Overreaching: Volume or
intensity is increased for a short
period of time (one to two weeks),
followed by a return to “normal”
training. This method is use
primarily with advanced strength
trained athletes.
2. 21’s, Forced Reps,
Negatives And Other
Set Types
A biceps workout wouldn’t be
complete without a talk on 21’s.
It’s the single best set and rep pattern
for biceps that you can do. So
rather than just doing 6-10 reps,
you will be doing 21. But hold the
phone, because it’s not full repetitions
that you will be doing. First,
you’ll do 7 reps in a full range of
motion – slowly and deliberately.
Next, you’ll do the lower half of
the range for 7 reps. In order to
round out the total 21 reps you’ll
complete 7 reps within just the
upper ROM – bring the bar up
to the halfway point, where your
forearms are parallel to the floor
and go up from there and squeeze.
These partial reps allow you to
focus on the range as though
it were the only range and that
means extra squeezing and focus
on particular areas of the biceps
throughout the motion.
Sounds easy, but once you begin
doing 21’s, you’ll see just how
much pump and burn you’re going
to get out of them and how
grueling they can be. These are
vital to your success with biceps
work because they force you into
fatigue situations where emphasis
is placed on varying parts of the
ROM. This combination of stress
and angle are crucial for facilitating
growth of the arms – both
biceps and triceps.
Twenty ones can be done with
a straight bar or an EZ curl bar.
You can also do them with an arm
blaster and an EZ curl bar so that
you immobilize the movement of
the upper arm. This will also hit
the difficult to hit inside portion of
the biceps that creates the illusion
of girth in a front double biceps
shot and adds peak to your biceps
since your arms are locked in to
the body.