The brachialis muscle is your key to unlocking hidden arm size.
To maximize your upper arm size, you need to work more than just the biceps and the triceps. The brachialis muscle, which lies underneath the lower aspect of the bicep, is often very underdeveloped and underworked.
By targeting the brachialis for hypertrophy, you can add extra size to your arms and help visually improve the peak of your biceps by pushing them up from underneath (you can't change the shape of the biceps...it's a "push" that helps improve the peak).
Try this Two Phase Body Drag Curl with just an empty bar first.
The Body Drag Curl was popularized by Vince Gironda, many years ago. It's an excellent bicep exercise when done with a supinated grip.
What we're going to do is switch to a reverse (pronated grip), bringing the up to the lower chest...
Once you hit that point, you're going to bring the bar forward and around to the "normal" top of the reverse curl.
This is done under compete control and tension...no momentum at all.
While you'll notice that the brachialis doesn't directly contribute to that second phase of the movement, it dynamically changes the angle of tension on the brachialis while you're contracting it isometrically.
I've found this to be a very effective way to increase the time under tension on the brachialis muscles.
The first time you do this one, use just an empty bar (Olympic or EZ curl bar is fine) then work up in weight slowly.
You'll see in the video that I also change my body position dynamically as I bring the up in the different phases. This is to counterbalance the load while still NOT using momentum to lift the weight.
One set of this will pump up your upper arms like crazy...I recommend 2-3 sets of 6-8 reps.
For more brachialis and grip work, try Two Barbell Hammer Curls.
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