Biceps
Is it Monday? Must be chest and biceps day at the gym. You can tell which muscles are most important to most guys on any given Monday. I've long abandoned focusing on one or two muscle group per gym session, but I was definitely guilty of working mirror muscles early in the week (and saving "leg day" for a Friday if I had the time).
Actually, many people have moved away from this classic "bodybuilding" format to high frequency training (HIIT, CrossFit, calisthenics, etc.). And that's great. Let the bodybuilders order their workouts however they like, but us average Joes don't have hours to spend at the gym each day. Might as well make the most of our time there.
That's not to say that we don't want to look good a tank top. These guys do, and they know a little about the anatomy if you can stomach the videos (which I have to admit have some pretty cool graphics). Not that the anatomy of the biceps is all that mysterious. Being the quintessential muscle, every kid knows that if you want to show how strong you are, just flex your biceps.
Of course, the biceps brachii flexes the elbow, hence the flexed elbow pose, but did you know that one of the heads crosses the shoulder joint as well??? Yes, the biceps is named for its two proximal heads (not one head on each end, but two heads up near the shoulder). As pictured, the short head of the biceps originates on the coracoid process of the shoulder blade. This gives the biceps the ability to flex the shoulder joint. By shortening, the biceps can pull the humerus up and in (flexion and adduction). The long head wraps up over the top of the humerus and originates hidden inside the glenohumoral joint.
Following the muscle down distally there are two attachements there as well. You can probably feel this on yourself. A common tendon splits into one portion that attaches on the radius and an another into the fascia (covering) of the forearm flexor muscles. Why this is important is because there is a bump on the radius called a tuberosity where the biceps attaches. When biceps flexes, it rotates the radius so that the tuberosity is closer to the shoulder, the origin of the biceps. This rotates the radius is such a way as to supinate the forearm and the palm goes up. All this means that to maximally flex the biceps from a fully stretched position, you will need to extend the shoulder (think lean back with arms behind you) and then flex the elbow fully while supinating the forearms.
So, working out the biceps is no real mystery. Everyone can go to the gym and pick things up and put them down. There are many variations on the curl that you can do to work the biceps. Sitting, standing, on and incline bench. Use the preacher curl bench or try concentration curls. Supinate, don't supinate, both will work the biceps, although we know one more than the other. Use barbells, dumbbells. kettlebells, or bands. Curl all day and all night for those biceps. But what if you want to do more??
As we've already mentioned the days of training just one muscle at a time are over (I think). Can we get some compound exercise up in here? It's about to get hot in her'
Best Biceps Compound Exercise:
Chin-ups - not pull-ups with palms out, point your palms toward your face and place your hands about shoulder width apart. Now pull!!! all the way up to your chest.
Bent over row - palms up to get those bi's (and who has a couch at their gym?)
Row machine - look how flexed those biceps are at the end of the pull.
