Are you looking to instill some new biceps growth? Have you tried every other trick in the book, and you just can’t seem to add another quarter inch? Admittedly, the bigger the biceps become, the closer you move to your natural limits. When this happens, growth become harder to see and it does become frustrating for many trainers. The secret is to find new ways to hit the biceps that they haven’t seen before. Here are a few such ideas for doing so!

Go heavier
If you think you’re training heavy enough, you may be right. But if you haven’t been adding 1 to 2 pounds every few weeks to what you’re curling, you aren’t adding weight like you should be. Granted, it may be hard to add weight in those small intervals when using dumbbells, but it’s plenty easy with the barbell! Tack on 1 or .5 pounds to both sides of the bar each week, and strive for the same number of repetitions that you used last time. You’ll be adding 5 and 10 pounds in no time! If you begin to notice signs of tendonitis setting in on the wrists, back off the heavier weights and keep the reps at 5 or higher per set.

Go lighter
Maybe the reason you aren’t making any more progress is that you are swinging heavy weight and not giving the muscles a chance to fully contract, which is when the blood is drawn in, delivering amino acids essential for growth. Try scaling down the weight 10 or 20 percent, and see if you are able to move through the repetitions slowly with greater deliberation. You will want to keep using the heavy repetitions for a few sets, but also move to these lighter sets in order to hit the muscles from as many angles as possible!

Isolation movements first
Most workout routines call for the bodybuilder to hit the biceps first with the heavy compound barbell movements, then in a secondary capacity with isolation movements. If you are for some reason missing hitting the biceps with the compound movements, you may need to put the isolation movements first. Some bodybuilders just don’t concentrate well, and end up using the back, hips, and forearms to complete a disproportionate amount of the work with each set. Isolate first, then go heavy!

Increase the fats in your diet
A common mistake among bodybuilders is to eat just a little too clean when looking to make gains. Fats are a good source of energy you need to train hard. They are also an integral part of the muscle building process, and required for organ and brain function. Look at the off-season diet of any top bodybuilder and you’ll usually see red meat at least once per day, if not more. Fats are required if you want to grow those arms. This isn’t a free pass to live at Burger King, but rather an invitation to add lean meats, natural peanut butter, and fish oils to your diet.

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