The Obsession With Biceps

Every guy’s trying to pump ’em up. But is it just a waste of time to do bicep workouts? Biceps are one of the “glamour muscles,” along with pecs and abs. Guys tend to focus a lot of their attention on these at the expense of the other muscle groups. Bench press, curls, and crunches… these are the bread and butter of the modern man’s weight lifting routine.

But why biceps? Compared with the hips and the shoulders, biceps are a poor indicator of overall strength. Researchers in the field of evolutionary psychology have found that women are attracted to three main features on a man’s body:

1. Broad shoulders.

2. Slim stomach.

3. Muscular butt.

What’s missing from that list?

The main reason guys put so much emphasis on their biceps is to try to “out-gun” other men and win more social validation. But don’t jump to conclusions and think you shouldn’t work on your biceps at all…

Bicep Curls: A Horribly Inefficient Exercise

Let’s be honest, bicep curls take up a lot of our time at the gym. Whether they are dumbbell curls, barbell curls, concentration curls, or preacher curls, most guys have done ’em all.

Isolation exercises, such as the biceps curl, are best left to bodybuilders. The idea that our muscles need to be worked on one at a time has been ingrained in our culture since the muscle mags of the 70s glorified guys like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno.

Isolation exercises may help you grow stronger, but at one muscle group at a time, you will be spending a huge chunk of your life working out just to get into decent shape. Most guys take a week at the gym to work each of their muscle groups individually. Much better to do compound exercises that work several muscle groups at once so you can get on with everything else you need to do in your busy life. Complex exercises also help you develop better coordination and balance.

You may be thinking that if you ignore bicep isolation exercises that your body will somehow look “unbalanced,” with flabby parts and ripped parts. Well, the body is meant to perform complex movements such as the squat and the press, and will naturally look “balanced” if you make them your weight lifting staples.

The Best Biceps Exercise

So bicep curls take up too much time that would be better served doing complex movements, ones that will work many muscles at once, help you look more balanced, and improve your balance and coordination. So which ones are best to build your biceps?

Truth is, most of the “big lifts,” such as deadlifts, presses, and cleans are going to work your biceps to varying degrees. But if you are really worried about them, there is no better solution than to incorporate the close-grip underhand chin up into your routine. Not only will your biceps get stronger, but your back will get a great workout as well, helping develop the V-shaped torso that women find so attractive. And you’ll never waste another minute on traditional bicep workouts ever again.