
Body Part: Lat Equipment: Bodyweight

Barbell curl

3 approaches
10,8,6 repetition
Body part: Biceps Equipment: Barbell

Hammer grip dumbbell curls

2 approaches
10 reps
Body part: Biceps Equipment: Dumbbells

* — The service is in beta testing

What is muscle growth

Before moving on to the concept, let's look at the different types of trainings and what problems they solve:

Powerlifting. Work with very heavy weights, lots of rest between sets. Objective: to develop maximum strength and muscle power.
Weight-lifting. Work with lighter weights, little rest. Objective: to develop muscle endurance and rapid energy resynthesis.
Body-building. Something in between, moderately heavy weights, short rest periods between reps. Objective: growth of muscle mass.

So what is muscle growth? This is one of the ways our body adapts to strength training. When external conditions disturb the balance, the body is forced to change (adapt, adapt) in response. Let us list the indicators that begin to develop in our body:

Muscle energy (creatine phosphate, ATP and glycogen stores increase).
Nervous units (central nervous system and motor structures).
Coordination of muscle contraction (coordinated work of myofibrils and muscles as a whole).
Increase in the volume of contractile structures (number and size of myofibrils).

The types of adaptation listed are in order from easiest to most difficult. Those. First of all, muscle energy develops. At the same time, muscle growth (4th point) is the most energy-consuming adaptation (muscles need to be constantly fed, even at rest) and the least beneficial for our body.

Muscle growth is primarily an increase in the number and size of muscle cells (myofibrillar hypertrophy), and secondly an increase in muscle energy resources (sarcoplasmic hypertrophy).

Barbell exercise

The main thing for working out the biceps muscles is not weights, but the upper body lift. Just such a movement is the basic one in training.

From the starting position: level stance, lower limbs perpendicular to the shoulders, grip of the barbell slightly wider than the shoulder area, palms facing up.

The exercise starts from the top point. Slowly lower the bar down, and immediately, without relaxing, lift it up. Do not straighten your arms completely at the lowest point, so as not to reduce the load.

Limits

How to determine to what point it is advisable to increase production volume? The method that we also noted above will help us here. It involves studying the limits. Economists distinguish two main types of them: costs and income.

The basic rule that a business is recommended to adhere to is this: if the marginal amount of income (per unit of manufactured product) is higher than the maximum cost, then you can continue to increase production volume. But in practice, the profitability factor usually plays an important role in business. That is, the corresponding excess of income over costs should ensure, as an option, the company’s solvency for loans. In this case, the company will not be happy with zero profit, since it still pays some interest to the bank.

Bonus – chest workout without iron

You can get the sculpted look of a pumped-up chest without leaving your home. The main thing is to want it badly. Push-ups from the floor. Fifteen repetitions per set. Place your hands shoulder-width apart. Two minutes of rest between repetitions. The result is visible in two weeks. Alternative push-ups: lying position. After doing one push-up, place your right hand closer to your left, move it to the level of your left shoulder. We did push-ups.

Repeat on the left side and do a push-up. The exercise is not easy, but the effect of working it out is stunning. Push-ups with narrow arms: hold a twenty-centimeter-high bar under one arm. From a lying position, lift your body until your arms are level. Apply the beam to the other hand, do the same.

Perform four sets of fifteen push-ups. Narrow grip on the beam. From a prone position. Number of approaches - four; fifteen times. In four weeks, you will pump up your breasts and get sculpted contours. Jumping with hands. From the starting position, lying flat. They placed their hands on the beam. Push-ups with replaceable support. While lifting the body, we remove our hands to the floor and vice versa. Make sudden movements with your hands.

How to pump up the lower chest

Parallel push-ups work the entire body. They can be used especially effectively to pump the outer part of the chest muscles and the lower part, which is important for maintaining the proportionality of the development of parts of the chest.

To avoid injury during training, you need to perform movements as smoothly and slowly as possible. Beware of bending your arms more than ninety degrees. It is important to listen to the recommendations when working with your own heavy weight or with increased weight.

When working with heavy weights, you must first perform push-ups with your own weight, and only then do the exercise with increased weight slowly and stick to a short range of motion. Keep control of the pace of the exercise.