What's up, guys?
Jeff Cavaliere, ATHLEANX.com.
So are you ready for the hard truth about how big your biceps are going to be?
I don’t care how hard you train them.
There's a test.
The test is the finger test.
This could tell you everything you need t know about how big your biceps can be.
You ready to take it with me?
Get your arm – sit up – get your arm here, bend it 90 degrees, and then put your finger
in the space here at the end of your bicep and your forearm.
Can you get one finger in there?
I can't.
I actually need to put more than one, so I've got two.
Two fingers fills the space for me without overlapping.
Some people might even be able to put three in.
The idea is, if you can fit more than one you're in rough shape my friend, as far as
how big your biceps can get.
Before you start getting really, really depressed about how big your biceps can be, let me ease
your mind a little bit.
The test is bullshit.
See, a lot of times people will spew this advice out – we like to call it "Bro Science"
– but they'll spew this advice out in the gym and it does nothing but discourage you
from wanting to train, and train hard.
I've seen people tell me "Jeff, I can't.
I stopped training my biceps because I have a three finger gap there, which means I'm
never going to have a good looking bicep."
That's bullshit.
You never should have stopped in the first place because the advice is wrong.
All you're trying to do here, and all you're actually getting information on, is how the
muscle bellies sit in your arm, or how long your muscle belly is genetically.
It is a genetic component.
Our muscle belly length is genetic.
However, that doesn't mean you can't develop what's there.
If you have a shorter muscle belly, supposedly more than one finger – two finger muscle
belly – you're going to have a shorter looking bicep.
But guess what?
If you developed it, it's going to peak.
It's going to come up and become a peakier bicep, which a lot of people prefer in the
first place.
If you have a longer insertion here, you're going to get one that actually fills this
gap up.
You're going to have a one finger gap in there, and if you develop that you're not going to
have as tall of a bicep, but you're going to have a fuller bicep.
But none of this should discourage you from training in the first place.
Bad advice if you've ever stopped because of that.
So what you can do is, you can influence the shape of your bicep because of the fact that
your genetics are dictating how long, or short your tendons are, but your development of
your bicep, guys, that's just hindered by your effort level.
The amount of effort that you put into your workouts in training your biceps.
So here's the last little bit of advice for you.
Number one, obviously, don’t ever get discouraged about it.
Number two, if you happen to have a longer bicep and you wish you had a peakier bicep
all you have to do is start training that long head a little bit more.
We can do that by getting our long head in stretch with an exercise like an inclined
dumbbell curl.
It's going to preferentially hit the long head of the biceps an allow you to get that
backside a little bit taller, right?
And maximize what you have.
You're already lacking that height because you have a longer, fuller bicep, but that
doesn't mean that you can't try to develop the weakness, or the weaker area of your bicep.
You could also do that by having your hands in closer while your elbows are tucked while
doing your curls, to try to hit, more preferentially, the outer, or longer head of the bicep.
For those that have the peakier bicep, but are wishing they had a little bit more fullness,
well, you could do exercises that place your biceps out in front of you.
Put your arms out in front of you.
Like a spider curl.
Right here, you could actually hit this short head, which is going to add some more bulk,
and beef to the biceps, as well as the obvious hammer curls.
You might have to do a lot more hammer curls than somebody else, just to try to beef up
the bicep, by bulking up the brachialis underneath.
You see, there's always a training strategy, but you're never waiving the white flag because
of some test driven by Bro Science that's telling you you're doomed because you could
fit a finger, or two, or three, or four, or whatever.
Guys, I hope you've found this video helpful, and most of all encouraging because you should
never let that kind of stuff dictate how you train.
Always train hard and no matter what, I don’t care how you look, what the shape of your
arms are genetically – the shape of your muscle bellies are – you're going to look
damn good if you train and eat right.
Head to ATHLEANX.com right now if you want a training program that puts the science back
in strength, tells it to you the way it is.
No bullshit.
It's over at ATHLEANX.com.
Day by day meal plans, workouts, everything you need.
In the meantime, if you've found this video helpful, make sure you leave your comments
and thumbs up below.
Also let me know, have you tried the test?
I did, I fell for it way back when I was in high school.
But I promise you, never again.
All right, guys.
I'll talk to you soon.
Oh, by the way, one last punchline.
You want to know another guy who's pretty good?
He had a two finger gap here in his biceps.
I'll leave you with a picture.
You might recognize who he is.
All right, guys.
I'll see you again soon.