Tip For Bigger Arms Do Slow Hammer Curls Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Training Tip For Bigger Arms Do Slow Hammer Curls Build a bigger brachialis by using slow contractions and 20 second squeezes at the top of each rep by Christian Thibaudeau October 12, 2015April 29, 2022 Tags Tips, Training The fastest way to improve the look of your biceps is to focus on the brachialis. The brachialis – the muscle situated underneath the biceps – contributes to upper arm thickness more so than the biceps. Increasing its size is an easy way to make the arm bigger. But the way most people train arms leaves the brachialis under-stimulated. People assume that training the brachialis is as simple as using a neutral/hammer grip. Not so. While grip type can have an impact, the type of contraction is a much more important factor when it comes to putting tension on the brachialis. The brachialis is a lot more active during slow speed and isometric actions. As speed of movement increases, brachialis activation decreases – more stress is shifted on the biceps. So if you're doing very heavy dumbbell hammer curls using a fast speed (even swinging a bit to lift more weight), the brachialis won't receive much stimulation; the brachioradialis will take over. To work the brachialis effectively, do a low pulley curl with a rope attachment. How to perform the set: Do the reps using constant tension. This means going up fairly slowly, squeezing the muscles every inch of every rep. Imagine trying to compress your biceps between your delts and forearm. At the top of the contraction, squeeze and hold for 2 seconds on every rep. At the end of the set, hold the peak contraction 10-20 seconds, squeezing as hard as you can. If you really want to prioritize brachialis development, perform all of your curls with the three guidelines above: reverse, hammer, or regular grip. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Training Building Your Rep - Part 2 Now it's time to take a closer look at the smallest functional unit of training parameters: the repetition. If you build your repetition quality, you'll reap more gains from your workouts. That's definitely a good thing! Training Chad Waterbury September 21 Training Reboot Yourself to Make More Progress These training and diet strategies will serve as a personal reboot and have you in a whole different place, physique-wise, one year from now. Bodybuilding, Motivation, Training Charles Staley January 10 Training Tip 4 Mandatory Methods for Abs IFBB Pro Mark Dugdale shares his smart approach to ab training. Check it out. Abs, Bodybuilding, Tips, Training Mark Dugdale May 27 Training Make 8 Great Exercises Even Better Here's how to take your favorite exercises and make them work even better for muscle and strength gains. Bodybuilding, Powerlifting & Strength, Training Nick Tumminello December 8