Back and biceps go together like steak and potatoes, or a summer day  a stringer tank. This is a day of your training week worth looking forward to… and it’s worth doing right! But the best back workouts for mass aren’t just about heavy lifting, and the best biceps workouts for mass aren’t just about chasing the pump (although that’s definitely part of the fun). You need to do the best exercises, and do them right! Vince will show you how in this in-depth video guide. Find out which exercises you need to add to your next pull day workout and how to execute them properly!

If you are looking to pack on mass, don’t just focus back and biceps! Dial in your entire training week with Vince’s other Ultimate workouts:

Monday: Ultimate Chest & Triceps
Tuesday: Ultimate Back & Biceps
Wednesday: Rest and/or steady-state cardio
Thursday: Ultimate Legs & Glutes
Friday: Ultimate Shoulders
Saturday: Ultimate Arms
Sunday: Rest, play, and meal prep

For a demonstration on the proper form of each of the exercises in this back and biceps workout, watch this video from the V Shred YouTube channel!

Ultimate Back and Biceps Workout for Muscle Gains

A. Pull-up 3 sets, 8-10 reps (do machine-assisted pull-ups if necessary, rest 90 sec.)
B. Bent-over barbell row 4 sets, 12, 10, 8, 6 reps (rest 90 sec.)
C. Straight-arm pull-down 4 sets, 15, 12, 10, 8 reps (rest 60 sec.)
D. Seated cable row, neutral grip 4 sets, 10-12 reps (rest 60 sec.)
E. Preacher curl 4 sets, 10-12 reps (rest 60 sec.)
F. Alternating dumbbell curl 4 sets, 10 reps per arm (rest 60 sec.)

Back Workout Exercises

1. Pull-up

Pull-ups are one of the best back exercises, and it’s a great way to warm up all of the muscles on your back. To do this correctly, make sure to lead with your shoulders and squeeze your elbows into your side. Avoid swinging and kicking your legs to keep the focus on your back muscles. Do 3 sets of 10 reps.

2. Bent-Over Barbell Row

Bent-over barbell rows are popular in a lot of back workout routines, especially for bulking up. This compound exercise works multiple muscles on your back simultaneously. Do 4 sets, decreasing your reps with each set.

There are 3 big mistakes we see most people make when performing this exercise. Check out this video to ensure you are using proper form.

3. Straight Arm Lat Pull-Down

This exercise is great for your lat muscles. Try to keep weight at a minimum to keep the focus on the lat muscle instead of the triceps. Make sure to keep elbows slight bent and keep your chest out. Do 4 sets with decreasing reps with each set.

4. Seated Cable Row, Neutral Grip

For this back exercise, make sure to keep your chest pushed out while pulling back on the cable. Pull back with your elbows by your side instead of flaring them up and out. Do 4 sets of 10-12 reps.

Intra-Workout Supplements

One tip you may not hear often is the importance of taking am intra-workout supplement. Halfway through your back and biceps workout, it could be beneficial to take some quality BCAAs. These are building blocks of protein and will instantly help with muscle recovery, fuel your energy, and hydrate you with a boost of electrolytes. For BCAA supplements, we recommend Sculpt Nation BCAAs. They are digest quickly and can help keep you going for the rest of your workout.

Biceps Workout Exercises

1. Preacher Curl

Preacher curls are a great exercise for working out both heads of the biceps, but it does put more emphasis on the short head of the biceps and improve the thickness of your biceps. Remember to squeeze your biceps when you’ve pulled the bar to the top. Do 4 sets of 10-12 reps.

2. Alternating Dumbbell Curl

Alternating dumbbell curl is a great arm exercise which also targets both heads of the biceps. With this exercise, don’t lift dumbbells beyond your capacity. You will have a harder time maintaining proper form. Do 4 sets of 10 reps for this exercise.

Your biceps are the secondary movers in your back exercises, which makes it easy to target both back muscles and biceps for this workout. In every workout, you need to be mindful of the muscle groups you’re targeting to achieve your muscle mass goals. Most importantly, don’t forget that the best way to see results from these exercises is by practicing good form.

Don’t forget to eat for gains!

Want to grow? Then you need to eat like you mean it. The best way to do that is to use a calorie and macronutrient calculator that can be customized for muscle growth! This is exactly why we built one right into the V Shred App. Download it for your Apple or Android device and start eating for pure gains!

If you just asked “what’s a macro,” hey, we’ve been there. The answer: Hire a V Shred custom coach to make you a personalized muscle-building meal plan to fit your budget, and fill your sleeves even faster!

A great way to kill your gains is to not give your body what it needs after a tough lift. Your body needs specific  nutrients to recover after working out. If not, you could experience muscle loss, fat gain, sore joints, and loss of strength. POST WORKOUT by Sculpt Nation takes out all the guesswork. It is jam-packed with amino acids and the other essential nutrients your body needs for rapid recovery to keep your body primed to build muscle, burn fat, and get stronger after every single workout.

Want to really dial in your arms? Your journey starts with Vince’s legendary Big Arms program. This is a six-week arms specialization that will add size to your biceps and triceps. It will hurt, but it will be worth it! 

The post Ultimate Back and Biceps Workout for Muscle Gains appeared first on V Shred.

Focus on the negative to get positive results….

Wait, say what?! 

Don’t all the gurus tell us we are a product of our thoughts? Aren’t we supposed to think positive thoughts? Visualize success?

Yes! But we aren’t talking about mindset! We are talking about your technique at the gym and specifically your technique on arm day! 

We are also going to tell you to do  something else that may make you scratch your head.

We are giving you permission to use bad form…. 

Wait, say what? 

Don’t you always say that good form is crucial for gains and to prevent injury? 

Aren’t we supposed to always use good form? Even if that means lowering the weight? 

Yes! But what would typically be “bad form” isn’t actually bad for the exercise we are showing you today. 

Maybe it would be better for us to say that we want you to “cheat” a little bit the next time you train your biceps.

It’s not often we would advise you to do this.

But with the exercise we are showing you today, a little bit of momentum will be required to lift the weight needed to create the kind of muscle “damage” we are going for! 

What is the exercise? It’s not anything fancy. It’s actually just a bicep curl using an EZ curl bar.

The technique and tempo you will be using make this bicep curl different from what you are probably used to. 

When it comes to the bicep curl — you’ve probably always been told to curl up without bouncing or using any momentum and then use control as you come back down.

That is correct. Unless you are only trying to focus on the negative eccentric (lowering) portion of the curl  — which is what we are doing today.

If you have spent any time on our YouTube Channel, then you’ve seen us incorporate this negative bicep curl variation into many of our workouts.

But we’ve never talked about why “negatives” are so effective or filmed a video totally dedicated to them.

This exercise is hands down our favorite bicep exercise of all time if bigger biceps are the goal! So we figured it deserves it’s own article and video! 

Speaking of building your arms…

We’re sure you already know this, but you can’t get big arms with this one exercise. Negatives need to be added to whatever current arm program you are using.

If you don’t have an arm program you love or want to try something new, we have an entire program designed around building bigger arms. 

It’s called BIG ARMS and has helped many people (including Vince) experience significant arm growth.

You can CLICK HERE to learn more! It is an instant download so you could even get started today if you want to! 

Whether you use your own program or give our BIG ARMS program a try, make sure you consistently include this negative curl variation in your routine, and we know you will see a difference in your bicep gains! 

You can read over this written description of how to perform them. Still, most people are visual learners, so we suggest you watch THIS VIDEO for step-by-step guidance!

EZ CURL BAR NEGATIVES

Equipment Needed: EZ Curl Bar (pre-loaded or regular w/ plates) 

Weight: Aim for at least 25% more than you can typically curl. We want you to go as heavy as possible, based on how much weight you can LOWER slowly with proper form. 

The weight you pick will feel like it’s too much at first because your biceps are weaker during the concentric (raising) portion. 

But remember, we are only worried about the negative (lowering) part of this exercise. Your biceps are stronger on the way down, so pick a weight that is challenging for the eccentric part of the lift. 

Sets & Reps: 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps 

When to perform it: Pending your current arm program, we suggest you throw this exercise in either at the very beginning or as your final exercise. Both have benefits. It really boils down to personal preference!

Technique Notes: Again, this weight is going to feel way too heavy on the way “up” because your biceps aren’t as strong in the concentric (raising) portion of the lift. This is why we say IT IS OKAY TO CHEAT and use a little momentum on the way up since we ONLY really care about the negative (lowering) portion  for this exercise. 

How To:  Grab an easy curl bar and add a little more weight than you would typically be able to curl. Hold the bar with your palms facing up and about shoulder-width apart.  Instead of going super strict with form on the way up (which is key with regular curls), we want you to use a little bit of momentum to get the weight up.

Essentially, you will bend forward just a little bit and “throw” hips forward so you can create a little momentum to curl up. 

Once you “cheat up”, you will lock yourself into position. Keep elbows tucked in and then  lower the bar AS SLOW AS POSSIBLE. By slow, we mean at least five full seconds!! 

Do not rest at the bottom (not even for a second) and immediately “cheat” the weight back up.

Keep doing this until failure. If you have picked the correct weight, this should be for about 6-8 reps! 

Aim for 3-4 sets! 

If you are struggling with building bigger biceps and doing the same old curls over and over and not getting you anywhere, add this one into your program, and we know you will see a difference! 

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