Muscle of the Month – July 2020

Biceps

Let’s see if you were paying attention last month. Test: what does the literal translation of biceps brachii mean? If you guessed “two-headed [muscle] of the arm”, then you were right. If not, well… I got nothing.

This month’s muscle is the biceps brachii and it is one of the main muscles of the upper arm which acts on both the shoulder joint and the elbow joint. If you recall from last month, only one of the three triceps acts on the shoulder.

The biceps are responsible for flexing the arm, albeit weakly (think lifting your entire arm with the elbow extended), flexing the forearm at the elbow (think your classic curl motion), and supinating the forearm at the elbow (think twisting your forearm from the palm facing down to facing up, leading with the pinky). Not bad for a muscle that many people think is just for aesthetics, right?

To train the biceps, you will want to engage in any number of curl variations or chin ups. Use dumbbells, barbells, and kettlebells and use wide or narrow grips, but always have your palms facing up (supine grip). You may have heard me say from time to time during “Bro Accessory Time” to twist your pinky towards your shoulder when doing curls as this will engage the forearm supination aspect of the biceps function in addition to the flexing of the forearm. It’s all about maximizing the pump, amiright?

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