Not surprisingly, professional bodybuilders and amateurs pay great attention to pumping biceps , because this muscle group is associated with power, and owners of voluminous biceps cause respect and envy. But many beginners are faced with a problem: after the first successes on the way to increasing muscle volume, stagnation sets in, biceps does not grow. The main thing here is not to give up (literally and figuratively). We need to understand the reasons why biceps do not grow , and then eliminate them sequentially.
The power of knowledge
First of all, you need to understand that the success of training is based on a whole body of knowledge. A bodybuilder should know how the biceps muscles are structured, due to what they grow, what processes occur in them during exercise, how muscles need to be nourished and restored. This will not only allow you to get the desired results, but also protect you from injuries.
The biceps muscles, like others, consist of bundles of fibers protected by connective tissue. The number of fibers in the human body is constant, it is due to genes. Therefore, muscle growth is achieved only by increasing the volume of fibers, or more precisely - increasing the volume of connective tissue and the influx of nutrient fluid that surrounds the fibers.
During training, the muscles are stressed, the fibers are damaged, and during regeneration in response to a large load, they gradually increase in volume, and at the same time, the strength of a person increases. As soon as the body gets used to stress (working weights), it stops the process of growth of strength and muscle tissue. To prevent this from happening, training is based on the principle of increasing loads. Everything seems to be simple. But why doesn't biceps grow so often?
Three growth factors
There are three factors without which stable muscle growth is not possible:
- Properly thought out training program with progressive loads.
- Proper and adequate nutrition.
- Attentive attitude to health and recovery process.
Classic exercises
Typically, beginner programs that allow you to pump up your biceps include the following classic exercises:
- bending your arms on Scott's bench with dumbbells or a barbell;
- lifting dumbbells for biceps while sitting;
- standing dumbbell or barbell lift;
- lifting dumbbells alternately on an inclined board;
- lifting dumbbells with both hands on a board with emphasis on the chest;
- hammer bends.
Program
Bodybuilding is not a lotto, this is not a game of luck, but a well-considered and thought-out process. Therefore, there is no place for spontaneous throwing from exercise to exercise. There are a great many training programs, it is better for a beginner to consult a specialist, together with him, develop a program for several months ahead, and then follow it steadily. If you do not consult with anyone, then you can copy the exercises of a person who has already achieved success. The main thing is to choose a bodybuilder about his height and build.
But sometimes even the techniques of recognized champions do not grow biceps. The reasons are often hidden in the failure to observe such basic elements as:
- Mandatory workout and hitch.
- Large working weights that have the necessary stressful effect on the fibers.
- Sufficient pauses between exercises. Too much zeal does not allow the muscles to recover to work properly.
- The right technique. Exact execution of the exercise is the main guarantee of success, the technique is more important than the number of approaches and the number of repetitions.
- The distribution of exercises for muscle groups. Biceps does not grow as much as possible if secondary muscles are not worked out at the same time.
How to pump biceps with dumbbells at home
The main problem of working at home is the lack of the necessary equipment, and without large weights it is very difficult to achieve impressive volumes. But to achieve good results, especially at first, really, having only dumbbells and a horizontal bar. Particularly good are the alternating alternating dumbbell lifts, pull-ups with reverse grip, lifting dumbbells for biceps while sitting or standing.
Flexibility of thinking
It happens that the exercise pattern stops working, for weeks there are no shifts. But a person falls into the trap of his own obstinacy and does not want to recognize the unpleasant truth. He continues to work hard for wear and tear, exhausting the body and psyche. The only treatment here is to stop, change your view of the situation and realize that the program has exhausted itself and needs to be radically adjusted.
Nutrition
Without sufficient and reasonable nutrition, muscle growth is unthinkable. Many beginners do not want or are afraid to change their diet, referring to the difficulties of calculating calories, troubles with diet control and unwillingness to mess with cooking. As a result, with conscientious work in training, their progress is minimal, biceps do not grow.
But the principles of nutrition for muscle growth are surprisingly simple:
- You need to consume calories daily 20% higher than the daily norm, which depends on gender, activity, age, physical data, it can be found using special calculator services.
- Fats (20%), proteins (30%) and carbohydrates (50%) should be properly distributed in the diet.
- It is necessary to avoid bad carbohydrates with a high glycemic index, they are found in flour, sugar and lead to a set of fat, not muscle tissue.
- Food should be divided into six to seven meals a day. You can lay it out in containers ahead of time, after calculating the calorie content of each portion.
- It is very important to eat correctly before and after each workout, so that the body has enough energy for increased loads and building material for recovering muscles.
- During mass gain, it is necessary to provide the body with enough water.
- It is convenient to plan your diet for a day or even a week in advance.
Additives
Sports nutritional supplements help speed up muscle gain, but there is an important point - without high-calorie main nutrition, the effectiveness of supplements decreases. Bodybuilders usually supplement the main diet with the following supplements.
The gainer is a reliable source of fast carbohydrates and also contains healthy minerals, vitamins, creatine and proteins. It nourishes the body with glycogen, which is necessary both for working with weights and for restoring strength.
Whey Protein is a provider of protein, vitamins and calcium for muscle building.
Creatine is a fast energy for muscle cells. It launches special energy processes, filling the body with strength and increasing the efficiency of physical exercises. In addition, creatine helps to increase muscle mass due to fluid retention.
BCAA amino acids are taken in capsule form before and during exercise and are an anti-fatigue and muscle growth material. They give the body energy during training, protect muscles from decay, and help them grow.
Recovery
A common problem for beginners is excessive enthusiasm. Trying to quickly get the result, they do not care about their own health and relaxation, and then wonder why the biceps are not growing. But time for recovery is a prerequisite for the growth of muscle mass. Muscles do not grow during exercise, but during rest. They need two to three days to fully recover, so more frequent workouts not only make the work useless, but even do harm, preventing the fibers from recovering.
You need to learn to restrain your impatience and develop programs for individual muscle groups with a frequency of no more than once every three days. During the days of rest, moderate, gentle exercises for resting muscles are welcomed: the blood rushes to the muscle tissue and quickly detoxifies, accelerating its regeneration.
Also, for a full recovery of muscles and forces, you must sleep at least 8 hours and avoid unnecessary stress. Negative emotions, unnecessary experiences not only undermine health, but also adversely affect motivation for training, sports discipline and belief in success.