Training biceps is fun, especially for guys. The feeling of curling a weight and the ensuing pump after just one set feels pretty damn good.

But there are downfalls.

Let me explain using my informercial voice:

Tired of standing in line for the preacher curl machine? Or the bicep cable curls machine? I know I am.

Working out at your local fitness centre can be awesome and frustrating in the same workout session. Awesome because you have a ton of fitness resources under one roof but also frustrating when the number of bodies out numbers the equipment.

[A crowded beach always beats a crowded gym... Except maybe the one above! Honey, where are the towels?]

I know the most common suggestion I hear in response to crowds in the gym is to pack up and try a different time of day.

Without dropping a couple of choice explectives, I’ll say “forget that“!

You are at the gym to train for a limited period of time so train you shall. Also, what if this is the only time of day you can make it to the gym?

Should you be forced to change your lifestyle because someone thinks he’s Ronnie Coleman training for the next Mr. Olympia and has decided this is a great day to do 20 sets on the machine you want to use?

End of rant…

While people are lining up like sheep for the usual biceps machines, make your way over to the “cargo loading single arm bicep machine” used in the 1986 hit movie Aliens.

[Really, I don't know the official name for it but I feel like Sigorny Weaver every time I use it]

I found this hunk of metal and cables in the far corner of my gym so don’t despair if it’s not placed right beside the preacher curl machine.

Here’s what you do:

1. Grab a handle in each hand and lean slightly forward on the seat. Your back is about 4 inches off the backrest.

This puts your hands almost behind your body throughout the entire movement.

What this does is simulate the old body drag curl but without the obscene amount of weight. It isolates and streches (more on this shortly) the biceps and takes your anterior deltoids (ie. the front portion of your shoulders) out of the movement.

2. With palms facing forward, raise the weight (technically the handles) to slightly past parallel.

Keep your eyes forward! The temptation to gaze erotically at your biceps is strong but resist and you’ll reduce neck cramps and other unnatural body soreness.

3. Keep your elbows tight in to your body and lower the weight slowly back to the starting position.

4. Keep tension on the biceps during the entire movement, and go for 10-12 slow reps.

Why is this exercise effective?

It’s all in the stretch, and not in the 1970s addidas shorts static-stretch kinda of way.

In a study published in the Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise Journal, authors Antonio and Gonyea determined that stretch exercises like the movement above are very effective methods in increasing muscle fibers.

But don’t get macho here!

Common bodybuilding advice will tell you to overload the stretch (ie. use heavy heavy weights) but if your not a Major League Baseball player then your asking for trouble (I’m sorry… still dealing with Big Papi getting busted this month).

Lower reps are not as effective for biceps either unless your training for brute strength. Even then, lower reps usually means much heavier weight which also means increased risk of injury. No thanks, not today!

An alternate to the biceps movement above can be done using dumbbells on an incline bench if the crowds subside and the equipment becomes available.

Follow the same steps above and your biceps should be feeling nice and full in 10 minutes or less.

For more ways to improve your arm training I strongly encourage men and women to check out Vince DelMonte’s program No NonSense Muscle Building. A top selling muscle program that answers all of your questions when it comes to which equipment to use at your local gym. 

Welcome to the Gun Show” or ”The Beach is That Way” or how about ”I’m Busy Sculpting My Guns“.

There is no other muscle group that has earned more nicknames. When looking in the mirror, every guy imagines a set of bulging biceps. Yes, I’m guilty too!

The days are far from gone when you walk into the gym and see 8 out of 10 guys doing bicep curls all at the same time with the same determination to add even a quarter of an inch to their biceps. Training biceps has become almost an obsessive habit in the gym. I’ve seen guys spend entire gym sessions bent over doing concentration curls while starring in the mirror thinking they are somewhat special.

”

[Thought you'd see some bodybuilder dude with 24" pythons and a fake tan? Very few athletes and so called bodybuilders sport the muscular definition of Rafa Nadal's arms.]

Even more hilarious is seeing guys buying and wearing tight t-shirts in the hope of making their arms “look” bigger. Kinda of sad, but the allure of strong, mountainous biceps will never go away and why should it?

After all, they are a man’s most prized possession and one of women’s most desired body parts on a man!

But if every guy is obsessing over their biceps and dedicating entire training sessions with classic bodybuilding techniques such as forced reps, drop sets, and 21′s…. why do they still have little to show for their efforts?

Let’s examine five of the most common problems with bicep training:

1. More is Not Always Better

If doing 4 sets is better than 3 sets, why don’t you just do 10 sets? Even better, why don’t you just train them all day? Don’t laugh, I know a guy who did this!

It has been said before, but it obviously needs to be said again: “Less is often more.”

Your goal of each weight training workout should be to simply ‘out do’ your last workout. Be it an extra pound or a few extra reps, then it is time to move to the next exercise.

It’s a hard concept for many to grasp because they are fixated on the instant gratification of making their biceps ‘look’ big during the workout and not what they look like when they leave the gym, which leads us to our next problem.

2. Being obsessed with the “Pump”!

Yes, Arnold was right. It’s one of the best feelings in the world and the former Mr. Olympia even goes as far as comparing it to sex. Now that’s a little bit of a stretch in my book but to each his own.

The truth is that the longer you train your biceps, even if the weights are not extremely heavy, you can achieve a fairly decent pump that can turn a few heads while in the gym.

This attention and perception that you are doing something beneficial is deceiving. Yes, there is something to say about keeping blood in the muscle as long as possible, but if the workout is done with weights that do not overload your muscles and emphasize an increase in strength, your biceps will quickly deflate back to normal with no true muscle growth.

3. Not Focusing on Increasing Your Overall Strength

If you look at some of the best upper body physiques (Craig Ballantyne comes to mind) today and their workout plans, they barely train arms. Why?

Because biceps are secondary muscles. A stronger emphasis is put around increasing their chest, back and shoulder strength. If you simply focus on increasing the weights on your rows, pull-ups and chin-ups, rest assured that your biceps will come along for the ride and grow proportionally.

However, if you are always blasting away one-arm dumbbell curls, your biceps will always be fatigued when you train your bigger muscles like your back and chest therefore, you’ve sacrificed a big muscle for the sake of a small muscle. Make sense? This is another reason to take a lower volume approach to arm training.

4. Using the Same Bicep Exercises Every Time

Every bodybuilding magazine will always claim barbell curls and dumbbell curls are two of the simplest and best exercises for building huge biceps. For once, I’ll semi-agree with the so-called experts. These ‘simple’ exercises are a safe foundation to build a program around, but let’s not get carried away. Pro bodybuilders using steroids are going to have a strong bodily response to practically any exercise they do.

Therefore, I have no problem using these two exercises under the important condition that you are getting stronger from week-to-week. As long as you are increasing the weights and reps relative to good lifting form, then your arms should continue growing.

5. Not Enough Tension on the Muscle

I think many people of all levels (yes, I’m talking to the advanced athletes as well) do not fully grasp the concept of isolating and actually training a muscle. They do not know how to make the muscle work and fatigue.

Instead, you see a lot of swinging, momentum and sloppy lifting used to move the weight from every part of the body except the one they are actually trying to train.

Fitness author of the No Nonsense Muscle Building Program, Vince DelMonte explains that biceps have a very strong response to “constant tension,” which means you should never give them a chance to breathe.

Keep the bar constantly moving without pausing at the top or bottom. Focus on squeezing the heck out of the bar and never let your biceps relax until the set is over. Your entire goal is to not allow any oxygen into the muscle which creates a spike with your anabolic hormones to promote muscle growth. Resort to a slower tempo (ie. 3 seconds up, 0 pause, and 3 seconds down) to get the job done.

For more ways to improve other aspects of your workouts, I strongly encourage men and women to check out Vince DelMonte’s program No NonSense Muscle Building. The top-selling fast muscle 201 page manual is literally changing lives everyday!

The arm is one of the first things noticed by others. It can be covered up with a sleeve or fully exposed. If they are well defined, chances are the rest of the body is too. Here are five ways to sculpting your guns a la Ron Burgundy:

1. Work your Triceps

The triceps comprise 60% of your upper arm, therefore, you should be training them 10% more then your biceps! The two muscles compliment each other and for a great workout try doing bicep and triceps exercises in the same workout.

2. Supersets

Super what? A superset consists of doing one exercise followed immediately by another different exercise. For example, doing dumbbell curls followed by overhead triceps extensions. Not only will this give you a great pump (rush of blood in your arms), but it will increase your heart rate which in turn burns more calories.

3. More Cardio

If you want to clearly see your muscles, you need to shed fat, and the best way to do that is by concentrating on your cardio. We suggest you take a serious look at interval training, specifically Craig Ballantyne’s Turbulence Training. It’s cardio 2.0 with no more slow sessions or fancy equipment; get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week.

4. Eat Right

Drink Water. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Drink Water. If you are eating two servings per day, then go up to four servings per day by the end of the week. Drink Water. Stick with fiber-rich fruits and vegetables – organic if possible. Hey you…. What are you waiting for? Drink your water!

5. Mix up your workout

There are countless exercises for your biceps, triceps and forearms combined so why are you still doing one-arm dumbbell curls from your high school gym class? Change it up because variety means results. Don’t be afraid to throw body weight exercises like push ups and chin ups in there for good measure!

For more great ways to a greater body check out Craig Ballantyne’s Turbulence Training for Fat Loss. Craig is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week.