Are you sick and tired of your scrawny arms? How would you like to increase your upper arm measurement by a quarter inch? Better yet, how would you like to have guns that will inspire awe? No, you don’t need to purchase some high tech, state-of-the-art protein or some new-fangled piece of equipment. All you need is a no-nonsense kick-ass biceps routine that requires some old fashioned iron and sweat!

Go ahead, don’t be afraid to pump up those biceps to eye popping perfection.

I prefer to work biceps twice a week with a 48-72 hour rest between biceps workouts. This gives broken down, exhausted muscle fibers a chance to recover and grow thicker and denser. I like to combine biceps with chest, shoulders or even legs, but never with back because any decent back routine is going to tax biceps, thus preventing you from really giving them their due.

Here are two basic exercises for beginners looking to add size and definition. But whether you are a neophyte or a seasoned muscle head, you can’t go wrong with these.

1. Cable Curls: Attach a straight bar to the lower cable assembly and grasp the bar with a medium-width, underhanded grip. Stand upright with the arms straight and the bar resting in front of the thighs. Keep your upper arms tight at your sides, bend the elbows and curl the bar up to the chin level. Pause briefly, squeeze the contraction and lower the bar back down slowly to starting position. Perform 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps and watch’em bulge!

2. Standing Dumbbell Curls: Here’s a way to isolate each bicep. Stand upright, holding a dumbbell in each hand at your sides in a palms-in grip. Keep the upper arms motionless as you bend the elbows and curl the weights upward turning the hands so that the wrists face the shoulders at the top. Pause, squeeze and lower back down twisting to the palms-in position. Perform 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps and feel the burn!

(Here are 2 more exercises, a little more advanced, to really blast that beef and turn those biceps into twin peaks of muscle)

3. EZ Curls: Standing with knees slightly bent, grip an EZ curl bar (this bar is made explicitly for biceps, it is bent in the middle to facilitate your grip) with palms facing up, shoulder-width apart. Curl the bar by flexing your arms at the elbow. Your elbows should remain close to your sides. Lower the weight in a controlled manner to starting position. Perform 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps and flex those guns!

4. Incline Dumbbell Curls: Sit on a bench at a 45 degree incline. Keep your back straight, feet flat on the floor and arms at your side. Curl the dumbbell by flexing arms toward the shoulders. (You can do single alternating arms as well.) Slowly lower dumbbells in a controlled motion until your arm is extended. Perform 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps and pump up those pythons!