Biceps is a shoulder muscle. Its main function is to flex the shoulder and forearm and evert the hand. The antagonist of the biceps is the triceps. He, in turn, is responsible for extending the arm. The biceps, or biceps muscle, affects the volume of the arm, which is an indicator of a man’s physical fitness and endurance, and this is where bodybuilding begins.
Home or gym?
This question is asked sooner or later by everyone who begins to lead a healthy lifestyle. It all depends on what goal the beginning athlete sets for himself. In order to simply keep your muscles in good shape, regular workouts at home and jogging in the mornings or evenings are enough.
However, if the goal is to achieve beautiful relief forms, “tubercles on the arms” and “cubes on the abs,” then there is no way to do without a variety of exercise machines - very important for thoroughly working out the muscles. The next very important advantage of the gym is the presence of partners, whose backup is simply necessary to perform any serious strength exercises on the machines.
The third and very important “pro” is a coach, a person who has already learned all the difficulties and mistakes of bodybuilding and now devotes time to beginners, sharing his experience and skills with them. It is the trainer who will tell you which exercises are most effective, which exercise machines are suitable for you, how to avoid mistakes in training, how to pump up your biceps and triceps, etc.
The fourth significant advantage of the gym is complete concentration on the process. No TV programs, hungry cat, phone calls or other household activities will distract you.
It should be borne in mind that not all financially accessible gyms have a sufficient variety of exercise equipment. If it has a couple of dumbbells, treadmills and boards for the press, then it is not worth attention at all, exercises in it will be little different from those at home. Doing push-ups, jogging through yards and doing pull-ups on horizontal bars will save you from queues and money costs. How to pump up biceps at home? The main thing is diligence and nutrition.
Training frequency and number of repetitions
- Depending on the individual characteristics of the body, the recovery period between biceps workouts can be from 2 to 4 days. The recovery period for biceps can be determined by noticing how long it takes for the muscles to completely stop hurting after training. Only after the pain has completely stopped can you start a new workout. As a rule, biceps are pumped 1-2 times a week.
- The biceps brachii muscle grows under the influence of an average number of repetitions of 8-12 times per set . Doing fewer repetitions by increasing the weight of the weight is not advisable, as this can lead to injury.
- When starting training, you need to do 1 approach, in the second month 2 approaches, and starting from the third month increase the number of approaches to three . This number is enough even for experienced athletes.
- In each biceps workout, you need to perform two exercises. The right set of exercises at home will provide a variety of muscle loads. And also for this, experienced athletes can change exercises every 3 workouts, and beginners every 5-10 sessions.
Alexandrova Anastasia
Nutrition and healthy lifestyle specialist and author of myfitnesblog.com. For many years, she has successfully helped women and men lose weight and maintain a beautiful figure.
By the way, about nutrition
The results of training largely depend not only on the quantity of training and its quality. Proper sports nutrition is the subject of a huge amount of controversy and research. However, one thing is clear - training without proper nutrition will not be effective enough.
Before starting classes, it is recommended to consume carbohydrates and proteins, but in no case fats. Carbohydrates are needed to provide the body with energy for exercise, while proteins are needed for the muscles themselves. Proteins are a kind of building material for fibers.
The most common foods to eat before a workout are:
- poultry with bread or rice;
- lean beef with potatoes (boiled or steamed);
- eggs and oatmeal.
If the portion is large, it is better to eat it a couple of hours before training so that the food has time to digest. The stomach must be empty during exercise, otherwise nausea, pain, and belching may occur. If the portion is small (half a plate of porridge), then you can eat it 30 minutes before training. In addition, before classes it is recommended to drink strong coffee or tea (without cream).
The body's main need during physical activity is water. It is very important not to forget to drink, even if you are not thirsty. Symptoms of dehydration may include: dizziness, headache, irritability, dry mouth, fatigue, etc. In this case, you should pause your workout for a few minutes and drink fluids.
Before starting your workout, you need to drink a glass of water, and then during the process you need to drink a little every twenty minutes, depending on your sweating. You can also drink freshly squeezed juices diluted with water.
Eating after a workout is very important. Everything that an athlete consumes in the first 20 minutes after exercise will go towards muscle recovery. They need carbohydrates and proteins for growth, because how can you pump up your biceps at home if you don’t eat everything you need?
It is best to drink some juice and eat rice with vegetables (or fruit, bread, potatoes, etc.).
A bodybuilder's diet should be low in fat. Fatty meats should be avoided. Fish, chicken and turkey breasts, sometimes veal are the best option; it is better to do without beef and pork. Only the white in eggs can be eaten. Depending on the goal that the student sets for himself, nutrition will vary. For weight gain - one diet, for relief - another.
What does biceps training do?
In bodybuilding, the biceps brachii muscles play not only an aesthetic role, but are also necessary for working in various deadlifts. The stronger your biceps, the more weight you can use to pump up your back. And, on the contrary, biceps that are lagging in strength do not allow you to use the weights necessary for training your back.
The biceps brachii muscles are trained not only by bodybuilders, but also by representatives of many sports where the arms are involved.
This is due to the work of the biceps in movements such as:
- various traction;
- jerks;
- pull-ups;
- climbing in mountaineering and applied sports;
- boxing punches, in which the biceps acts as a brake and prevents dislocation of the elbow joint;
- stabilization of the elbow during hitting and throwing sports equipment (ball, javelin, hammer, puck);
- stabilization during triceps work such as presses and cleans.
Why is warm-up necessary?
Before pumping up your biceps at home, you need to familiarize yourself with the basic rules. In no case should you forget about warming up before training. It allows you to speed up blood circulation, stretch your muscles and joints, preparing them for serious stress and protect them from injury.
The most common option is a general warm-up for all muscle groups.
It is performed before training in order to warm up the muscles and ligaments, as well as to improve the functioning of the respiratory organs and organs of the cardiovascular system.
It can be in the form of jogging or jumping rope, in the form of stretching or simple light exercises for the main muscle groups. Neglecting stretching is stupid and dangerous.
How to pump up biceps at home? It is quite difficult, so weights should be used to increase the effectiveness of the exercises. If it is not possible to use dumbbells at home, there are alternative options.
How to pump up your arms at home without dumbbells
Muscular arms, just like pumped up abs, make a huge impression on others. That is why their development is so important.
Developed biceps, triceps, shoulders, forearms - you are not born with them (unlike the calf muscles, the size of which is largely determined by genetics), this is achieved through long training.
The owners of fitness rooms know this, so everything there is equipped for convenient arm training.
But if you travel or work somewhere far away, you will have to use a trick. In addition to regular classes in the gym, you will need to do arm training without exercise equipment.
Luckily, there are a number of at-home arm exercises that you can do almost anywhere. They mainly use your own body weight.
To understand how to build up arm muscles at home without dumbbells, you need to study the anatomy of the arms and understand what makes them what they are.
Push-ups and pull-ups
Another way to pump up your biceps without dumbbells is to do pull-ups from the floor. A rather unusual exercise, but no less effective, is pulling up from the floor using a table and chair. To perform it, you should lie under the table and put your feet on a stool or chair. Then grab the edges of the table from below and slowly pull yourself up.
Push-ups are a classic exercise that must be performed with your hands shoulder-width apart. The back should be straight, not sagging. You should lower yourself deeply, preferably touching the floor with your chin. This exercise also works the triceps and pectoral muscles.
For this exercise, options are possible: push-ups on fists, push-ups on one hand, the main thing is not to make sudden movements. The muscle works when the load is high, and the load increases when the exercise is performed slowly.
Reverse grip biceps pull-ups
This is my favorite exercise after the deadlift.
Here, as in regular pull-ups, the back works. But thanks to a different grip, a lot of the load falls on the biceps.
I have always believed that pull-ups are better than dumbbell curls due to the inclusion of more weight (your own body weight) and a greater range of motion.
This is another exercise that can be difficult for beginners, so some modifications are given below. But if you think you can handle it, here are the instructions:
- Grasp the bar with both hands. The grip width is narrower than shoulder width. Palms pointing towards you.
- Do not relax your abs and buttocks so that your body in profile resembles a straight line.
- During execution, bring your shoulder blades together and, as it were, pull them down.
- When your chin reaches the bar, stop and slowly lower yourself down.
Lightweight options:
- Negative pull-ups
- Isometric holds on the horizontal bar
Complicated option:
- Regular grip pull-ups
- Bicep pull-ups with weights
Barbell exercises
The first way is to lift the barbell while standing. You should stand straight, with your feet shoulder-width apart. Bend your back slightly in the lumbar region. Then, bending and straightening your elbows, you need to lift the barbell to chest level. When gripping, your palms should face forward. Be sure to ensure that your elbows remain in the same position. Perform movements without jerking, smoothly.
The second way is to lift the barbell with a reverse grip. A similar exercise compared to the previous one, allowing you to use slightly different muscle groups. The only difference is that the grip should be reversed, palms facing down.
How to pump up your biceps with dumbbells?
Sitting on a stool, your legs should be spread slightly to the sides. The hand with the dumbbells is placed between the legs. Then slow flexion and extension of the elbow begins, arms alternate. Bending is done while exhaling. The second version of this exercise - the hand rests on the thigh, the technique is the same.
While sitting on a stool, spread your legs not very wide. Dumbbells should be taken in both hands, lowered to the right and left from the outside. Then the elbows slowly bend and straighten, and the dumbbells are raised to chest level. The second version of this exercise is alternate bending of arms.
