Bodybuilding Tips and Tricks

Here are a few sample workout routines that will serve you well for overall biceps development:

Routine 1
Standing barbell (or E-Z curl bar) curls
Alternating incline dumbbell curls
Standing (or seated) hammer curls
One-arm cable curls

Routine 2
E-Z curl bar preacher curls
Standing dumbbell curls
Reverse grip barbell (or E-Z curl bar) curls
Standing (or seated) concentration curls

Routine 3
Standing barbell (or E-Z curl bar) curls
Machine curls
To-the-front hammer curls
Cable curls with rope attachment

In all three of these routines, I start with a basic mass-building exercise, then move on to an isolation-type move, and then finish things off with a high isolation or peak building movement. I’ve also provided one exercise in each routine that will put some extra stress on your wrists and forearms as well as your biceps. Its important to develop your forearms and wrists as you progress or they will be prone to injury as you curl heavier and heavier weight.

21’s are a great technique for breaking out of a plateau and totally incinerating a particular muscle. This advanced technique involves challenging the working muscle group in three different ranges of motion. The 21 in the name refers to the total number of reps done in each set (7 for each range of motion). You can perform 21’s in the following manner: First, let’s use a standard dumbbell or cable curl as an example exercise. Start out with your arm in your normal start postion, hand and weight (or D-handle) at your thigh, arm joint completely open. Now, curl the weight up as you normally would, but stop halfway up (around the point your elbow is bent at 90 degrees). Lower your arm again, keeping tension on the bicep the whole time, and repeat. Do this for your first 7 reps. Without resting, bring your arm back up to the 90 degree halfway point and curl the weight up to full flexion (joint closed; the ending point of a normal curl). Lower to the halfway point, and repeat for the next 7 reps. To finish the set, do seven full range reps from the bottom to the top as you normally would when performing standard curls. By this point, your biceps (or whatever muscle group you’re working) should be begging for mercy.

21’s can be done with any exercise, but they work best with single joint isolation moves such as the bicep curl or tricep pressdown (among others). I also prefer to do 21’s on a cable machine (as opposed to free weights) because cables maintain a continuous tension on the working muscle group. Also, when performing 21’s, you’ll want to pick a lighter weight than you’d normally use for straight sets. This seems like a no-brainer; if you lift heavy you’ll never be able to complete this super tough set.

Because 21’s totally blitz the muscle group you apply them to, I recommend throwing this technique into your workout only intermittently. I liked 21’s so much that when I first discovered them, I did them every (in my case, biceps) workout and I definitely felt like I was overtraining my bi’s. Now I only use them when I really want to blast my guns into submission. Another tip to avoid overtraining: if using 21’s, try to do one less exercise for that bodypart than you’d normally do in that workout. If you normally do 4 exercises for let’s say, triceps, you should only do 3 if you’re planning on using 21’s. If it’s been awhile since your muscles were sore, try 21’s on for size.

Supersets (I’ve also heard them called flush sets by some people) are a relatively advanced technique that can be useful in breaking out of a plateau or simply shaking your workout up a bit. Supersets involve doing one set of multiple exercises (any number I guess, but typically 2-4) immediately following one another. Completion of each set for all of the exercise constitues one superset. For example doing one set of barbell curls, immediately followed by one set of tricep pressdowns, immediately followed by dumbbell curls, immediately followed by tricep extensions would be one 4-exercise arm-blasting superset. You would rest, then repeat the process until all of your supersets are complete. (Actually, I believe technically a superset is two exercises in a row, a triset is three, and a “giant” or quad set is four, but that’s only if you’re being picky about it hehe).

Really, any exercises can be combined to form a superset, although I typically put together related bodyparts such as abs (lower, upper, and obliques) or arms (biceps, triceps), etc. (see also Staggered Sets). I enjoy supersets from a bodybuilding perspective, but they’re not the best technique if you’re looking to build pure strength. Doing two exercises in a row, with no rest in between, will fatique your muscles to a greater degree and reduce the amount of weight you can handle, particularly on the second movement. As a result, you won’t be able to use as heavy a weight as you might normally use.