Are my biceps falling behind?

[gentoo]

I've only been going to the gym for a few months, and I'm genuinely impressed with the progress I've made, but I feel like my progress on my biceps is severely lacking? I've been consistent in the routine itself, trying to push the weight up bit by bit, and this is doing wonders for everything else, but my biceps are seemingly unable to keep up?

I've been doing a push-pull-legs routine for quite a bit, and everything is progressing amazingly, but my biceps seem to be slower on the progress? I understand that different muscles can take more or less effort to progress, but it seems to be quite a large difference

For reference, here is my workout-load from just 2 days prior to this post;

Dumbell Row

18kg - 3 sets - 12 reps
20kg- 3 sets - 8 reps
22kg - 2 sets - 10 reps

Upright Barbell Row

12.5kg - 3 sets - 12 reps

17.5kg - 3 sets - 8 reps

Lat Chin ups

22.5kg - 1 set - 12 reps

25kg - 3 sets - 12 reps

27.5kg - 3 sets - 8 reps

30kg - 2 sets - 10 reps

Lat Pulldown

35kg - 3 sets - 12 reps

40kg - 2 sets - 8 reps

Biceps Curls (Dumbells)

10 kg - 3 sets - 12 reps

12 kg - 2 sets - 8 reps

12 kg - 1 sets - 6 reps

Hammer Curls (Cross)

10 kg - 3 sets - 12 reps

12kg - 2 sets - 8 reps

12kg - 1 set - 10

Bicep Curls (Barbell)

12.5kg - 1 set - 7 reps

7.5kg - 3 sets- 10 reps

Hammer Curl (Straight)
X

Low Row

35kg - 3 sets - 12 reps

37.5kg - 3 sets - 10 reps

40kg - 2 sets - 8 reps

42.5kg - 1 set - 10 reps

Is this normal? Or are my biceps just gonna be difficult?

 

[imsilly]

@gentoo I dont even know how you manage to do that workout. You are doing 16 sets for your biceps. Let's say u take 2 min rest between sets plus 1min for the actual workout per set. Your would be training your biceps for more then 45 min alone. Also it seems like you are doing reverse drop sets? You might want to do the heavy reps early instead of increasing weight after 3- 6 sets. I like my workout short, 1-1.5 hours and would dense your sets down to 9 but with more focus and heavier. 3 sets of each bc, hc, hc-x for example.
One last thing to experiment with: some people respond better to hypertrophy on the higher end (12-15 reps) and some better to heavier training. You can try and drop a kg and aim for the 15 or ad some and go for 6-8. Switching after a while if u stagnate is needed sometimes.

 

[gentoo]

@imsilly In terms of the workout load, I wasn't aware that was a lot. I could just go "just built different bro", but I genuinely have no idea how I do it. I won't act like it's not hell, by the end I'm almost screaming with the last 3 or so reps of each workout.

I could possibly try a drop sets (wasn't even aware that was a thing, just shows how green I am) and reverse it. Would that be for the biceps alone, or for everything else? Because my back, triceps and shoulders are all progressing nicely, or is it more efficient to droplet those as well?

 

[everlastinggift]

@gentoo If anything, you may be going too hard on your biceps. You have a lot of sets here, more than I think any beginner needs. Granted, now is the time to put in the work, but you have here...15 sets for biceps, and that's not including the chin ups. Assuming you are actually doing chin ups (your palms are facing your body) versus pull ups (your palms are facing away from your body), it's even more sets that are hitting your biceps. And then, just speaking about indirectly hitting the biceps, you're looking at even more with the dumbbell rows, depending on your hand position.

That is a lot. I'd venture to say too much, especially if you're doing it twice a week, which I am assuming you are. Biceps are small muscles - they can't handle a beating like other large muscle groups can (like your back and legs) and are often getting hit on intensive back days anyway. I know it's gonna be hard, but drop the amount of sets you're doing with your biceps (honestly, I'd recommend dropping the total amount of sets anyway, but that's just me). Especially with all the back work you have programmed here, I wouldn't do more than 10 sets total for biceps over the two pull days. Maybe, maybe 12-15 sets as the absolute max, spread out over the two pull days - not all in one day. Try out that modification for a few weeks and see if you notice any improvement. Newbies especially underestimate the need for rest and severely overestimate the amount of volume they need in any given work out. Best of luck!

 

[everlastinggift]

@gentoo Yes, cut back on the amount of sets/workouts you have programmed specifically for biceps. They'll be getting hit with those back exercises anyway, but a couple sets of bicep isolation work besides those back exercises should still be okay. Overworking muscles will stagnate progress for sure, as the muscle can't properly recover from all you've put it through before you're putting it through the wringer again. If a muscle can't recover, it can't grow and then be ready for the next workout, bigger and better than ever!

Best of luck with it, I hope it helps!

 

[dawn16]

@gentoo Have you measured your biceps between when you started and now? How are you determining that they're lacking?

 

[gentoo]

@dawn16 I measured their width and height back in late january with my gym buddy.theyve only grown about half an inch in height, meanwhile, my forearms, thighs, calfs and shoulders have all gotten noticeably bigger

 

[dawn16]

@gentoo So you're making progress, if you're making progress what's the issue?

 

[gentoo]

@dawn16 It feels like they're not progressing as much as they should be.

Now, I am admittedly a total dunce when it comes to this stuff, but when my biceps are stuck at roughly the same size and weight load for this long, I get the feeling I might be doing something wrong, especially when everything else out progresses them.

 

[michaellloydpinq]

@gentoo Yo OP. Trust the process. I was 370lbs and I'm currently 179lbs. Took me about 2 and a half years. Built muscles along the way. Maintain consistency and train your biceps to failure. Make sure you got the proper intake protein as well.

Good luck. Don't stop.