Four Moves to Build Those Twin Peaks

I’ll venture to say that if you surveyed most guys who work out at your gym, you’d find that the majority have a certain muscle group they prefer to train above all the others. I asked that question of several of my clients the other day. I found that while chest and butt rank right up there, most guys favor bicep exercises as number one. Why? Simply because you can feel the burn and see the pump easier, which brings greater satisfaction quicker!

Here are my four top moves for building superior biceps peaks:

Alternating Dumbbell Curls – Stand upright with a dumbbell in each hand held at arm’s length. Keep elbows close to the torso with the palms of your hands facing your thighs, this is starting position. Hold the upper arm stationary as you curl the right dumbbell up to your chin, rotating the palm of your hand until it is facing forward. Squeeze your bicep at the top of the rep, then lower the dumbbell back to starting position. Now do a rep with the left arm. Go for 3 sets of 8-12 reps each side.

Preacher Bench Curls – Position yourself over the preacher bench so that the armpits are snugly pressed into the pad. Grab a loaded barbell with only about 50-60% of your normal curling weight. Hang arms straight down, then curl the weight all the way up to the chin, squeeze, then lower slowly back to starting position.  3 sets of 8-12 reps should leave your biceps burning nicely.

Overhead Cable Curls – Stand in the middle of the cable crossover machine. Grasp the handles with each hand. Make sure the weight on each side is the same, approximately 70-80% of what you’d use to do a chest cable crossover fly. Standing straight, curl both hands to your ears, keeping elbows high and squeezing biceps hard before returning handles to starting position. Admire those peaks as you perform 3 sets of 8-12 reps.

Incline Dumbbell Curls – Sit on a bench at a 45- degree incline. Keep your back straight, feet flat on the floor, and arms at your side as you hold a dumbbell in each hand. Curl the dumbbell by flexing forearm toward shoulders, rotating you palms so that they are facing forward. Squeeze biceps tightly at the top. Slowly lower dumbbells in a controlled manner to starting position. Perform 3 sets of 8 -12 reps with each arm.

Remember, no matter what muscle group you’re training, keep proper form and execute each rep in a controlled and calculated manner without jerking or swinging.

Tom Bonanti is a personal trainer and massage therapist (MA#40288) and fitness writer whose weekly column appears exclusively in HotSpots. Contact trainertomb@aol.com with questions and feedback.

source https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2017/06/06/four-moves-to-build-those-twin-peaks/