Best Bicep Workout of All Time

Arnold Schwarzenegger's bicep-building routine stands the test of time.

Though championship physiques have changed dramatically over the years, Arnold Schwarzenegger's arms remain a standard for size and shape even among today's bodybuilders. The strategically minded Austrian Oak approached his arm training with a methodology relying on variety and intensity.

He left nothing to chance. The following are highlights of the psychological and technical innovations he employed in building his remarkably shaped biceps. His advanced cerebral approach demonstrates that Arnold was every bit as brilliant an architect of his body as he has been of his Hollywood career.

THE MINDSET

"When I am working my biceps, I have illusions. I picture my arm pumping up and filling the room. It's a crazy thought, but when you want something badly, you always see it as bigger than it really is.

"When you think of biceps as merely a muscle, you subconsciously have a limit in your mind, which for biceps is something in the 20- or 21-inch area. When you limit yourself to that measurement, it is very hard to get to that level and, needless to say, impossible to get past that measurement. But when you think about a mountain, there is no mental limit to biceps growth, and therefore you have a chance of going beyond normal mental barriers."

SUPINATION - LEARN IT!

"So what is supination? If you are doing curls with two dumbbells and supinating correctly, your palms will begin by facing directly toward each other when your arms are straight down at your sides."From there, with your arms still straight, rotate your thumbs toward each other to fully stretch your biceps. Then begin simultaneously curling the dumbbells up and rotating your thumbs in the opposite direction - out away from each other - as the weight goes up. At the completion point, your arms should be fully flexed and your hands turned out as far as humanly possible. This turning out of the hands and wrists is the supination movement."

CHEATERS CAN BE BIGGER

"The cheating barbell curl stands alone for building mass. I start the movement with the barbell at my thighs, using a shoulder-width grip, and nudge it into motion with slight body movement. This gives me sufficient momentum to pass any sticking points as long as I keep concentrating. I go to full biceps flexion, then lower the bar slowly to the starting position. Since the palms face up, I get the benefit of supination, which peaks up the outer heads of the biceps during full flexion, as well as developing thickness throughout the central section of the muscles, the bellies."

ARNOLD'S FIVE RULES OF TECHNIQUE FOR BICEPS

1) Variety Switch around, using barbells, dumbbells and cables.2) Isolation Don't get help from the delts, lower back or other bodyparts when training biceps. Don't swing the weight.3) Full range of motion As this implies, move the weight in a controlled but complete fashion, unless you're using an intensity movement for a shock session.4) Find the groove Locate the natural line of motion for each movement.5) Total concentration Don't let your mind wander. Always fixate on the movement and the feeling in the muscle.

Originally featured in: Flex October, 1999
Written by: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Photos by: Art Zeller