Biceps Training Intro

Biceps Training

A Misunderstood Symbol of Supreme Power

If you had discovered that whenever you entered any weight-training facility that an inordinate
number of weight-resistance trainees were attacking their triceps, you may be surprised to note that
the incessant interest with arm training is even more emphasized with biceps training than it is for
triceps training. Many trainees become obsessed with the vision of possessing huge, powerfully-built
biceps. The notion of associating huge arms (particularly biceps), with supreme power, is built into
the psyche of every young person with the widespread imagery-developing venues of comic-book
and television heroes and other figures of mite.

Almost everywhere on the globe, whenever well-muscled athletes arrive on the scene the
youngsters cry out for the individuals to “make a muscle”. What the youngster is looking for of
course is for the athletes to flex their biceps. It is not surprising that there is often no deterring the
maniacal approach many athletes take in their quest of building the “perfect” biceps. There seems to
be no limit to the time and energy weight-training athletes will devote to their biceps training. However,
what needs to be understood is that the biceps represent a relatively small area of muscle mass
and, as a result, symptoms of over-training can easily occur if too much attention is devoted to them.

Many weight-training athletes have placed the triceps and biceps in their “toughest-to- build”
body part category. The considerations for over-training the triceps were addressed with reference
made to the problems of “same-day” training of chest, shoulders and triceps and the difficulties incurred
as a result of training any two-muscle combination of the group on with a “back-to-back”
training days approach. The situation of over-training is repeated with biceps training as the biceps
are frequently highly-activated during other
body part training (particular reference can be
made to most back training). As a result, the
biceps can easily be subjected to over-training.
Even without the considerations for extraneously-
invoked duress (through other body parts
training), most biceps routines include far too
many exercises and sets which results in the
trainees leaving the gym complaining of “frying
their biceps to a crisp”.

A thorough understanding of the muscular
structure of the region of the anterior upper arm
is necessary in order to establish a proper biceps
exercise regime. In addition, great care must be
taken to design a well-founded program that
would provide for maximum stimulation of the
biceps while allowing for the athlete to avoid
suffering the symptoms of over-training of the
easily-fatigable, but highly-stubborn, biceps brachii
and brachialis muscles.

An enthusiastic dedicated approach to biceps
training can provide the trainee with
his/her greatest weapon; however, the trainee
would be best advised to bear in mind that with
reference to biceps training, less is best, while
more is merely sore. A limited number (usually
three or four) exercises, performed for three or
four sets has proven to be the most effective
approach to the development of the biceps development.
Of all the muscles in the body those
of the anterior upper arm demand the greatest
patience and knowledge of proper program design
on the part of the trainee. The region of the
anterior portion of the upper arm emerges as
the most abused body part in the entire muscular
system. Remember, the biceps brachii and brachialis
muscles need to be nurtured, not tortured in
order to achieve optimum growth and development potential.

Location and Function
When reference is made to the muscles of the anterior upper arm the reference is almost always
exclusively made to the biceps. The most prominent of the muscles that comprise the region of the
anterior upper arm, the biceps muscle derives its name from its structure: “bi” meaning two and
“ceps” (short for capital) meaning heads. The two heads are classified as the biceps long head and the
biceps short head. The two heads are often vividly defined on advanced trainees by a line running
down the middle of the muscle separating the two heads. It should be noted that the biceps brachii
covers the brachialis and has no attachment to the humerus but instead attaches to the scapula.

Biceps Brachii Long Head (A)
Location
The biceps long head is located on the lateral (outer) portion of the upper arm with its tendon
(biceps tendon) crossing over the top of the shoulder and attaching to the glenoid tubercle of the
scapula just above the glenoid fossa. Many times when athletes suffer a separated or dislocated
shoulder they suffer a tom biceps tendon due to the fact that the biceps long head crosses over the
head of the humerus in the shoulder joint. The biceps long head joins the biceps short head and
forms a common biceps tendon which inserts on the radial tuberosity of the radial bone located in
the proximal (near the elbow), lateral (thumb side), anterior (front), portion of the forearm. It should
be noted that the biceps long head does not contain more muscle mass than the biceps short head
but rather derives its distinction of being longer due to its longer tendon attachment.

Function
The biceps long head serves in the actions of elbow-joint flexion as well flexion of the amt at the
shoulder-joint. It is also involved in the action of supination of the forearm. .

Biceps Brachii Short Head (B)
Location
The biceps short head is found on the medial (inner) side of the upper arm and takes its official
place of origin on the coracoid process of the upper anterior portion of the scapula. Thus the short
head does not cross over the shoulder joint. The short head of the biceps brachii is considered the
smaller of the two heads but in fact has a greater belly of muscle than the long head. As outlined
above, the biceps short head combines with the long head to form a common biceps tendon which
inserts on the radius bone in the forearm.

Function
The biceps short head is involved in the actions of elbow-joint flexion and as it attaches near the
shoulder, it serves as an arm flexor at the shoulder and is involved in the action of supination of the
forearm.

Brachialis (C)
In addition to the biceps brachii the anterior upper arm also contains the often-overlooked brachialis
muscle. While the brachialis muscle is most-often thought of as serving in the role of supporting
the biceps brachii in the action of elbow-flexion, this underrated muscle is considered “the work292
Advanced Techniques in Weight-Resistance Training
horse” muscle of the curling (elbow-flexion) action and, as such, should command attention when
considerations for program design are taken into account.

Location
The brachialis muscle originates on the more distal portion of the humerus (about half-way
down) at a point just below that of where the deltoid muscle attaches to the humerus (as opposed to
the upper portion of the humerus), and attaches on the tuberosity of the ulna bone and on the anterior
surface of the coronoid process of the ulna in the upper region of the forearm.

Function
The brachialis is involved in elbow-joint flexion but does not serve to flex the arm at the shoulder
joint (due to its origin pan-way down the humerus as opposed to the head of the humerus at the
shoulder joint). The brachialis is not involved in the action of supination of the forearm.

Brachioradialis (D)
In addition to the biceps brachii and the brachialis muscles is the prominently placed brachioradialis
muscle. The brachioradialis is anatomically considered a forearm muscle but as it is situated at
the top of the forearm near the elbow and runs into the region just above the elbow creating a solid
mass of muscle around the elbow joint establishing overall girth and depth to the arms (particularly
in the flexed-arm position) and (even more significantly) is activated during the actions of elbow flexion
(curling), it is thus included in the analysis of the upper arm (curling) exercise portfolio. It is felt
that the analysis of the different variations of the curling movement can more readily be explained by
including the brachioradialis in the outline of the curling movements as this approach would allow
for an immediate and thus, more easily-facilitated comparison of the specific accentuations that are
provided with each of the curling movements.

It should be noted that the action of elbow-flexion while serving to accentuate the biceps muscles
of the anterior upper arm, also incorporate the involvement of the muscles of the forearms, in
particular the forearm flexors. The flexor as well as extensor muscles of the forearms will be covered
in detail in the following section devoted to forearm training.

Location
The brachioradialis originates on the lateral supracondylar ridge of the lower third of the humerus
and inserts on the styloid process of the lateral anterior surface of the radius bone in the forearm.
The brachioradialis muscle fills out the lower region of the anterior portion of the upper arm just
below the biceps and provides and girth and thickness to the proximal anterior region of the forearm
near the elbow-joint.

Function
The brachioradialis is activated during the semi-pronated and partially pronated arm positions of
elbow flexion. An interesting function of the brachioradialis is that it applies an increased speed-ofcontraction
during activation of elbow-flexion.
It should be noted that a fourth muscle (coracobrachialis) rests in the area of the anterior upper
arm but as it is not involved in the action of elbow-flexion but rather shoulder-flexion, and is activated
in those movements designed to work the chest it is not considered relevant to our discussion
on the anterior upper ann.

Muscle Activation
There is one basic movement (with several variations) that is performed specifically for the development
of the anterior upper arm and it involves the action of elbow-joint flexion described as
“curling”. The curling movements can be performed standing or sitting and can be executed with the
use of either barbell, or dumbbell as well as machine and cable applications in a wide-range of
movement variations. The major dilemma facing beginning trainees is what exercises to include from
the vast list of curling movements that would allow for optimum stimulation of the highly-stubborn
but at the same time easily-burned anterior upper arm muscles.

The most frequently-evidenced oversight in the program schematic of beginning (as well as many
experienced) trainees is that the selected movements do not provide a varied accentuation. Most bicep
brachii and brachialis routines are inadvertently structured so as to exert a similar (repetitive),
emphasis which does little to promote proper overall development and contributes to the problem of
over-training. In this section we shall outline the basic curling exercises that will provide a wellbalanced
approach to your anterior upper arm training that will promote maximum results. Your
challenge will be to remember not to include all the movements in every session.