The Forgotten Bicep

Brachialis – the often forgotten muscle of the upper arm.

If you are not familiar with this muscle, see the picture below (it’s in the middle)

Brachialis Muscle

You already involve this muscle when training your arms, especially with movements like EZ bar curls. However, I’ve recently added direct Brachialis training and have seen great results.

Benefits of the Brachialis

• The Brachialis will thicken up your arms. It also helps push the bicep head up, making the arms appear bigger as well.
• Helps correct any size imbalances between your arms. More times than not, the smaller arm is lacking in Brachialis development.
• Your arms will be bigger and you’ll look more Dapper in your 3-Button Henley.

How to Train the Brachialis

• I’m a big advocate of heavier weights but this is a smaller muscle so I like to use a bit more volume and really get the blood flowing to the muscle
• Higher reps – 8-15 reps
• Controlled movement – think constant tension on both the concentric and eccentric part of the movement.

Best Exercises to Use

(In order of my favorites)

• Cable Rope Hammer Curls (see video below)
• Pinwheel Curls
• Dumbbell Hammer Curls

The cable rope hammer curl is my go-to exercise for hitting the Brachialis because the cable allows you to keep constant tension on the muscle for the entire range. You can really control both the concentric and eccentric parts of the movement. Again, we really want to focus on keeping constant tension on this muscle and getting a solid pump, while slowly increasing reps and weight over time.

Here is a video of Cable Rope Hammer Curls

What to Do Next

After you complete your main heavy bicep movements, throw in 2-3 sets x 8-15 reps of cable rope hammer curls. This will finish off your bicep training nicely and help you grow thicker, more impressive arms.

Add this exercise in your routine and let me know how your arms develop and look over the next 4-8 weeks!

Be Fit. Dress Great!