People who train for years but struggle to grow their biceps need to implement a few strategies:
Avoid Injury: A great way to stay small is to get injured. Training your biceps harder, more frequently, and in a more lengthened state when you haven't done so before can lead to serious and painful injuries. You'll want to slowly ease into training them harder and smarter, which is why I advise implementing these strategies in the order they are written, one at a time. (Step 6 can be done at any time)
Exercise Order: Train your biceps earlier in your sessions. Working them when you're fresh, rather than as an afterthought, can make a significant difference in how hard you're able to train them.
Control the Eccentric: Lower the weight nice and slow for 2-4 seconds until the biceps are fully lengthened. Rushing this phase or attempting to bounce the weight at the bottom of the range of motion can result in serious injury.
Exercise Selection: Train the biceps from a lengthened position more often. Exercises like shoulders-back cable curls or incline bench dumbbell curls, both starting from a lengthened position, have much greater growth potential than if you never fully extend your arms into a stretch between each concentric movement.
Increase Frequency: Your biceps recover faster than, many other muscle groups, and can handle being trained multiple times per week, as long as they're fully recovered.
Increase Intensity: If you control the eccentrics and lift with good overall technique, training closer to failure will enhance your gains. Training in the 1-2 Reps In Reserve (RIR) range is usually the best way to maximize gains while minimizing the risk of injury.
Rep Ranges: Train your biceps in two different rep ranges, one lower and one higher. For example, use a 6-9 rep range for lower and a 12-15 rep range for higher. Always train the lower rep range before the higher rep range. Our muscles contain various types of muscle fibers, from fast-twitch to slow and everything in between. Training across these two rep ranges helps cover all bases, suiting what your body responds to best.
In summary:
Begin by avoiding injury through gradual intensity increases and smart training methods. Focus on biceps early in your workout sessions, control the eccentric phase of each movement, and select exercises that emphasize the lengthened position of the biceps for optimal growth. Increasing the frequency and intensity of your workouts, along with varying rep ranges, will help you stimulate all types of muscle fibers. By following these steps methodically, you can enhance your biceps growth safely and effectively, catering to your body's unique response to training.