Charles Poliquin November 15th 2017 Here are the top 5 biceps training mistakes that so many people make with their training from strength coach Charles Poliquin: 1 . Training biceps with only the supinated grip Most of the time, biceps training only includes curls with a supinated grip. Yes, that is great for isolating the biceps brachii, however to achieve the largest arms you need to vary your grip orientation and include curling exercises with a palms down grip (pronated), and a neutral grip (thumbs up). So when you do plan an arm routine make sure to do some pronated curls also known as reverse, that will get the brachialis to work harder, and some neutral curls to make the brachioradialis do a great portion of the work. 2 . Avoiding Pull-Ups and Chin-up Chin-ups and pull-ups are the foundation of building large muscular arms. When proper training used to matter, about 30 years ago…, any of the large arm bodybuilders such as Sipes, Schwarzenegger, Coe, and Robinson were staunch advocates of chin-ups to build the base of mass and strength for their arms. 3. Using only one grip width Most likely you do standing barbell and always use the same grip. When you change the width of the grip you alter the degree of rotation in the upper arms. When you use a wider grip, you externally rotate more the arms which makes inner work harder. By opposition, a close grip rotates the upper arm internally which makes the long head of the biceps work harder. 4. Letting the elbows flare away from the body Here is a simple rule to follow. For the first 90 degrees of range of motion of elbow flexion, keep the elbows in line directly with the ground in order to neutralize anterior deltoid recruitment. After 90 degrees of flexion, particularly if the training implement (dumbbell, barbell, etc..) is heavy, the elbows will tend to move slightly forward. As long you keep the first 90 degrees clean, you will maximize the isolation effect on the elbow flexors. By opposition, being obsessive at keeping the humerus perpendicular throughout the full range of motion, will only serve to activate the rear delts and certainly decrease the amount of load that can be put on the elbow flexors. 5. Failing to extend the elbows for full range That’s the most common error in biceps training, and it is committed by hundreds of thousands of trainees. This is an open invitation to NOT have big arms. Stretching the muscle under load is one of the biological stimulus needed for hypertrophy development.. In fact, one of the best ways to maximize elbow flexor recruitment is to lower the weight all the way by firing the triceps at the very end of the lowering, to maximize lockout. When you fire the antagonist, the agonist fires faster and stronger in the subsequent contraction.
