Men love training their biceps. They want to make them bigger, and if they get skin tight and sleeve bursting bicep pumps, their confidence and happiness increase 10X. There is nothing wrong with saying that the biceps are the most prominent area to develop and improve. It makes you confident and shows that you have done something. Also, people notice the change and appreciate what you’ve achieved.
Getting bigger biceps is not everyone’s cup of tea. It takes a lot of dedication, hard work, and a proper fitness regime. Even if you get those bigger biceps, upgrading them to the sleeve bursting pump level requires you to do more work on them. We know everyone wants to have bigger and sexy-looking biceps, but do you know how?
Well, there are different tips and techniques that you can incorporate into your training for skin-tight sleeve bursting biceps. We will be sharing 10 tips that’ll help you achieve your bicep goal. Understanding the bicep anatomy and some basics is a must before heading to the main topic. Let’s start!
What is a Bicep?
The biceps is a big muscle running from the shoulder to the elbow on the front of the upper arm. The principal function of the biceps brachii muscle, sometimes known as the "two-headed muscle of the arm," is to bend the elbow and rotate the forearm. These muscle heads originate from the scapula (shoulder blade) and join the middle arm to form a muscular mass. The radius is the outermost of the two bones. It makes up the forearm and is attached to the opposite end.
There are two heads of the biceps with connective tissues and tendons present on each end of the muscles. They anchor the bicep muscles to the bone.
The Long Head: It originates from the glenoid, a cavity of the scapula. It goes through the shoulder joint and into the upper arm, passing a groove in the humerus.
The Short Head: It goes along the long head of the muscle on the inside of the arm and comes from a projection on the scapula, the coracoid.
The two heads come together in the middle arm to form a united muscle belly. Even though the heads operate together to move the forearm, they are physically separate and have no united fibers.
The heads rotate 90 degrees as they continue down into the elbow and adhere to the radial tuberosity. It is a rough-out growth just below the neck of the radius. The biceps is the only muscle in the upper arm that crosses two joints: the elbow and the glenohumeral (shoulder) joint.
You may think of the biceps as the strongest flexor of the forearm, but it’s not. Even though it is the most prominent muscle of the arm, it supports and stabilizes the inside brachialis during movement. According to a study, the primary job of the biceps is flexion and supination of the forearm. Also, it is involved in shoulder flexion.
Bicep muscle contraction does two things:
- Assist the brachialis in forearm flexions (lifting).
- Assist the supinator muscle in twisting the forearm upward (it begins at the outer elbow and finishes at the inner wrist).
How to Get a Biceps Pump?
Bodybuilders and fitness fanatics frequently display arm muscles with thick veins, making them a desirable attribute for some. In the fitness world, those prominent veins are termed vascularity. The surrounding skin seems thin, improving the visual appeal and becoming more prominent. Low subcutaneous fat levels contribute to the appearance of distinct veins and muscles.
Some people have genetically visible skin, making the biceps vein pop out, while others work out for it. Besides exercise, they need to rethink their diet to get that pumped-up peeled bicep look.
10 Tips to Get Skin Tight and Sleeve Bursting Biceps Pumps
Bigger biceps means you can lift heavier weights and do effective strength training. You can achieve them following some simple tips and hard work because nothing is impossible when you put your heart and soul into it. Here are the 10 tips to follow for getting skin tight and sleeve bursting biceps pumps:
1. Eat Protein
If you want to have bigger muscles, you must focus on a protein-rich diet. You may train a lot but not see visible results. The reason is you are not eating an adequate amount of protein.
According to a study, resistance training alone is not sufficient for muscle building until you are not having a good portion of proteins in your diet. Similarly, if you eat a lot of proteins but do not push your muscles harder, your muscle build-up results will not be as encouraging as they should be.
It means a combination of a high-protein diet and resistance training is the key to building bigger and stronger muscles.
Related Article: 10 Muscle-Building Meals That You Can Eat Before Bed
2. Add Cardio With Strength Training
Don’t get shocked as we say this, because you can combine both for better results. It is good to do cardio one day and go for strength training the other day. But combining the both can improve the results. You can try out HIIT training for incredible results.
According to a study, there is an increased muscle build-up if you combine aerobic exercises with strength/resistance training. In another study, the results depicted that combining cardio and resistance training plays a crucial role in improved fat loss and muscle gain in obese.
Also, when you develop your cardiovascular strength, your vascular system (veins and arteries) efficiently pumps blood, especially at the target muscles, making your veins pumped up and visible.
Related Article: Why Everyone Should Be Doing Cardio and What are the Best Exercises to Do
3. Use Cables
Cables outperform both free weights and machines when you want to obtain a strong bicep pump. The cables apply force on the biceps for each inch of the rep, shredding the muscle fibers mercilessly.
Under these circumstances, blood rushes into the muscle faster to boost performance, combat exhaustion, and even begin the recovery process. The increased blood flow caused by cable curls causes the skin to feel stretched to the limit when utilizing a problematic amount of weight.
Cable curl versions are the most significant cable exercises. These workouts will get your biceps pumping straight away if you start your bicep program with them.
4. Isolate the Biceps
Many weightlifters or those who want to grow their biceps often neglect this thing that they do not isolate their biceps while working out. Well, it’s wrong to go on like that because it will lead to nothing.
Isolation exercises allow you to target specific muscles without over-working others. Isolation workouts are movements that primarily target one muscle or set of muscles at a time. Although you will invariably engage other muscles to some extent, complex exercises have a significant advantage. Dumbbells are used in the majority of these exercises since they are so effective, but you can also utilize alternative bicep workout equipment such as gym machines.
The optimal weights for isolation exercises differ from one activity to the next and from one person to the next. If you're unsure how much weight is appropriate for you, start with lower weights and gradually increase.
5. Change Your Tempo
It is impossible to overestimate the importance of rep tempo in becoming psyched. Slowing down for the first half of the set causes lactic acid to build up, causing the body to deliver oxygenated blood into the muscle.
The second half of the exercise can be performed at a faster rep pace as a "pump," driving even more blood into the biceps until failure. This approach works best with rep ranges of 20 and up.
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6. Blood Flow Restriction Training
Blood flow restriction (BFR) training restricts blood flow to some body parts, notably arms and legs. A person ties a strap or cuff around a limb and tightens it around it to decrease blood flow to that location. For example, for bicep pumps, the golden spot is just below the deltoid.
By combining BFR training with a low-intensity workout, you can give your muscles the stress they need to grow bigger. When blood flow is restricted, it allows lactic acid to build up in the muscles, which in turn increases metabolic stress. This results in your body feeling more fatigued, even though BFR workouts are typically performed at around 30% of your maximum weight.
By doing this, you are effectively tricking your body into thinking it is doing a much more demanding workout, which can help you build bigger muscles.
7. Incorporate Supersets
Performing two bicep exercises back-to-back is an excellent method to get excited quickly. It's good to hit the biceps from two different angles when super setting to get more damage.
Wide grip EZ-bar curls, accompanied by dumbbell hammer curls, are one option. The wrists are externally rotated for the first exercise, then neutral for the second.
Changing the height of an exercise is another approach to provide variation to a superset. You might use this method to perform conventional cable curls followed by overhead cable curls. When you combine movements in a superset, you get more reps, which means your blood flow stays higher for longer.
8. Never Skip Warm-Up
Performing any exercise without warming up the muscles and body is not good. Warming up before any exercise is necessary as it increases the blood flow to the target muscles, which are the biceps in this case. Also, everyone wants to try their best to get the results they want, which are impossible with stiff muscles.
Without pumping up the body, you may end up getting muscle soreness, pain, and injury. So, it is important to indulge yourself in cycling, walking, or other small activities to achieve the results you want.
9. Include Drop Sets
After finishing your biceps workout, ensure there's nothing left in the barrel, which can be accomplished quickly with drop sets. Drop sets are high-intensity exercises that force blood to flow into your biceps until the very last rep you can squeeze out.
Machine preacher curls would be the ideal bicep drop set. The machine enforces a stricter form from a seated position, making the biceps work harder, and allowing too much pause between sets will reduce the effectiveness of drop sets.
Machines are a fantastic choice rather than plate-loaded workouts as it's much easier to move while your biceps are still pumped up.
10. Supplements
Getting bigger, stronger, and pumped up biceps requires a lot. But proper supplementation boosts this process. These supplements make the biceps grow quicker and recover the muscles after a workout. That is why pre-workout supplements are a huge success when it comes to muscle building.
The ingredients like creatine, whey, amino acids, and betaine do wonder in the healing and fueling of muscles. DMoose has a wide range of pre-workout and post-workout supplements. Their whey protein supplement and creatine powder contain essential amino acids and creatine monohydrate, respectively, the primary ingredients for muscle growth. These ingredients help muscle building, muscle recovery, increase strength, and boost energy.
Related Article: What Everyone in the Fitness World Needs to Know About Pre-Workout Supplements
The Bottom Line
Biceps are among the most prominent muscles of the body. Gym enthusiasts put quite an effort into making their skin tight and sleeve bursting, which is not an easy task. However, you can achieve bigger and pumped-up biceps with different tips and exercises.
Try incorporating a protein-rich diet, supersets, and drop sets into your fitness regime. If you want to gain bigger biceps using cables, blood flow restriction training and HIIT in your exercise regimes help a lot. Before exercises, don’t forget to warm up and take supplements, preferably containing whey and creatine. Isolate the biceps muscles so that they will be the main focus of your workouts.
Reading List
Article Sources
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- Krzysztofik, Michal, et al. “Maximizing Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review of Advanced Resistance Training Techniques and Methods.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 16, no. 24, Dec. 2019, p. 4897. PubMed Central, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16244897.
- Landin, Dennis, et al. “Actions of the Biceps Brachii at the Shoulder: A Review.” Journal of Clinical Medicine Research, vol. 9, no. 8, Aug. 2017, pp. 667–70. PubMed Central, https://doi.org/10.14740/jocmr2901w.
- Lundberg, Tommy R., et al. “Aerobic Exercise Does Not Compromise Muscle Hypertrophy Response to Short-Term Resistance Training.” Journal of Applied Physiology, vol. 114, no. 1, Jan. 2013, pp. 81–89. Journals.physiology.org (Atypon), https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.01013.2012.
- Schoenfeld, Brad J., et al. “Differential Effects of Heavy Versus Moderate Loads on Measures of Strength and Hypertrophy in Resistance-Trained Men.” Journal of Sports Science & Medicine, vol. 15, no. 4, Dec. 2016, pp. 715–22. PubMed Central, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5131226/.
