Back and Bicep Workout for Muscle Mass Gains

Are you a bodybuilder and you are looking for some new exercises to try? Those which are at an extreme level and will help you in gaining muscle mass to make your biceps bulge? Then, you are at the right place as we are going to share with you some thrilling workouts for both back and bicep.

Although, there is not a day assigned for this workout officially as most fitness trainers call Monday as the "chest workout day" then you can make Tuesday as your Back and Bicep Muscle mass. Let us keep reading till the end to learn some new extra operative back and bicep workout for muscle mass today!

Back and Bicep Workout for Muscle Mass

Back and Bicep workout for muscle mass is classified to increase gradually. These B's are often paired up which each other and when they come together, they provide effective and fast results. However, there is not such an inflexible and rigid regulation about both of them to come together.

There is still a logic if we combine them both, they will show some incredible outcomes. When your fitness trainer asks you to try back workouts, likely, the next thing he is going to add up in the session is biceps. Certain protocols should be followed before starting your workout. Typically, you should start off with pull-down or pullovers. It is not generally heavy lifting and endurance but these are the techniques and forms that you should keep in mind.

Back and Bicep Workout Together or Separately

If you are a gym freak then you will be familiar with the technique of push-pull split. In this practice, a muscle is pulled one day and the next day another one is pushed. You should follow a schedule that does not skip any muscle group to stay organized and make sure that your full body is targeted not leaving a single muscle.

For instance, if you are training a group of muscles which includes your triceps one day then the next day you shall go for biceps. This will cause a pull-push split and will show better outcomes. Considering this push-pull split, it is more often that trainers consider backs and biceps together. Their muscle positions are inclined towards each other and training them together will help your body and muscles to catch the flow. It is usually advised to train the back muscles before starting your biceps.

Back Muscles

In conjunction with the back muscles, the muscles involved in training back are:

  • Middle and Lower Trapezius — These muscles retract the scapula and rotate and depress the scapula respectively.
  • Rhomboids — They elevate, drawback, and rotate the shoulder blades.
  • Teres major — It helps in moving your arms back and down.

Bicep Muscles

The major muscles involved in the biceps are:

  • Biceps brachii — It flexes your elbow and winds your wrist outward.
  • Brachialis — It also aids in stretching the elbow.

Warm-Up Exercise

These muscles are very delicate and if overworked they can result in injuries. Well to avoid that you must warm up your muscles and body. Warm-up tends to make your muscles ready to move vigorously. It is just like getting yourself ready before going to work. If you are unintendingly rushing and trying to go to an extreme level, it can lead to problems. You should prime your central nervous system. These warm-up exercises will prepare you for the upcoming intense training. Stretching is also a good source of warming up your body.

Extreme Back Workouts

Vertical Pulls

A simple yet very effective workout for the back is vertical pulls. In this, you pull yourself down in a straight line and similarly pull yourself upwards. It includes several variations. Vertical push target the shoulders of the muscles. This targets the Lat muscles. You would probably require a Lat pulldown.

How to do it: You have to lay on a Lat pulldown. Your shoulders must be widely open holding the bar. Not pushing the stack. Lift your shoulders towards your ear. Next, keep your arms entirely straight and push your face to the ground. Allow your shoulders to lengthen as long as they approach your ears. This will pull pressure on your back causing your muscles to stretch.

Lat pulldowns are also a part of vertical pulls. Hold the bar and pull it straight downwards. Do not let it touch your chest but rather try to keep your forearm straight. The next step is pullups — they require an assistant machine. They can be performed in the same way as pulldowns, changing the direction.

What to expect: This form of workout will add width to your upper back and will target the teres major muscles of your back. They are very intense and will require a lot of strength.

Forms of exercise:

  • Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown
  • Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldown
  • Neutral-Grip Pullup
  • Chin-up
  • One-Arm Cable Down Pulls
  • Supinated Pulldowns

Horizontal Pulls

Imagine your body in a standing position, try to stretch your arms inclining outwards from your chest. Try to bring the arms back pushing something. This is what is considered horizontal pulls because your arms are in a horizontal plane and parallel to the ground. It is a type of row and any exercise done in this way will be called a row say it of any type.

Even though if you try to change your body's position and bent down towards the earth, even after that your torso will be straight up and your arms will be horizontal concerning your body. These types are either done in the form of straight flat pulls or with dumbbells. Rowing covers most of the workout area of your back.

It is recommended to try out horizontal pulls more than vertical because we have to recover the injuries and pains that we get in our daily life routines. The muscles targeted during this workout will improve your posture.

How to do it: This can be done with the help of an incline bench and a pair of dumbbells. Get your dumbbells and leave your arms in the air. Lower your arms as low as possible. Pull your dumbbells and slightly lift your chest up. Single Arm Rows are also used using an incline bench or a seat. To make this exercise the heaviest, you should be bent over barbell rows and bend your body. Heavyweights will increase the effectiveness.

What to expect: This form of exercise targets almost all the major back muscles of your body. It helps in making a thicker back. Also affects the wideness of your back.

Forms of exercise:

  • Barbell bent-over row
  • One-arm dumbbell row
  • Seated Cable Row
  • Pendlay Row
  • Machine row
  • T-bar row

Straight Arms Pull Down / Pull-Overs

The above two inclined movements are different and involve the biceps as a second component. Keeping the elbows in a fixed position, you will need to use very light weights as compared to other exercises. These are also called isolated exercises. In these movements, your mind and muscle should be connected to see the results. Some fitness trainers call it a mind game. Your body should work hard but your mind should be focused.

What to expect: It will act on your teres major and Lats. It does not majorly involve biceps.

Forms of exercise:

  • A rope attached straight arm pulldown
  • Cable Pullover
  • Dumbbell pullback
  • Barbell pullover
  • One arm-pull down

Extreme Bicep Workouts

Biceps are a crucial part of your body because they are attached to the elbow and the elbow doesn't offer a flexible movement. So, there is only one form of training that can be performed in many ways to work with your biceps. These are called curls and the way they can be achieved are:

Preacher Curls

This workout improves and works on the thickness of your biceps. It emphasizes the short head of your bicep. For this, you will require a machine that has a bar attached to it. You are required to pull the bar towards your face. It will give a twist or a curl to your bicep. Squeezing your bicep is the key in this workout. It hits the lower part of your bicep.

What to expect: This form of workout specifically targets the brachialis. It aids in the flexible movement of the elbow. It is an excellent form of exercise for targeting the inner portion of your bicep regardless of how you perform it.

Forms of exercise: You can either use a dumbbell or a barbell while doing this workout. There are always two ways of performing it either while standing still or being seated on a bench. You are advised to lower the weights of the dumbbells you are using after a spell of workout.

Dumbbell Curls

It is a very simple yet very targeted exercise. You just have to hold your dumbbells and move them back and forth. Make sure to lift the dumbbells which are according to your capacity. Too heavy dumbbells can cause injuries to the muscles. Maintaining a proper form with this type of workout is difficult.

What to expect: They target the muscles of the front upper and lower bicep. The brachialis and brachioradialis are the two main muscles that are targeted during this form of exercise. This type of workout aids in making your biceps thicker and powerful. You have to be patient with this form of workout.

Forms of exercise: This form of exercise can be done at home or in the gym. You will just need a pair of dumbbells. You can either curl both arms holding dumbbells at the same time or you can alternate the curls. It depends on your strength and stamina.

Pronated Grip-Curls

In this form of exercise, your palms face you in the downwards position. You are in the down position. Hold two dumbbells or a barbell bar and push it towards your chest. Curl your arms. You must have a strong grip. Lower back down to the initial spot.

What to expect: Just like other forms of curls, this workout also targets the brachialis and the brachioradialis muscles. It affects the lower part of the bicep. It affects the biceps to a greater extent as compared to the workouts mentioned above because it requires a lot of body movements at the same time.

Forms of exercise:

  • Reverse Curl
  • Barbell Curl
  • Cable reverse curl
  • Dumbbell Curl

Shoulder Extension

Last among our list, but not least is shoulder extension. In this workout, the upper arms are protected and the elbows are brought straight in the front of the chest. You can keep your upper arms behind your torso. You can lie back on an incline bench to perform this sort of training.

What to expect: Performing a workout like this in which your shoulders and biceps are stretched puts pressure on your long head biceps which is the outermost part of the bicep.

Forms of exercise:

  • Dumbbell curl
  • Table Curl
  • Incline Cable Curl
  • Back-Cable Curl

Many Reps and Sets Required

This is very critical to decide how many reps and sets your body requires. Your body can hold the intensity of the workout to decide if you are capable of performing a heavy training session. For a good hold, especially if you want to get those muscles, it is usually advised to do 3 to 4 working sets per exercise. You can do 3 sets of back and 2 sets for biceps. Some suggest 8-25 reps for each set. For biceps, you can easily do 10-50 reps. Make sure you take breaks between each set to gain the energy to start again. 45-60 seconds of rest is recommended.

3 P's of Back and Bicep Workout for Muscle Mass

  • Prime — It is another word for warming up your body. Priming exercises are important as they will help in making your nervous system active.
  • Perform — It is a small strength-training that consists of 8 reps. You have to be very focused while doing this. It is more vital as compared to prime but that does not mean you can skip prime.
  • Pump — The last P is about Pump which means you are actually going to kick off your extreme hard training workout for the bicep and back. It is a cycle of the low-to-moderate-to-high level of workout.

The Bottom Line

After all we have discussed above, it is clear how effective these exercises can be for all the bodybuilders and trainers. Your muscle groups are very crucial choices and you should choose them wisely. You can opt for the exercises above but make sure that you practice in a good form. Stay fit, stay happy!