The Truth: How to Grow Big Biceps

Many amateur exercisers make the mistake of focusing only on the muscles they want to build, which is why you'll see a lot of guys avoid doing a full-body workout and instead, opt to do a lot of biceps curls, bench presses and other 'vanity-muscle' moves.

If you're looking for larger biceps, doing nothing but arm curls will make them grow to a point, but they will never get as big as they could if you followed a full-body routine. That's because your biceps -- just like every other muscle you have from head to toe -- grow in relationship to the rest of your body. Meaning, if you want bigger arms, you have to train the rest of your muscles equally hard to make them grow as well.

The more weight you can lift to overload a muscle, the larger and stronger it will eventually become, right? That's why a lot of guys love starting their biceps workout with barbell curls, which lets them lift the most weight compared to any other biceps exercise. But there's actually a better way to train your biceps so they're forced to life even more weight than usual.

Most back exercises (like pull-ups, rows and pulldowns) are compound movements that require other muscles to help lift the weight (in this case, your biceps). Performing a heavy back exercise before you bother to do any curling exercises lets you overload your biceps with a weight load that's much heavier than what they could ever handle on their own. Even though they aren't the prime muscle being trained, your biceps will still experience a more exhaustive workout that can easily lead to a dramatic increase in the size and strength of your biceps.

One great move to try is the close-grip pull-up (Grab a chin-up bar with your hands about 6-8 inches apart, palms facing in. Slowly pull yourself up until the bar's under your chin, lower back down and repeat for six to eight reps. If you can do more than eight reps, add a dip belt with weight attached, tuck a dumbbell between your feet, or go super-slow.)

Most exercise experts and top trainers agree that one of the best times to work out your biceps (if building bigger arms is your main goal) is directly after your leg workout. This may seem strange, but whenever you work larger muscles (like your legs), your body releases larger amounts of growth hormone and testosterone (the hormones that help build muscle) into your system. Because the squat works the most muscle groups at once compared to other exercises, it helps trigger the highest release of hormones into your system afterward.

Training your biceps immediately after that hormone release lets them get a surge of more muscle-building chemicals than they typically get on their own, so they're more likely to grow.

Trying these three tips can make a huge difference in your routine, but I'd love to hear what other tricks you've used to help put new life into your arm routine, so shoot me a post!

And if you're loading up on protein to help build up your muscles, make sure you're not getting too much.