How to train everyone's favorite muscle

Bicep training. You're doing it wrong.

Arm day is everyone's favorite day, because you get to see the fruits of your labors in a minute flat. You pick up that dumbell, and the veins make their way out of their caves that they hide in during the rest of the week, only to shrivel up an hour after your workout to return to their normal slumber. The hour you spend working your arms is enough to make you wish it was arm day every day, except that you have enough pride in yourself to actually drag your ass to the gym for leg day that week. (Assuming you actually work your legs. We all know that guy...) But if you're like most gym bros, you're not getting everything out of your caffeine-fueled arm day that you could be getting. Strap in, this one might sting...

But my arms look great! Why do you think I'm doing it wrong?

It's simple. You're swinging around 35 pound dumbbells faster than the human eye can pick up, and you're all over Instagram between each set. You rest too long, and work too little. Let's break it down.

Wrong weight.

Using the wrong weight is generally the first mistake you make when curling. You wanna play with the big guys, like Arnold and Dwayne Johnson. You want those big meaty muscles, and you've always been told that the best way to get them is to lift heavy. But is it really the best way, if you're leaning harder than the tower of Pisa, and you're shaking like a leaf in an approaching hurricane with every rep? Is it the best way if your back is more sore at the end than your biceps? Back off the weight bro. You're gonna feel like a chump for a bit, but when the veins start popping, and the jaws start dropping, you'll thank me then.

Let's take me for example. I can curl 50 pounds strict for 3-5 reps. Where do I train my biceps at? 30 pounds. Here's why. Your biceps are unique. They're one of the few muscle groups that responds best to overload. I know you wanna hit that hypertrophy range, but cheat curling for less than 10 reps won't cut it. Find a weight you know you can curl for 2 sets, for 12 reps, and go ham. 4 sets of 12 is my bread and butter when it comes to arms. It's what took me from having 11 inch arms that look appropriate for a 7 year old girl, to having 17.5 inch arms that I can say I have pride in. Am I where I want to be? No. But I'm getting there because I'm doing things right.

Your form sucks bro.

Even when you get the right weight, you'll still have bad habits to break. Your shoulders will swing back and forth on your rotator cuff, and your elbows will be moving around like an over-excited puppy. Hold them still. I like to engage my lats to keep my elbows from moving. As for the shoulder movement, lift in front of a mirror, and put your pride aside for a moment. Your arms will grow back after you've destroyed them with proper form, and they'll be better than ever. To get your shoulder form down, try standing with your back against a wall, with your shoulders, back, and hips all pressed against it. Take a lighter weight, about 15 pounds or so, and practice keeping your shoulders against the wall, and your elbows stiff at your side. When you've mastered this, start doing your curls properly without the wall.

Not working enough

Beyond just doing it right, you've got to get your reps and sets right. Biceps don't respond to overload of weight as they do to overload of reps. Besides getting a mind blowing, skin splitting pump, you'll be tearing up the muscles more having done more reps, which means more growth. Rather than doing sets of 8 or less, like most of the guys I see in the gym, bust out 4-6 sets of 12-15 reps. My sweet spot comes from doing 4 sets of 15 reps with a very challenging weight, which, right now, is 30-35 pounds.

The other issue is resting too long between sets. Get off your phone. Instagram can wait. Put it on airplane mode, pop in your headphones, and get to work. Spending about a minute and a half resting is just about right. It gives you a chance to recover, and get right back into it. It keeps those veins popping, and keeps your blood flowing to make sure that your arms are getting torn up. You'll have your best performance, look your best, and your arms will feel ripped to pieces by the end.

Working too much

Overtraining is real. Don't let anyone tell you different. If your bro tells you you're about to go in there and crust 15 lifts, he's either on the juice, or he's completely stupid. You don't need to do every variation of curls you know of. You just have to make sure you tear it up, get a nasty pump, and can feel that burn. You don't need to kill yourself. Overtraining does nothing for you, but show you that you can work past the point of efficiency, and straight into destruction. Any progress you make during the effective part of your workout is useless if you keep training to total depletion. Yes, you're supposed to work hard, and yes, you're supposed to put in time, but the point of Lifting is to accomplish as much as possible with the least amount of effort. Efficiency. It will take some experimentation, but everyone is different, so find what works best. Dorian Yates was one of the best, and he trained intuitively. Whatever he felt like training that day, he would train. He stopped when he had enough. He understood his body. He knew what his limits of efficiency were. As a result, he is arguably one of the absolute best in existence. Now get your ass in the gym, and make some gains.