How many sets to do for biceps?

Author: Ola Gulgowski I  |  Last update: Friday, April 25, 2025

Conclusion. So, how many biceps exercises should you do? The answer lies in a balanced approach that combines various types of exercises, proper volume, intensity, and recovery. Aim for 3-4 different exercises per session, with 12-20 sets per week for optimal growth.

Is 4 sets of 12 good for biceps?

Yes, performing 4 sets of 12 reps can be effective for building muscle, especially if you are using an appropriate weight that challenges you. Here are some key points to consider: Volume: Four sets of 12 reps provide a solid volume of work, which is important for muscle hypertrophy (growth).

Is 8 sets too much for biceps?

For strength there is a guideline to stay around 1-6 repetitions and for hypertrophy (muscle growth) anything between 8-15 +. Checking out point 1, correct execution, and being under 4-6 reps for different biceps curls has, from experience, been seen as difficult.

Is 3 sets of bicep curls enough?

For most folks, 3 sets of bicep exercises, like curls, is a good starting point. It's like having three tries at that sack race -- not too little, not too much. But remember, quality over quantity! Make those sets count, with proper form and a weight that challenges you.

Should I do 3 or 4 bicep exercises?

One should do 3 exercise for biceps and 3 exercise for triceps. More than that is not required. because biceps and triceps are smaller muscles and they also work with the major muscles of their group. So doing so many exercises for smaller muscles is the waste of time.

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What exercise hits all 3 bicep heads?

The Weighted Chin Up is the best biceps exercise for hitting all three functions (elbow supination, elbow flexion and shoulder flexion) of the biceps with overload. This exercise will help you build strong arm muscles as well as build muscle mass and should be a mainstay in all your upper body workouts.

Is 4 sets a week enough for biceps?

The Minimum Effective Volume (MEV) for biceps requires you to perform at least eight sets of direct bicep workouts per week.

How many set should I do for biceps?

So, how many biceps exercises should you do? The answer lies in a balanced approach that combines various types of exercises, proper volume, intensity, and recovery. Aim for 3-4 different exercises per session, with 12-20 sets per week for optimal growth.

Are 3 sets better than 4?

Is it better to do 3 or 4 sets per exercise? According to The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), 2-3 sets of 12 to 20+ reps will help build muscular endurance, while 3-6 sets of 6-12 reps will build muscular hypertrophy and 3-5 sets of 3-5 reps will build muscular power.

Is 3 bicep exercises too much?

Within a single week (microcycle) of training, we recommend between 2 and 5 different biceps exercises.

How often should I train my biceps?

When putting together a workout routine, follow these basic rules: Work your biceps up to three non-consecutive days per week. This means at least one rest day between bicep workouts. If your goal is building muscle mass, lift heavier weights and perform six to eight repetitions.

What happens if you hit your arms every day?

Incorporating arm exercises into your fitness routine is essential for maintaining your strength. But it's also important for healthy movement, stronger bones, better balance, and keeping injuries at bay.

Is 8 sets of biceps too much?

If you have the time and ambition, you could start with 4 to 8 sets per muscle per week, and work your way up to 8 to 12 sets. Doing those extra sets will likely get you gains a little faster, but not by much.

How many sets to grow muscle?

Referring to a more recent systematic review, it found: The best hypertrophy results came from 30-40 sets per muscle per week. A minimum effective dose of 4 sets per muscle group per week. Somewhere around 10-20 sets per week still delivered good hypertrophy results.

Do biceps need high volume?

When it comes to maximizing bicep gains, the key is to combine high volume and high intensity training. This type of workout will not only help you build strength and size in your biceps, but it will also give you an edge over other bodybuilders who are trying to achieve similar results.

What is the best rep range for biceps?

If you are training the biceps directly for strength, it is recommended that you train in the 5-10 rep range, or the 8-10 rep range to minimize overloading the tendons and ligaments of the elbow joint due to the single joint nature of most biceps isolation exercises.

Can too many sets be bad?

There may be a maximum productive training volume per session of ~10 sets, after which more volume mainly increases muscle damage and catabolism and not muscle protein synthesis and anabolism.

How long to rest between sets?

Rest between set durations should be based on sets/exercise (volume), and not load or training goal. General recommendations include moderate (2 min) rest between sets if performing 2 sets/exercise, long rest (3 min) if performing 3 sets/exercise, and very long rest (> 4 min) if performing 4 sets or more/exercise.

Is 4 sets too much for biceps?

There is a minimum effective dose of 4 sets per muscle group per week for hypertrophy. For increasing strength, both higher volume and frequency contribute. However, results diminish beyond 4 sets per week. There is a minimum effective dose of 1 set per week per muscle group for strength gains.

How fast do biceps grow?

Typically, it takes around 6-8 weeks for you to start noticing changes in the appearance of your arms. At around the 12 week mark, this is typically when you can expect to see more significant changes, especially if you didn't already have a large amount of muscle mass in the area!

Can you overtrain biceps?

The biceps are a secondary muscle in compound exercises like underhand grip rows or chin-ups, therefore they are still working. As a secondary muscle in a compound lift, the biceps encounter even more volume and muscle breakdown than during a biceps curl. Avoid overtraining the biceps after an entire workout.

Can I hit biceps every day?

No body part grows by beating it every day—you need to rest to let your arms recover. In the hours after a workout, your muscles lose strength and power as they heal; after 36-48 hours, the muscle actually gets stronger, which is a process called “supercompensation”. You must give yourself rest.

Can I do pushups every day?

Doing push ups every day is good for building upper body muscles and even strengthening your core, back, and lower extremities. You can start with 10 push ups a day and then work up to doing 50 or 100 push ups everyday. Breaking them up into smaller sets throughout the day can make it easier to start as well.

Why won't my biceps grow?

There are two main training errors people make that keep their biceps from growing. These are overtraining the biceps (often unintentionally) and a lack of variation in training techniques. Adding additional biceps focused workouts and trying multiple biceps exercises doesn't work.

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