A tale of two biceps: how I built my 23" guns

Flex, August, 2004 by Ronnie Coleman

* Keep the dumbbell horizontal as you curl it all the way up to your shoulder. To isolate the inner head, supinate. To isolate the outer head, keep it level or pronate it only a couple of degrees. In either case, get a peak contraction at the top, using a hard one-second squeeze.

#4| DUMBBELL HAMMER CURLS

I'm known for the thickness and separation of my brachialis muscles and the outer heads of my biceps. This is how I got them. In fact, the hammer curl is one of my all-time favorites for 3-D biceps mass.

EXECUTION

* As you work each arm, you'll need to make the brachialis and outer biceps head do all the work, and that can only be accomplished by keeping your body perfectly upright, or even a degree or two forward. Press your upper arm against your side, so your elbow is the only joint working.

* Hold the dumbbell vertically, like a hammer. Lock your wrist, and do not twist it at any time.

* Feel the outside of your biceps cramp and pump as you curl all the way to a peak contraction at the top. Squeeze and hold for a second.

* Resist hard as you slowly lower the dumbbell to a full extension at the bottom.

* Alternate repetitions, one arm and then the other.

#5| DUMBBELL CONCENTRATION CURLS

This mass builder emphasizes the outer head, the brachialis and the lower bellies of the brachii. After a couple of months, you'll notice a new protuberant hardness in these areas.

EXECUTION

* Sit on a bench, lean over, and brace the bottom of your triceps against your inner thigh. Lock your wrist, and don't let anything move, except your lower arm. Do not pull backward with your body for leverage.

* Initiate the curl by squeezing your biceps. Do not explode. You want to feel the peak and the outer head burn independently. The sensation should not be fatigue or cramping but that of a pinpoint white-hot knife twisting deep in each of the target areas.

* Get a peak contraction at the top by squeezing hard for a full second.

* Resist as you lower the weight. Stay tight throughout.

* Extend all the way to arm's length at the bottom.

* Alternate sets. Do all repetitions for one arm first, then the other.

#6| DUMBBELL PREACHER CURLS

This is the exercise that gave me a deep split between the outer and inner heads.

EXECUTION

* Again, I use either the vertical or the angled side of a preacher bench. The vertical side isolates the biceps peak, and the angled side spreads the stress over the belly and its insertions. In either case, sink the bench into your armpit and stabilize your body.

* Lock your wrist and try to isolate as you curl. Do not lean backward with your body.

* At the top of the curl, twist the dumbbell outward for a maximum peak contraction and hold for a full second.

* Keep your reps smooth and controlled. Do not relax your biceps or let the weight drop during the extension.

* Maintain tension while lowering to a full extension.

* To prioritize the outer head, keep the dumbbell slightly pronated, or twisted inward. To prioritize the inner head, keep the dumbbell supinated, or twisted outward.