Bahama arms: from the land of white sands, palm trees and ocean breezes comes a red-hot recipe for biceps, courtesy of IFBB pro Joel Stubbs

Flex, May, 2007 by Julian Schmidt

Not until Joel Stubbs began studying bodybuilding on his own, at age 29 in 1996, did he find his way to a competitive physique. He researched, listened, analyzed, compiled, recorded and experimented with a host of different exercises, techniques, principles and programs, displaying a profundity that would make a Princeton PhD proud.

Such effort was not in vain; it unveiled the secrets for balancing his physique, streamlining his aesthetics, shaping his muscles and showcasing their detail in a consummate package that helped him capture the 2003 Central American and Caribbean championships, and thus his pro card.

Stubbs, a pilot for Bahamasair, wouldn't be where he is today--competing on the IFBB pro circuit--without such a relentless pursuit of knowledge. Yet that only provided the sculptural detailing to the 6'3", 282-pound body he'd built in his seminal days of lifting, when he trained free from the rational restraints of professionalism.

For 12 years prior to 1996, Stubbs charged into his hometown gym in Nassau, Bahamas, with the soul of one possessed, in quest of big biceps. Strength ran a respectable second, and physique was hardly even in the picture. For Stubbs, no other muscle group was worked with such joy, fury, frequency, hope and dreams. Every day, at the completion of that workout's scheduled bodypart, he continued with countless sets of barbell curls and dumbbell curls, until the sun dipped below the distant horizon.

There were other dimensions to Stubbs' lifting, of course, engendered by his genes. "Back in the day, my uncle, John Devaux, was known as Steel," he explains. "He was of a small build but was very, very strong. He would outlift quite a number of the big guys; so, when I was a kid, I'd go watch him perform, just to see how strong he was. That motivated me to think, Hey, I'd like to try that, just to see if I could put a little muscle on myself."

Stubbs started with random exercises, throwing around the heaviest weights he could, and occasionally giving powerlifting a try. (In a 1998 Bahamas meet, he recorded a 535-pound bench press, a 550-pound squat and a 600-pound deadlift.) With that, the rest of his body grew, showcasing even more dramatically his hallmark biceps and prompting numerous urgings from others for Stubbs to "consider bodybuilding."

He did more than consider it. He devoured it intellectually, physically and artistically, and came away from the experience with a simple solution to the classic mass-versus-detail conundrum: he simply starts with exercises from the old-school syllabus of compound basics, thus retaining the fullness and sweep befitting a bodybuilder, then performs them differently for shaping or mass.

OFFSEASON STRATEGIES When not in precontest mode, Stubbs begins his biceps workout with six or seven sets, 12 reps each, of standing curls, the first three sets with an EZ bar and the remaining three or four sets with a straight bar. "The [EZ] bar puts less stress on my wrists and builds the outer heads [that give the biceps peak], while I believe that the straight bar builds more thickness in my wrists and forearms and inner biceps heads; both are beneficial in different ways," Stubbs explains. "I try to keep my form proper: no swinging or using my back. If I need to be spotted at any time, I'll ask, but I try my best to lift it by myself, because I feel that when I put the weight on the bar, I have to lift it. By the end of this exercise, my biceps are pretty much roasted."

Next, Stubbs usually alternates workout to workout between standing and seated alternate dumbbell curls, the former for more weight and power, the latter for more isolation and peak contraction. "Sets are three to five, for 12 reps each, using 50-, 60- and 70-pound dumbbells," he says. "Occasionally, I go up to 80- and 90-pounders, but at those weights, I'm flirting with the tendency to cheat a little bit, so I have to concentrate on maintaining proper form."

Then come cable curls. "I'll use an EZ bar or straight handle, whichever is available," Stubbs says. "These are drop sets. I start with 120 pounds on the stack for 10 reps; my partner then immediately drops the pin down 10 pounds and I'll do another 10 reps; another drop of 10 pounds for 10 reps, etc., for five nonstop sets of 10 reps each. One trip through these produces a real burn, but then I go through this five-set series two more times, for 15 sets total. Trust me, it's a burner. I'll have veins I've never seen before standing out all over my arms. It's crazy."

In Stubbs-speak, the next exercise in his repertoire, concentration curls, translates to an extreme stretch at the bottom. "Full range of motion, especially full extension, is essential for hitting all of the fibers in the muscle," he says. "I also supinate as I curl, twisting and squeezing at the top, for a peak contraction. I'll do three sets of 10 reps, each arm."

Lastly, Stubbs turns to a unique exercise not often performed, seated EZ-bar curls. "This produces the opposite effect of my previous exercise: I'm using only the top half of the movement, lowering the bar without touching my legs, for three to five sets of 12 reps," he says. "If the pump feels good, I keep going and do more sets. This one is a real test of discipline."