Good Biceps Workout Plan

Biceps workouts are essential elements of a fitness program. Workouts for building strength in the muscle should include three to five biceps exercise sets; workouts with five to seven sets help to increase muscular stamina and endurance in your biceps. You might only perform two biceps sets, meanwhile, if you work out more frequently, such as engaging in a full-body workout three or four days per week. A good biceps workout plan supports overall biceps development and helps you develop each type of muscular fitness.

Frequency

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend performing strength-training workouts, which typically include biceps exercises, two day per week. Muscles need 48 to 72 hours of recovery time between workouts. A good biceps workout plan includes two to four biceps training days per week, depending on the intensity of your workout session. You can safely perform workouts with lighter resistance every other day three or four days per week, but heavy weightlifting exercises require more recovery time to repair tissue damage that occurs during intense contractions.

Lateral and Medial Heads

The biceps have inner and outer heads; each responds to particular joint movements, and good biceps workout plans include exercises that stimulate both heads. The outer head is more active during elbow flexion movements when your shoulders are more extended. You can target the outer head by performing barbell arm curls while standing up straight with your shoulders pulled back. The inner head is more active during elbow flexion movements when your shoulders are more flexed. Target the inner head by positioning your upper arms forward and in front of your body during arm curl exercises.

Compound Exercises

Compound exercises are crucial for maximizing total muscle-tissue activation and developing functional fitness, which enhances your physical ability in daily life. Unlike isolation exercises, which only move one joint, compound exercises move several joints. A good biceps workout plan includes pullups, which are compound movements that maximally activate the biceps. According to electromyography tests, which measure the amount of electrical activity produced by muscle contractions, weighted pullups produce more biceps muscle activation than other common biceps isolation exercises, including arm curls, certified strength and conditioning specialist Bret Contreras explains.

Repetitions

Workouts that emphasize specific repetition ranges stimulate particular muscle adaptations; a good biceps workout plan involves training within multiple repetition ranges. Resistance exercises that exhaust your biceps within 20 to 25 repetitions help increase muscular endurance. Heavier sets, using weights with which you can perform only 12 to 15 repetitions, build stamina and produce moderate muscle growth. Exhausting your biceps with heavy sets of four to six repetitions each stimulates the most strength improvement. Your biceps workout plan might include phases of several weeks that emphasize individual repetition ranges. You can also alternate and use different ranges with each subsequent workout.