Bicep Length

[usman]

I have around 16.5 inches on my arms but my bicep length is short.
I know that Preacher Curls and Hammer curls are great for increasing bicep lengths and also twisting the wrist when doing concentration curls also hits the length.

Is there a better movement or should I stick with these ?

Thanks

[CreepingDeath]

Bro I got the same problem....it sucks but its genetic. Somebody correct me if Im wrong, but Im almost positive you can make them larger but the length stays the same because its not just muscle its also tendons and thats just the way they are genetically shaped.

[usman]

that sounds like it could be true . but when I twist my wrist inwards I can see the muscle become longer so I am assuming this is nothing to do with genes.... its just that I wanted to get some input on how to work that length ...

[Matt76]

am I totally off here or would hammer curls maybe help??

[CreepingDeath]

Originally posted by usman
that sounds like it could be true . but when I twist my wrist inwards I can see the muscle become longer so I am assuming this is nothing to do with genes.... its just that I wanted to get some input on how to work that length ...

Your right the biceps do elongate when you turn your wrist palm down...but that is because the tendon & muscle moves with the forearm. I dont really know how to explain it. Hammer curls help for thickening the biceps brachials(sp?) and working the forearms. I dont know how much this would help but I remember reading somewhere that strict, full motion preacher curls help somewhat to correct short biceps.....but Ive been doing them for years with various weight and theyre basically the same so who knows. If I find anything else on this I'll be sure to tell you about it bro

[Face]

How can the muscle get longer unless its attachments to bone and fascia move? I don't think it is possible to move them, the attachments are fixed......

[samurai69]

I agree with face. I have a 16.5 bicep flexed, but you can see where the muscle and tendon join, this is almost 3 inches from the elbow end (this sucks and is down to p*ss poor genetics).

Hammer curls help, by building biceps brachials as creeping death says, this effectivly shortens the gap when doing a Bi flex, also turn palm away(out) when posing.

I find doing double bicep cable curls (in a double cable machine) helps with the peak.

[Mr I]

I also have short peaked biceps, mine are currently 18 inches, but ever since a kid when I first started training and they were around 12.5 inches they were short and peaked.

I don't now see it as a weakness, I heve freinds who's arms wern't bigger than mine flexed but looked bigger with arms straight because they seemed to have very full and longer bicep attachments.

I once competed againced a guy in a u21's class and I was initially convinced back stage that I was gonna loose and his arms looked longer in the bicep and fuller.

However, in the pictures and on stage my double biceps front and rear blew his away, and I would much rather have short and peaked bicepts than long and flat bicepts that dont peak well when flexed.

Now that my arms are bigger the bicep looks fuller and slightly longer any way, so just keep training on the basic esxcercises like barbell curls and add some single arm preachers, they blow my bicepts right up and especially hit the lower part.
I wouldn't see it as a weakness and as the bicep grows

[BENCH355ANIMAL]

Reverse Cable Curls. Palms down like you were doing tricep press downs, but use the bottom cable. This really hits the bicep where it meets the inside elbow as well as the forearms. I always superset this with reverse barbell wrist curls at the end of my arm day. I can't even touch my face by the time I'm done.

[chuckz28]

I agree with bench355. It targets the forearm more which is a great way of closing the gap. I don't think there is much of anything you can do to lengthen the muscles, thats genetic but you can "cheat" and close that gap by making the brachioradialis larger.

[BENCH355ANIMAL]

This is an article by Daryl Laws from www.bodyunlimited.net. It describes how reverse grip pulldowns can also benefit the biceps.

Did you ever get a pump in your biceps while doing reverse grip pulldowns? During this exercise you move from both your elbow and your shoulder. Think about where your biceps are attached at the elbow and at the shoulder. To make this one work more for your biceps, you have to change the style of this exercise a bit. To make this the most effective, sit with your torso perpendicular to the floor. Don't lean back during the exercise and don't pull your elbows back to squeeze your lats as you would if you were using the exercise for your back. No, this is a different movement all together. By focusing on the contraction when the bar reaches your chin, you get a tremendous pull on your biceps. Your elbows are kept in front of the plane of your torso. Extend your arms as you return to the top position allowing your arms to travel to a full stretch. One way to make this a little easier on the inside of your elbow is to use a curling bar that attaches to your pulldown machine. The bent grip relieves most of the stress associated there. Keep your reps in the 6 to 8 range and the pace of it at 2-0-2: 2 seconds contraction, zero pause, but a good contraction and 2 second extension.

Once you've finished a set of pulldowns, move immediately to a barbell curl and perform another 6 to 8 reps. Do three sets combining the two exercises increasing the weight as you progress and you'll get a pump and burn like you've never experienced before.
you'll get a pump and burn like you've never experienced before.

Now to keep your biceps really guessing and growing, the next time you do this routine reverse the order. Doing the pulldowns last really allows you to get a tremendous squeeze on your arms and you can move some weight with this one. Do Not Let Your Ego Get In Your Way And Allow Your Form to Fail. You will get HURT and inflame the tendon that attaches on the inside of your elbow if you do. If you maintain good form you can get some serious growth without any injury.

Follow this sequence with a seated incline dumbbell hammer curl to hit the brachilias. Knock out three to four sets of 8 to 10 reps making the last set a drop set to get the burn. By using a high incline you can get a great stretch on the end of the exercise. Keep your upper arm from moving too far in front of your torso. You should feel like your arms are going to explode. Keep alternating routines between volume training and density training and maintain your protein intake to get the results you want.


Workout 1
Exercise Sets Reps
Reverse Grip Pulldowns 3 6-8
Superset with
Barbell Curls 3 6-8
Dumbell Hammer Curl 3-4 8-10

[bonebreaker]

I've always heard that you can lengthen the biceps by making sure you totally extend the arms and pause when doing curls, etc. When you do standing straight barbell curls, you should let the bar come to rest on your thighs, which fully extends, (thus kind of stretches the muscle), then pause for a second or two, a relaxed pause, then power up the curl. Same as with preacher's, most people do not let the arm fully extend, usually they stop just short of full extension because the weight is probably too heavy to get it started back up if the arm is totally extended. By not going to full extension, after time, the muscles tend to be shorter. Maybe an "old wive's tale", but I have always done them that way and it seems to work well for me. I get peak by doing seated barbell curls where I let the weight rest on my thighs, but my biceps are only at 45 degrees before I pull up, and concentration, dumbells, and hammers and do not fully extend. BB

[Gort]

Probably half of us have short biceps ( a long tendon between the bicep and radius) just like Arnold. Didn't stop him, did it?

Don't believe me check out his bicep shots.