How Do I Get Bigger Biceps?

When I was elementary school we had two PE teachers. Coach Pastal was a nice (but firm), older man who had been at the school forever. Coach Smith, on the other hand, was a younger dude whom all the kids looked up to.

When we were learning about the body Coach Pastal told Coach Smith to show us what a biceps muscle looks like. To this day I still remember seeing his massive arms looking like he had softballs under his skin, and wondering, “How can I get my arms to look like that?”

Fast forward 20 years later, having spent a good amount of the past 10 years in a gym and talking with dudes who know how to get bigger arms, I finally have some answers for my 8 year old self.

 

3 Simple (But Not Easy) Steps To Get Big Biceps

In order to get bigger biceps, there are three things you need to do:

1. Eat the right amount of the right foods
2. Choose the right exercises
3. Work out the right way

 

Eat to Grow

Your body can’t make muscles out of thin air. It needs energy, in the form of calories, to build those muscles you work so hard in the gym for. But there’s a delicate balance. If you eat too little, you’ll look like Smeagol, but if you eat too much, you’ll look like Farva.

So how do you know how much to eat? To put on muscle, fitness coach and author Sean Nalewanyj recommends eating 250-350 calories more than your body typically burns per day. Which leads to the next question: how many calories does your body typically burn per day?

There are fancy machines that can calculate this for you, but Sean Nalewanyj has a simple solution to estimate about how many calories you burn per day, based on your bodyweight and activity level.

Not Active = Bodyweight x 14
Lightly Active = Bodyweight x 14.5
Moderately Active = Bodyweight x 15
Very Active = Bodyweight x 15.5
Extremely Active = Bodyweight x 16

For instance, I’m 185 pounds, and moderately active, so according to this equation I burn 2,775 calories per day.

How accurate is this? A $10,000 machine calculated that I burn 2,813 calories per day. 38 calorie difference— not bad!

 

Macronutrients: Carbs, Fats and Protein

Macronutrients are the nutrients in food that provide your body with energy in the form of calories.

 

	Good Food Sources	Calories per gram
Carbohydrates	Bread, rice, quinoa, fruits & veggies	4
Protein	Meat, beans, nuts	4
Fat	Fish, avocados, nuts	9

Since the amount of calories you consume is so important to building muscle, it makes sense to structure your diet around macronutrients. To make it easy to figure out how much of each you should eat, Sean Nalewanyj recommends these basic daily guidelines:

 

	Recommended Intake
Protein	1 gram per pound of body weight
Fats	25% of total calories
Carbohydrates	Remaining calories after protein and fat is calculated

 

Using me as an example, if I want to build muscle I need to eat about 3,100 calories per day, made up of the following ratios:

Protein:

Since I’m 185 pounds, I’ll need 185 grams of protein.
185 grams of protein x 4 calories per gram = 740 calories from protein

Fat:

25% of my total 3,100 calories per day = 775 calories from fat

Carbs:

3,100 total calories – 740 calories from protein – 775 calories from fat = 1,585 calories from carbs

 

So there you have it, my daily intake should be roughly:

Protein: 740 calories
Carbs: 1,585 calories
Fats: 775 calories

In other words, knowing that carbs and protein are four calories per gram, and fat is nine calories per gram, my daily intake should be:

Protein: 185 grams
Carbs: 396 grams
Fats: 86 grams

To read more about eating to get bigger arms, and to see an example diet, check out A Step By Step Guide To Eating To Grow.

 

Biceps Anatomy

A good mechanic knows the ins and outs of cars. It’s how you can say, “My car makes a ‘whheeeeee!’ sound,” and without having to look he says, “Sounds like you may have a loose belt!”

He knows how cars work and how to fix them by repairing or replacing the right parts.

Similarly, if you know how your biceps work, then you can help them grow by choosing the right exercises.

 

Two Heads of the Biceps

Your biceps are made of two heads: the long head and the short head. The long head is the outer part and “peak” of your biceps, and the short head is the inside part.

 

Two Functions of the Biceps

The two functions of your biceps are flexion and supination. Flexion is bringing your hand up closer to your shoulder, and supination is turning your hand from a palms down position, to a palms up position.

Two Joints

Your biceps also span two joints. Both the short and long heads start above your shoulder, and insert below your elbow.

 

The Brachialis

Lying below your biceps is the brachialis. Unlike the biceps, the brachialis has only one function: flexion.

Although you hit the brachialis in all of your curling exercises, you can slightly emphasize it more by doing a hammer curl. This is because the biceps are in a weaker position, which forces the brachialis to work harder.

The brachialis is important because it lies under your biceps, pushing up your “peak” and adding to the overall thickness of your arm. It also contributes in all of your pulling exercises, like pulldowns and rows.

What This Means For You

All of this can be boiled into three important points:

1. You need to work out both functions of your biceps. Biceps flexion is hit by any sort of curl, and biceps supination is worked out by doing supinated dumbbell curls, or doing curls in a supinated position (like using a straight bar instead of an ez bar).
2. You need to change the position of your elbows. Notice in the picture above, the tendon of the long head stretches over the top of your humerus (your upper arm bone). This means that when your elbows are behind your body, the long head is stretched more than the short head, which will cause it to work more (this is important because the long head makes up your peak!). This stretch can be achieved by doing incline curls.
3. If you have room or need for an additional arm exercise in your workouts, or just want to switch up your biceps work, a hammer curl is a great option.

 

Our 5 Favorite Biceps Exercises

Taking what we know about biceps anatomy, here are our favorite biceps exercises:

Supinated Dumbbell Curls

Why we like them:

Supinated dumbbell curls work out both functions of the biceps, flexion and supination.

 

Barbell Curls

Why we like them:

Using both arms at the same time allows you to produce more force, which allows you to lift heavier weights, which allows you to get bigger arms.

Also, the straight bar keeps your hands in a fully supinated position. However, if that bothers your wrists, an EZ bar will work as well.

 

Incline Curls

Why we like them:

Since your biceps span both your shoulder and your elbow, incline curls allows your biceps to get into a full stretch. Also, remember that it stretches the long head of the biceps more, so it causes the long head to work slightly harder.

 

Chinups

Why we like them:

Just like the barbell curl, your hands are in a fully supinated position, and you’re using both arms at the same time. However, you’re using a lot more muscle than just your biceps. You’re also getting almost all of the muscles in your back, too.

 

Hammer Curls

Why we like them:

Hammer curls put your biceps in a weaker position, which forces the brachialis to work harder.

 

Our Favorite Biceps Routine

The next step to getting bigger biceps is to put these exercises into a practical training routine. Here is a sample of what your biceps work for the week could look like:

Chinup:

3 sets x 6-8 reps

Barbell curl:

3 sets x 6-8 reps

Incline Curl:

3 sets x 8-12 reps

Supinated Dumbbell Curl:

3 sets x 8-12 reps

Hammer Curl:

3 sets x 8-12 reps

 

We recommend this being spread out one of two ways:

1. Doing it all on one day, if you have a day dedicated to biceps and triceps
2. Splitting it up into two days, if you do a push pull or similar routine.

If you do a push pull routine, we recommend splitting it up to where you’re doing the chins and barbell curls on a separate day, and then the supinated dumbbell curls and incline curls on a separate day. That way you get in a heavier exercise, as well as a higher rep exercise in each workout. The hammer curl could be added to either day.

If you’re looking for other biceps exercises to switch it up, check out this list of our 9 favorite biceps exercises, and if you’re looking for equipment to do these exercises at home, check out our guide for the best equipment to get bigger biceps at home.

 

The 3 Secrets to Bigger Biceps

If you eat the right foods, choose the right exercises and do the right number of sets and reps, you’re on your way to Gainzville! However, you still could be missing the special sauce that will really make your muscles grow. The ingredients are:

1. Intensity
2. Progress
3. Mind Muscle Connection

 

Intensity

Intensity is simply how hard you train. In order to force your muscles to grow, you need to work to failure, or within a rep or two each set.

What is failure? Failure is not when an exercise gets hard, your muscles start to burn and it’s uncomfortable. Failure is when you can’t perform another rep even if your life depended on it.

All too often you’ll see guys at the gym doing a set of curls, setting the weights down, and then scrolling through Instagram like nothing ever happened. If you want bigger arms you need to earn them. Just going through the motions won’t get you where you want to go.

 

Double Progression

There are two ways to make progress in the gym: more weight or more reps. Each time you lift, try to make progress in one or both of those.

Curling 30’s for 3 sets of 10 week after week won’t get you where you want to go.

Fitness author Mike Matthews says, “Progression is the key to muscle growth…if you don’t get stronger, you won’t get bigger.”

Personally, I use a workout journal. Progress is such an important concept in building strength and muscle, and I can never remember how much weight or how many reps I did last time. Writing it down ensures I never forget.

 

Mind Muscle Connection

The last secret ingredient to building bigger biceps is the mind muscle connection. This means that while you’re curling, you’re focusing on your biceps, and squeezing them as hard as you can.

This is a hotly debated topic, however this study by Brad Schoenfield, Bret Contreras and others states specifically that, “an internal focus of attention is superior to an external focus of attention when the goal is to maximize hypertrophy of the elbow flexors.” Translation: mind muscle connection gets you bigger biceps.

 

Conclusion

If you want bigger biceps, you need to do the following things:

1. Eat the right amount of the right foods
2. Do the right exercises
3. Work out the right way

Working out the right way means working out hard, always trying to make progress and focusing on squeezing your biceps when you’re lifting. Add some rock solid consistency, and BOOM! Bigger biceps are just around the corner.

Happy lifting!

 

P.S. Download our 10 Hacks to Bigger Biceps here!