If you’re like most bodybuilders, you love biceps day. There is a good chance that you typically shuttle from exercise to exercise, hitting them from every angle imaginable. You might start with the barbell curls, then move to the dumbbell curls to move some serious metal. Maybe the machines catch your eye and you spend a few sets trying them out. You can’t neglect the cables, right? When all is said and done, you might complete 10 or 15 or even 20 sets for biceps, but you probably neglect one movement which isolates and targets the biceps like perhaps no other movement, the concentration curl. Let’s learn more about this movement by answering some of the most commonly asked questions regarding its use. Q: First off, how do I properly complete at concentration curl? A: Stand up ...

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Q: My question is about “sets to failure” - my progress has been waning lately and I’m just not getting enough growth out of workouts that have gotten progressively heavier. The only thing I can pinpoint is that I do sets to failure too often. How often should you train to failure, and how many sets? A: There are two different kinds of failure: Absolute failure and positive failure. Positive failure is of benefit and absolute failure is not. Just because you have a few extra sets in you, doesn’t mean you should always do them. That is a good rule of thumb. Only use that technique sparingly - particularly if you are continually striving to go up in weight for strength. Stopping a rep or two before failure is fine - it’s what built most legendary bodybuilders’ bodies. ...

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Q: I am 6’4” and weigh 190 pounds. I’ve been reading Bodybuilding Today for awhile now, and haven’t seen anything that addresses my question. Do I need to train my legs differently than other guys (under 6’) because of my height? Someone told me that I did have to, and another person told me that I should give up becoming a bodybuilder! What do you think? A: This is a great question and it’s something I wanted I’ve wanted to address because it’s asked more than you think. First of all, don’t give up bodybuilding! The person who told you that is an idiot who’s probably under 5’7” and can’t even stay afloat in the middleweight class at his local NPC show! You, on the other hand, could have an amazing future if you set a good foundation ...

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Q:  I really want to do two training sessions a day, but don't know how to prepare for it since my endurance is really lacking. Even though I'm doing strength and mass gaining workouts, I suspect it's going to kick my ass! What do you guys suggest to get ready for doing that? I mean, I do cardio a couple times a week, but it's obviously not enough. What should I do? A: If you want to increase endurance, try running a couple days a week to start. Or, you can do alternating sprints and walking stairs. If fat loss is your goal, these will definitely help with that. Just don't do too much running because it's going to really affect your leg size. On the other hand, it's going to really boost your endurance faster than anything. Elliptical and treadmill work is fine, and ...

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Q:  I’ve got a couple of problems with my biceps. Firstly, whenever I do barbell curls I feel more of a burn in my forearms than my biceps. And secondly, I can’t seem to get any peak on my biceps. What’s the key to building an Arnold style bicep peak? A: That’s easy – go back in time to 1947 and get yourself hatched from a sweet little Austrian woman named Auriela. Failing that you could work with your OWN potential. You see, muscle shape is a pre-determined genetic factor in our make-up. And, unfortunately, an Everest type bicep peak doesn’t get dished out that often. Every once in a while you get your Arnolds, your Robby Robinsons and your Boyer Coes. Meanwhile the rest of us have to work with what we’ve got. Which doesn’t mean that you can’t build some damn ...

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Q:  I’ve seen some of the big guys at my gym doing super slow repetitions during their workouts. What’s the value in working out this way? A: Super Slow training has been around for decades yet seems to be enjoying a recent resurgence in popularity. It involves controlling both the concentric (lifting) and eccentric (lowering) phases of a movement to such a degree that you are doing them in slow motion – that is, you are taking ten seconds to perform the concentric part of the movement and five seconds to perform the eccentric part. This compares with conventional training which advocates a two second up, one second pause and four second down cadence (most trainers abbreviate this dramatically). Advocates of super slow claim that performing an exercise in such a manner is far more productive than conventional training and, furthermore, that one set ...

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Q:  My friend works out 6 days a week, and takes one day off. I say he's crazy, but he's been doing it now for 4 months straight. Is one day actually enough for mass building? It's kind of too soon to tell with him because it's only been 4 months and I don't know whether his body is really rebelling against that workload yet or not. He also eats pretty much whatever's available and whatever he wants and isn't too fat. What do you guys think of this? A: We think your friend is an individual with individual tolerances, so to say that no one or everyone should do one particular thing in the gym would be impossible. It really depends upon how you plan and execute that kind of schedule, and how well you fuel your body, as well as the amount ...

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Q: I have been doing the gainer's routine of 6 days a week, one body part a day. I do the following: Mon: Chest + Calves Tues: Legs + Abs Wed: Triceps + Calves Thurs: Back + Abs Fri:  Biceps + forearms Sat: Shoulders Sun: Off Tell me, if you had to choose one exercise for each body part that was the "best", what would it be? A: Okay, our opinion about this is exactly that: An opinion! Everyone has an opinion and while ours may be a little more valid than others, we still are just one faction out there. So here goes... Our opinion on the best exercise for each body part follows: Chest:  Bench Legs: Squats Biceps: Barbell curl Triceps: Dips (weighted) Shoulders:  Military press (Smith machine for joint safety) Calves: Standing raises Abs:  Crunches with a rope

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