It's a fact that the Bicep muscle has become one of the quintessential symbols of muscularity for most people in today's society. If you ask someone to "make a muscle", 99% of them will most likely lift up their arm and flex their guns. When people think of muscle, they usually think "biceps". Although I'm not a proponent of focusing on a specific body part above others (I believe the sign of a true bodybuilder is a sculpted, well-rounded physique), I can't deny that I love having big Biceps. So, in this article I thought I'd share four of my favorite bicep busting exercises to give you those high-powered guns that all those "make a muscle" people are expecting to see. Some of these you're undoubtedly familiar with but perhaps there are some new movements here as well. Let's get started.
1) Standing Barbell Curls - These are the meat and potatoes of any bicep workout. They're typically done with the heaviest weight in your bicep routine and are a great exercise for building sheer mass in the bi's. Wide grip curls tend to target the inner biceps while close grip focuses on the outer biceps. If you have wrist problems, you can also perform these with an E-Z curl bar. I'm sure most people are familiar with these. Start out holding a barbell in front of your thighs, palms outward. Slowly curl the weight upward, feeling the contraction in your biceps. Slowly lower the weight and repeat for the desired reps.
2) Incline Dumbbell Curls - I love Incline Dumbbell Curls. Any seated curls allow you to focus more effort on the bicep itself (the seated position prevents you from cheating and using your back to sort of swing the weight up) but the Inclines have the added benefit of providing a great stretch at the bottom of the movement. This stretch provides for a slightly larger range of motion and, for me at least, a harder contraction throughout the movement. To perform this exercise, grasp two dumbbells and sit down on a 45-60 degree (you can vary the angle at your discretion) incline bench. Lean back and let your arms hang down with your palms facing inward. Keeping your elbows stationary, curl the weight upward while supinating your wrist so that it faces your body at the top of the movement. Lower and repeat. You can perform this exercise alternating arms or with both arms together.
3) Preacher Curls - Preacher Curls are a great exercise for isolating and developing the peak of the biceps. This will add impressive height to your biceps and really helps make them look larger. Another cool thing about Preacher Curls is that they force you to use proper form. This is another exercise that most people are probably familiar with. To perform it, take a seat at a preacher bench and hang your arms over the edge so the backs of your arms are against the inclined padded armrest. Grasp a barbell with a shoulder-width underhand grip. Slowly curl the bar upward until your forearms are nearly perpendicular with the floor. Slowly lower the bar and repeat for reps. Like Incline Dumbbell Curls, these will also give you a nice stretch at the bottom of the movement.
4) Drag Curls - This is a move you may not be familiar with but it's another one of my favorites. I love finishing up my bicep workout with this move, using high reps and really frying the muscle. These were developed by trainer Vince "The Iron Guru" Gironda and are an awesome exercise for working the outer biceps. Start this one out in the same position you would for Standing Barbell Curls. From there, move your elbows straight back but don't allow them to flare outward at all. This movement will have caused the barbell to move to around belly button level. Now, curl the bar upward by "dragging" it up your body (contact with your actual body should be minimal). The range of motion is much smaller (from about your belly button to the bottom of your sternum) but the amount of burn it will put on your bi's is huge, trust me.
Give one or all of these exercises a try during your next biceps and keep training hard!
Trent Forrester is a natural bodybuilder and a certified personal trainer. He is a contributor for the popular body building blog, Bodybuilding Tips and Tricks.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Trent_Forrester
