|
|
|
Back to Basics: Building Biceps Mass with Barbell Curls |
|
|
|
|
Written by Stephen E. Alway, PhD, FACSM
|
|
Tuesday, 24 April 2007 |
Most bodybuilders start their training careers having a primary focus
of adding mass, thickness and peak to their biceps. Of course, after a
little experience under the weightlifting belt, it becomes clear that
other muscles must be built in parallel to the arms. Nevertheless,
biceps still hold an amazing allure, even for the most seasoned
athlete.
Huge biceps are usually regarded as a barometer for evaluating a
bodybuilder's overall condition among non-athletes and athletes alike.
For example, how many times have you been asked to flex your arm to
show the condition of your weight-trained body? Even in bodybuilding
competitions, the biceps are evaluated by the judges in virtually every
pose.
Arms come in various sizes and shapes and each has its unique quality.
The shape of the arm and the degree of its peak will be determined to a
large extent by how long the muscle belly is relative to the length of
the tendon, and how many fibers are packed into the muscle.
With the amount of attention we normally give this comparatively
"little" muscle (little relative to muscles like the latissimus or
quadriceps), everyone should have a great upper arm. The truth, of
course, is that the great biceps owners have inherited much of their
structure and then worked extremely hard to maximize their God-given
potential. But what about the average citizen of this world who was not
born with a 22-inch upper arm? Well, there is hope, but as with all
good things, it will not necessarily be an easy road to build mammoth
upper arms.
One of the best places to begin developing huge, thick, biceps that are
dripping with veins is to go back to the basics from which your
training developed. Even with chromed and specialized machines galore,
the barbell curl is still among the best exercises that will fully
activate, and add size and density to, your upper arms. If you think
this is not the case, ask any Mr. Olympia from Larry Scott to Ronny
Coleman and you will discover that barbell curls constitute a critical
component of each man's off-season mass-building arm routine. The
bottom line is that you just can't beat barbell curls for developing
quality biceps mass.
Structure and Function
Arm mass is created by developing both biceps and brachialis muscles.
The biceps brachii muscle (biceps for short) has two ("bi") heads
("ceps"). The short head of the biceps brachii attaches to the anterior
part of the scapula (shoulder blade) near the shoulder and it runs down
the medial (inner) part of the humerus bone of the arm. It joins the
long head of the biceps brachii to form the thick bicipital tendon.
This tendon crosses the anterior side of the elbow and attaches to the
radius bone near the elbow. The long head of the biceps begins on the
supraglenoid tubercle of the scapula, which is a bony projection that
sits on the scapula just above the shoulder joint.
The long head of the biceps has a very long tendon that crosses the
shoulder joint and therefore, it is affected by shoulder position. For
example, the long head is mechanically advantaged when it is stretched,
such as when doing a curl with the arms held slightly back, but it is
de-emphasized with the arms brought forward during the same exercise.
The long head of the biceps sits on the lateral part of the arm and
along with the short head, it attaches to the radius bone by way of the
bicipital tendon. Because the muscle belly of the long head of the
biceps is actually rather short (it has a long tendon), thickening this
head will improve your arm's muscle peak more rapidly than thickening
the longer-bellied short head of the biceps. The enhanced peak from the
long head of the biceps will be most evident (especially at first) when
the flexed arm is viewed from a lateral side.
Both heads of the biceps muscle are strong flexors of the forearm.
However, because the biciptial tendon is attached to the radius bone,
(the most lateral forearm bone), the biceps is also a very strong
supinator of the hand (turns the palm toward the ceiling), if the hand
begins in a pronated position. This is because when the hand is
pronated, the radius sits on top of the ulna. When the biceps muscle
contracts, it pulls on the radius, too. It moves back into a position
where the radius lies beside, and not on top of, the ulna. This moves
the hand from a pronated to a supinated position.
The brachialis muscle lies deep to the biceps brachii. Unlike the
biceps, the brachialis takes its origins directly from the humerus
bone. It begins on the distal half of the humerus and it inserts on the
coronoid process of the ulna. The attachments of the brachialis do not
allow supination, but it is a very strong elbow (forearm) flexor. In
fact, some researchers attribute 60-70 percent of forearm flexion to
the strength of the brachialis muscle. Thickening the brachialis is
critical to adding overall arm flexor mass. However, just about any
exercise is effective at activating this muscle, because it is
recruited effectively no matter what the hand or elbow position is in
flexion exercises (i.e., curls).
Barbell Curls
1. Pick up a barbell with a shoulder-width grip. Your hands should be in a supinated position (palms facing upward).
2. Stand in front of a mirror to keep your form perfect. Keep the upper
arms (humerus bones) perpendicular to the floor and close to your side.
3. Flex your forearms so your hands move up to your shoulders. Try to
feel the biceps and brachialis explode as the weight is moved upward.
4. Slowly extend the elbow joint and lower the weight back toward your
thighs. Keep your upper arms close to the side of your body as the
weight is being lowered. Try to make this a controlled descent that
takes three to four seconds.
5. Place the weight on the floor or a weight rack when your set is
done, rest about 90 seconds, then start your weight upward for your
next set.
Training Tips
The tension in the biceps is reduced somewhat at the top position of
the barbell curl, when the elbow is fully flexed. One way to increase
the muscle activation at this position is to tense the biceps and
brachialis voluntarily. Simply squeeze the arm flexors hard for a count
of two or three at the top before controlling the decent of the weight.
This voluntary effort will provide a superior overload in the fully
flexed position, but it will also result in a very intensive and
fatiguing exercise. Therefore, add these squeeze repetitions to the
sets slowly. Another acceptable way to overload your biceps to push
through a few more repetitions at the end of each set is to add some
"cheat" curls. When you can no longer get the bar up due to fatigue,
you can use hip momentum to mildly swing or cheat the weight upward.
However, if you do a cheat curl to get the weight up, lower the weight
twice as slowly as you would normally. This will take advantage of the
eccentric effort and force the muscles to grow thicker and stronger
more rapidly than if you did not use the slow eccentric efforts at the
end of these sets.
Your brachialis muscle will be actively recruited regardless of your
hand position on the bar. However, the emphasis areas of the biceps
brachii can be affected by changing your hand position. For example, if
you use a grip that is wider than shoulder width (with arms back and
elbows at your sides) the angle of pull emphasizes the long head of the
biceps brachii. A close grip (i.e., hands four inches apart or closer)
places a greater emphasis on the short head of the biceps brachii.
Usually, you will be able to use more weight with the wider handgrip.
You might try imagining that your biceps are as big as mountains as you
are doing each curl upward. Recent research shows that there is
something to this mind-muscle link and imagining your goals can help to
improve your strength, so why not muscle size also? Arnold
Schwarzenegger used this technique and it is tough to argue with his
success. I wonder, though, how much this imagining technique was used
prior to his gubernatorial race? While I cannot promise that barbell
curls will develop mountainous biceps, you will find that returning to
this basic exercise will be a rewarding experience, as your arms get
fuller, thicker and denser. If you are also "squeezing" your arms at
the top of each repetition, you will find that your ability to control
and contract the biceps will be greatly improved and this will be
particularly helpful if a bodybuilding contest is in your future plans.
Adding mass to your upper arms is not easy to do. It's a slow and
sometimes painful process. Nevertheless, no matter where your arms are
at this point in time, your arm mass and thickness can be improved, and
the best way for this to occur is by returning to the basics of arm
training with heavy barbell curls.
References
Basmajian, J.V and C.J. DeLuca. Muscles Alive, 5th Ed. Baltimore, Williams & Wilkins, 1985, pp. 285-286.
Guevel, A., J. Y. Hogrel, and J. F. Marini. Fatigue of elbow flexors
during repeated flexion-extension cycles: effect of movement strategy.
Int J Sports Med, 21: 492-498, 2000.
Kulig, K., C. M. Powers, F. G. Shellock, and M. Terk. The effects of
eccentric velocity on activation of elbow flexors: evaluation by
magnetic resonance imaging. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 33: 196-200, 2001.
Nosaka, K. and K. Sakamoto. Effect of elbow joint angle on the
magnitude of muscle damage to the elbow flexors. Med Sci Sports Exerc,
33: 22-29, 2001.
Pearce AJ, Sacco P, Byrnes ML, Thickbroom GW and Mastaglia FL. The
effects of eccentric exercise on neuromuscular function of the biceps
brachii. J Sci Med Sport, 1: 236-244, 1998.
Rasch, P.J. Kinesiology and Applied Anatomy, Seventh edition. Philadelphia, London. Lea & Febiger, 136-150, 1989.
Ranganathan VK, Siemionow V, Liu JZ, Sahgal V and Yue GH. From mental
power to muscle power--gaining strength by using the mind.
Neuropsychologia, 42: 944-956, 2004
Seghers J and Spaepen A. Muscle fatigue of the elbow flexor muscles
during two intermittent exercise protocols with equal mean muscle
loading. Clin Biomech (Bristol, Avon), 19: 24-30, 2004.
|
|
Supp of the Month 