Throw out DB BB bicep exercises in favour of the Chinup?

[Vas85]

Heyy fellas, just confused a little with my routine, like i train my bi's once a week in my routine on Tuesday, and on the Friday is my BACK day, and since i have been doing the Chinups with the 'thumbless' grip, i have noticed tremendous gains in the lats, but i also get pumped in my arms like never before?

I currently weigh 91kg @ 10-12bf
I curl DB 32kg (1-arm-at-a-time-standing-curl)
I curl BB 55kg
These are both Isolation.

Don't know if its the sheer fact that i place approximately half of 45kg on each of my arms, but i never ever get the same workout using the dumbell's barbell's as i do with the Chinups.

So i'm wondering if i should for my Bicep day replace the DB's BB's with doing Chinups with Thumb Grip??

Any thoughts appreciated.

[Axion]

I don't know about replace because DB and barbell exersizes are still gonna isolate the bicep better. But if you feel like chin ups really work for you then defintly incorperate them into your routine. I do :

[Suareezay]

you cant rely on 1 excersize, DB and BB bicep curls are great arm builders, and so are reverse grip pullups

[Vas85]

Originally Posted by Suareezay

you cant rely on 1 excersize, DB and BB bicep curls are great arm builders, and so are reverse grip pullups

Well umm normally when im training, i try to focus on 1 exercise, with the main goal in being to lift the heaviest weights that i can possible, i dont tihnk 2-3sets of 1 exercises, then switching for me really does what it should.

I used to mix it up alot, doing like 9 sets of different exercises, but if i can get a belt to add a plate or so for the chinups, i might try that in the incorporation of my routine, becuase if i'm right
Chinups are Compound Movement, were as DB and BB curls are Isolation, and i think compound are better at building mass becuase they utilize more than 1 joint in the execution of the exercise.

But i wont replace them i think, but incorporate them into my bicep regime.

[Suareezay]

Originally Posted by Vas85

Well umm normally when im training, i try to focus on 1 exercise, with the main goal in being to lift the heaviest weights that i can possible, i dont tihnk 2-3sets of 1 exercises, then switching for me really does what it should.

thats great....so what your saying is this guy should just do chinups for biceps for the rest of his life and never bother with curls?

thats what im getting at....

[luke.w]

Originally Posted by Vas85

I used to mix it up alot, doing like 9 sets of different exercises, but if i can get a belt to add a plate or so for the chinups, i might try that in the incorporation of my routine, becuase if i'm right
Chinups are Compound Movement, were as DB and BB curls are Isolation, and i think compound are better at building mass becuase they utilize more than 1 joint in the execution of the exercise.

But i wont replace them i think, but incorporate them into my bicep regime.

You know what Vas, I can tell you that weighted chin-ups were one of the best movements I did when I was just training in the gym, now I'm talking weighted (heavy), I don't think any ab exercise ever got my abs as worked like weighted chins did, and my biceps got the best workout also, it may be wise to drop the curls for a few weeks then add them back in, you may find some new gains with them, as most exercises when you take a break from. them.

[Klinger]

If your goal is functional strength, Vas, I see no problem with dropping isolation bicep work in favor of compounds like chinups. There are schools of lifters who believe all isolation work is a waste of time because heavy compound work does such a number on smaller muscle groups like bis and tris.

But if you're trying to add size to your arms, I'd keep the curls.

[luke.w]

I think (I know) weighted chins will add size to your arms when switching from overhand, underhand, even if you want size you can still drop the curls for sometime and bring them back into a routine.

[Khaine]

Originally Posted by Suareezay

thats great....so what your saying is this guy should just do chinups for biceps for the rest of his life and never bother with curls?

thats what im getting at....

First of all, its the same guy that started the thread... Secondly...

Originally Posted by Vas85

But i wont replace them i think, but incorporate them into my bicep regime.

That's obviously not what he's saying...

Now, Vas, as far as I can gather, the sole reason why compound exercises are considered superior to isolation exercises is that they recruit additonal muscles and more motor units, releasing a higher amount of testosterone, resulting in more growth... I might be wrong tho... However, if my understanding is correct and you're able to put your biceps through a full range of motion and generally recruit them properly throughout the exercise, then I see no problem with cutting down on the curls in favor of the chin-ups...

All that said, your arms are huge anyway so you can afford a little experimentation with your routine...

Whatever you choose to do, keep us posted on the results...

[rangers97]

i recently decided to take this approach in my training, as I am now only doing 2 sets of barbell curls for direct bicep work during my training week,,,2 SETS...I used to have a complete arm day just for bis and tris, but with time comes knowledge, and I feel that these 2 sets in addition to my heavy barbell rows, cable rows, weighted chinups and upright rows during the course of my training week are definitely enough for my biceps....

I am interested in functional strength now, so I focus on movements which have the greatest carryover into real life. You have to remember, if you do barbell rows, and your poundages are going up, you are getting stronger, aka bigger. Think about this, ever see someone in the gym do 225lb barbell rows with small biceps?? Same thing about the guy doing weighted chinups with 50lbs hanging from a belt, do you think his biceps would be small??

So my advice is focus on the compounds and throw a couple of sets of bicep work in there, just to keep your mind at ease. I don't even do direct tricep work anymore, just heavy pressing movements with all types of hand positions, and my arms are the biggest they have ever been.....good luck!

[Suareezay]

Originally Posted by Khaine

First of all, its the same guy that started the thread... Secondly...



That's obviously not what he's saying...

Now, Vas, as far as I can gather, the sole reason why compound exercises are considered superior to isolation exercises is that they recruit additonal muscles and more motor units, releasing a higher amount of testosterone, resulting in more growth... I might be wrong tho... However, if my understanding is correct and you're able to put your biceps through a full range of motion and generally recruit them properly throughout the exercise, then I see no problem with cutting down on the curls in favor of the chin-ups...

All that said, your arms are huge anyway so you can afford a little experimentation with your routine...

Whatever you choose to do, keep us posted on the results...

oh, read it wrong

[Vas85]

Originally Posted by luke.w

You know what Vas, I can tell you that weighted chin-ups were one of the best movements I did when I was just training in the gym, now I'm talking weighted (heavy), I don't think any ab exercise ever got my abs as worked like weighted chins did, and my biceps got the best workout also, it may be wise to drop the curls for a few weeks then add them back in, you may find some new gains with them, as most exercises when you take a break from. them.

I have already been feeling the ab's being worked wonderfully aswell from the Chinups, and ill continue to incorporate them should be good hopefully.

Originally Posted by klinger

If your goal is functional strength, Vas, I see no problem with dropping isolation bicep work in favor of compounds like chinups. There are schools of lifters who believe all isolation work is a waste of time because heavy compound work does such a number on smaller muscle groups like bis and tris.

But if you're trying to add size to your arms, I'd keep the curls.

Yep i'm going to keep a few curls in my routine, just so i don't feel guilty for not doing any at all.

Originally Posted by luke.w

I think (I know) weighted chins will add size to your arms when switching from overhand, underhand, even if you want size you can still drop the curls for sometime and bring them back into a routine.

Yep.. if it wasnt for me experience explosive bicep workout while training my lats with Hook grip chinups i wouldn't have realised its potential (like i did them when i started two years ago, but at 70kg it wasn't a challenge, tried about 1month ago and i'm hooked).

Originally Posted by Khaine

Whatever you choose to do, keep us posted on the results...

I'll keep you guys informed, i'll post some pics or something after a few weeks to see the benefits/results of it.

Originally Posted by rangers97

I am interested in functional strength now, so I focus on movements which have the greatest carryover into real life.

I am interested in it aswell, when i realised that i could curl 32kg dumbell but found it alot harder to lift my bodyweight (for the same amoun of sets) or more taxing on my arms as its a compound movement and the explosiveness and feeling i have in my arms has never spelt "this is IT the exercise to do".

Hopefully all will go well, and ill keep you guys informed as to how my little journey on Biceps-By-Primarily-Chinups goes.

[jukka]

I haven't done any arm work for a while,
and though my arms never get sore from indirect work,
they do seem to get something out of nothing

I noticed my measurement tape in my drawer this morning and
measured my right arm (cold), and the circumference was 45 cm (18 inches).
Which is more than it has ever been.
No wonder my shirt sleeves have felt a bit tighter when I curl something..

Now, the thing with me is that my bis and tris so incredibly short,
there's so little muscle mass in them to begin with,
that I think that may be why they cannot handle any additional work.

When my poor little arms already have to work so much to assist
with back and chest exercises.

[rangers97]

Originally Posted by jukka

I haven't done any arm work for a while,
and though my arms never get sore from indirect work,
they do seem to get something out of nothing

I noticed my measurement tape in my drawer this morning and
measured my right arm (cold), and the circumference was 45 cm (18 inches).
Which is more than it has ever been.
No wonder my shirt sleeves have felt a bit tighter when I curl something..

Now, the thing with me is that my bis and tris so incredibly short,
there's so little muscle mass in them to begin with,
that I think that may be why they cannot handle any additional work.

When my poor little arms already have to work so much to assist
with back and chest exercises.

poor little arms? Dude how much do you weigh? just curious because an 18inch arm measured cold is pretty damn huge. I only can tell from my own appearance that I weigh 200 lbs and my arms aren't 18 inches flexed. maybe I need to stop all my arm training!!

[Vas85]

Originally Posted by rangers97

poor little arms? Dude how much do you weigh? just curious because an 18inch arm measured cold is pretty damn huge. I only can tell from my own appearance that I weigh 200 lbs and my arms aren't 18 inches flexed. maybe I need to stop all my arm training!!

lol... i agree. im at 198lbs measuring 17.6 inches flexx not cold, probably i should also stop my arm trainign too LOL.