Shaping the Biceps

Is there any way to add “peak” to my biceps or is that a function of genetics?  I’ve heard the Scott (preacher) bench can help with this.

To some extent I am happy to let the researchers fight this one out.  Aside from that, here are some thoughts.  There are two possibilities.   Can you change the shape of a muscle? (in this case to give you that ‘peak’).  And can you train other muscles that surround it in a manner that actually do or give a perception that you have a greater bicep peak.

If there is any possibility in a positive answer to the first question (and historically there has been no ‘research’ support for this), it is more like to occur when the maximal overload is occurring at that joint angle.  Other authors have referred to this specific joint angle as various thing e.g. POF – point of flexion etc.

So the exercises would be elbow flexors where you felt the most overload and or muscle tension when the elbow was flexed at an acute angle – this would include the following exercises:

• Preacher bench bicep curls performed from with a vertical support

• Standing bar or db bicep curls (with or without twisting, in case of DB)

• Incline DB curl variations

• Side bicep curls in a standing position (like a double bicep pose)

An additional possibility to contribute to this ‘peak’, and again this is more empirical than ‘scientific’ is the use of an extended contraction in this joint angle – so that at the top of the movement (at the end of the concentric phase), you would hold a 2-4 second pause and contract your biceps as much as you can in this position. Note that this will create greater overall fatigue and reduce your load potential or the number of reps you do. This latter point is of no concern, just warning you so you don’t overestimate your work capacity when incorporating this technique.

Now if you feel that it is the biceps brachii that give you that that peak, you can consider the relative development of the medial and lateral heads. The medial head may be more visible anteriorly in say a double bicep pose, and the lateral head from a posterior view.  They will both contribute to size and shape.  According to Tesch’s EMG analysis of the elbow flexors (Target Bodybuilding, Human Kinetics, 1999), bicep curls with palms facing forward (supine) may work the medial head of the biceps brachii more, whilst palm facing the body (neutral) positioned bicep curls (e.g. hammer curls) may work the lateral head more. 

From  a length-tension perspective, elbow flexion exercises with the elbow in front of the body may better recruit the short or medial head of the biceps brachii e.g. preacher bench bicep curls.  Elbow flexion exercises with the elbow behind the body may better recruit the long or lateral head of the bicep brachii e.g. incline db curls.

Possibly the best balance of involvement of medial and lateral comes in exercises such as

-         DB bicep curl + twists : which starts in neutral or hammer position, and where the lower arm is externally rotated or supinated during the concentric phase (lift).

-         Incline DB curls with supine arm position

-         Standing EZ bar bicep curls with the arms in that slightly internally rotated position

-         Standing straight bar curl, supine arm position, with arm blaster

To take this information to an extreme, perhaps a very wide grip (even with a slight external rotation of the lower arm) may optimize the recruitment of the medial head. 

Now to review the relative hypertrophy of all elbow flexors and their impact on the ‘peak’ appearance. If you have a very full ‘lower bicep’, this may negate or give the impression that you lack a ‘peak’.  If this is the case, consider reducing the bicep curl work that prioritizes the brachio-radialis and brachialis in that order e.g. reverse grip and  neutral grip curls.

In conclusion, irrespective of what research  may or may not conclude, there may always be a way to alter the appearance of the muscles to the front of your upper arm, collectively known as the biceps!

NB If you are really keen to learn more, Dave Draper at www.davedraper.com can teach you a LOT more than I can about bodybuilding!  

© Ian King and King Sports International, Inc. This article is not to be reproduced in part of whole in any format without written permission of the author.

Do you have a question about the Article on this page?  Click here to send us your question!

- Top -