Build Bigger Biceps – Run The Rack!
Everyone would agree that toned arms on a woman and well developed or down right big arms on a guy are sexy! Biceps are one of the most commonly worked out muscle groups at the gym and there’s countless activities and exercises to target them. However there’s no need to be doing 10 different bicep exercises, because they’re all doing the same thing. The bicep is the muscle that flexes the arm at the elbow joint. Biceps brachii is the latin word for it, which means “two headed [muscle] of the arm.”
Want bigger arms? My all time most favorite bicep exercise is called running the rack. Give me any guy or girl that boasts about their guns, and I guarantee I could bring them to their knees with this bicep exercise. Hardcore bodybuilders may refer to running the rack as a “monster set” or any exercise set where you don’t allow your muscle to relax or recuperate between repeated sets of the same exercise. Rest assured, you don’t need to be a gym rat or even have a personal trainer or spotter to do this exercise; anyone can run the rack and be on their way to sexy arms!
In this case, “running the rack” refers to a rack of dumbells, however you can also do it using cables, or even the preachers bench / curl machine. Here’s how it works:
1. First you need to know what dumbbell weight you can effectively curl for one set of 10-12 repetitions before needing to rest ( where you can barely do one more repetition ). If you don’t know this already, just grab a weight and try it out.
To begin your “run the rack exercise” you’re going to choose a start weight that’s about 75% of your max weight. For example, if your max weight is 40 pounds, you’ll start with a 5 or 10 pound weight. The heaviness of the weight is not the important part of running the rack.
2. Grab your starting weight dumbbells, assume proper stance and form and do 5 repetitions of bicep curls. WITHOUT resting, put down the first set of dumbbells and immediately grab the next heavier weight and do another 5 repetitions. You’re not even close to being done yet! As soon as you finish your second set of repetitions, you need to grab the next heavier weight and do 5 more reps, put those down grab the next heavier weight and perform yet 5 more reps! After you’ve completed the 4th set of 5 repetitions, without rest, go back down the rack and do another 5 repetitions of each of the weights you just completed.
Example: Starting Weight 10lbs… 5 reps (10lbs) + 5 reps (15lbs) + 5 reps (20lbs) + 5 reps (25lbs) + 5 reps (20lbs) + 5 reps (15 lbs) + 5 reps (10lbs) then rest. Congratulations, you’ve just run the rack! This is by far one of the best tips to build your biceps!
After a couple minutes rest try running the rack one more time! If you can make it all the way up the rack, and all the way down again I guarantee your biceps will be on fire and it’ll feel like your arms are about to fall off. Not only that, but the tiny 5-10lb weight you started with will feel like you’re trying to lift a MAC truck!
Build Bigger Biceps – Run The Rack! by Riley Daye
