Train Like an Athlete by ATHLEAN-X (Video Podcast)

If you have skinny biceps that you want to make wider, then you are going to want to watch this video. Here, I’m going to show you the best way to widen your biceps and get bigger, thicker arms in the process. Many times people focus on the height of their arms by working on building up the bicep peaks. While this is an approach that is sound it is not the only one. Incorporating brachialis work into your arm workouts is something you do not want to forget to do.

The brachialis muscle is situated beneath the biceps and is slightly visible if you flex the arm and palpate on the outside of it. Just underneath your long head of the biceps is a muscle that might be popping out a bit that is located between the biceps and triceps. This is the brachialis. The function of this muscle is to flex the arm.

Unlike the biceps however, this is its only job. The biceps on the other hand will supinate the forearm and flex the humerus at the shoulder while still helping to flex the elbow. The main difference however is that due to the fact that a muscle is strongest in its midrange, the brachialis is going to be more strongly contributing to elbow flexion in the beginning third to half of an elbow bend and the biceps will kick in more strongly from the midpoint up.

Since the two muscles share a common function it is impossible to get one to be removed completely from the action of flexing the arm. That said, there are things you can do to favor the action of the brachialis by slightly defavoring the contribution of the biceps by impairing its preferred action. This can be achieved by pronating the forearm primarily.

You have probably heard that the hammer curl is a great exercise for building up the brachialis and thickening the muscle beneath the biceps to help push it outward and give you thicker looking arms. That is correct, however many times people don’t perform the exercise properly and don’t see the results they should from doing it. The key is the positioning of the forearm and elbow during the movement. Instead of just keeping your hand in neutral with your knuckles pointed straight ahead, fold the arm against the chest and pronate the forearm. From here, simply flex and extend the elbow to lift and lower the dumbbell. This will really ignite the brachialis while minimizing the contribution of the biceps to the movement.

There are other exercises you can do that will accomplish this as well. One of them is a modification on the greatest upper body builder there is, the pullup. Rather than doing chinups which have a high contribution of biceps because of the supinated forearm required to do the exercise, you would want to do a pullup. But not just any pullup. Instead, take a very close grip on the bar and aim to close down the angle of the elbow joint as you pull rather than worrying about getting your elbows behind your body.

This movement can be done from a inverted row position as well if it is too difficult to do while hanging from a bar. Either one is going to light up the brachialis and have you filling up those shirt sleeves in no time.

If you are looking for a science based step by step workout plan that helps you to build muscle by getting the most out of every exercise you do, head to http://athleanx.com and get the ATHLEAN-X Training System. See how training like an athlete and taking your training more seriously can speed up the gains you get and help you keep them for years to come.

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