The Best Exercises For Bicep Peaking

Well-developed biceps form a peak when then they contract. The peak is the widest point of your upper arm, which is formed by the elbow flexors muscles that bend the elbow joints. The best exercises for bicep peaking target the elbow flexors and maximize muscle growth by activating the most muscle tissue. Free-weight exercises are ideal for bicep peaking because they activate more muscle tissue as you control your movements.

Exercise Movements

Your biceps are primarily responsible for bending your elbow joints, and the best exercises for biceps peaking place your elbows at the greatest angle of resistance. During free-weight or body-weight exercises, the highest angle of resistance is always straight down or against gravity. According to a March 2010 article in Testosterone Magazine, electromyography data on more than 50 upper-body exercises shows that narrow grip chin-ups produce more biceps muscle activation than other common biceps exercises.

Heavy

The best exercises for bicep peaking are heavy resistance exercises that exhaust your biceps within four to six repetitions, according to the National Federation of Personal Trainers. Working out with enough weight to exhaust your muscles within the four to six rep range maximizes damage to the contractile tissues in your muscle fibers. This damage helps build your bicep peaks because the muscles adapt by repairing the damage, and increasing the size and strength of the biceps. Perform three to five sets of heavy bicep exercise, such as weighted chin-ups, during your workout every three or four days.

Eccentric

Eccentric muscle contractions occur when a muscle remains tense as it lengthens. For example, your biceps contract eccentrically as you lower your body down from the chin-up bar. Fewer motor units in your biceps are left supporting the same load as the muscle lengthens. Eccentric bicep exercises are among the best for bicep peaking because the remaining motor units are put under more stress, which forces your biceps to adapt by getting bigger and stronger. Extend the eccentric portion of biceps exercises, such as chin-ups and curls, over five to 10 seconds.

Brachialis

The brachialis is the muscle underneath the biceps, which works with your biceps to flex the elbow. Exercises that target the brachialis are among the best for bicep peaking, because the brachialis pushes your biceps and triceps farther apart and increases the size of your upper arm. The best exercises for the brachialis flex your elbows against the highest angle of resistance while minimizing biceps muscle activation. Hammer curls and concentration curls are elbow flexion exercises, which target the brachiallis by minimizing biceps activation.