The biceps brachii muscle is the muscle flexed most often to demonstrate one’s strength and dedication to the weight room. In order to get the biceps to grow, it is important to stimulate the muscle using a variety of different exercises.
Lying Bicep Cable Curl (Horizontal)
When you reach the top position, try curling your wrists inward towards your chin to further emphasize the contraction.
Lower the weight slowly to really work the eccentric part of the movement. Shoot for 8-12 reps to failure.
When complete, immediately drop the weight stack by half—in this case from 100 lbs. to 50 lbs. The other side should already be set at 50 lbs.; this is to save time as you need to transition from one movement to the next as quickly as possible (no break).
Grab the two upper handles as if you were going to do cable crossovers, only have your palms pointing up towards the ceiling.
Now, curl both arms in towards your head as if you were striking a front double-biceps pose. Squeeze at peak contraction and hold for a count of two. Be sure to emphasize the negative part of the movement.
Stick with a rep range of 8-12. Take a minute, repeat the superset once more, and feel your arms explode.
Lying Bicep Cable Curl (Vertical)
Move to the side with the high cable and this time lay with your head at the machine end – it should be about 6 inches from the machine. The cable shouldn’t be set at maximum height or you won’t be able to reach it! Another change – don’t lay flat. This time, bend your knees.
Begin the move by grabbing the EZ-bar or straight bar attachment. Your arms should be virtually straight. The important thing here is to keep the upper arm, from shoulder to elbow, at 90 degrees to the floor.
Now, contract your biceps to pull the bar down towards your forehead. Then slowly release back to the original position, again trying to keep the upper arm fixed in place.
Again, you’re choosing a weight that allows you to do 8-12 reps.
Complete this set and take a 30 second break, then move back to the horizontal lying bicep cable curl. Do 2-4 supersets in total.
This exercise makes a brilliant ‘finishing move’ on your arm day, and it will keep things interesting in the gym too. The result? Bigger biceps, and all thanks to cable supersets.