{"id":697030,"date":"2026-05-27T11:49:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T11:49:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/697030\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T11:49:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T11:49:21","slug":"mike-mentzers-method-for-building-bigger-biceps-perfect-reps-matter-more-than-endless-sets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/697030\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike Mentzer\u2019s Method for Building Bigger Biceps: \u2018Perfect Reps Matter More Than Endless Sets\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Almost everyone in the gym trains biceps<\/a> \u2013 but according to bodybuilding icon Mike Mentzer<\/a>, most people are doing it wrong.<\/p>\n

Building bigger arms<\/a> is one thing. Building a pronounced biceps peak is another entirely.<\/p>\n

Mentzer, known for his ultra-intense \u2018Heavy Duty<\/a>\u2019 training philosophy, believed the problem wasn\u2019t a lack of effort \u2013 it was poor exercise selection and sloppy execution.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s not about doing more curls or endless extra sets,\u2019 Mentzer argued. \u2018The key is choosing the right curl and performing it perfectly.\u2019<\/p>\n

According to Heavy Duty coach Daniel Cortizas, the key to building a more pronounced biceps peak lies in targeting the long head of the biceps \u2013 the outer portion of the muscle responsible for that elevated shape.<\/p>\n

\u2018Traditional curls often lose tension towards the end of the movement,\u2019 Cortizas explained on Facebook. \u2018But that final contracted position is exactly where the biceps should be working hardest.\u2019<\/p>\n

Mike Mentzer\u2019s Favourite Exercise for Building a Biceps Peak<\/p>\n

Mentzer\u2019s solution was the preacher curl<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Performed correctly, the preacher curl keeps constant tension on the muscle \u2013 especially during peak contraction, where Mentzer believed the greatest growth stimulus occurs.<\/p>\n

The goal wasn\u2019t to move as much weight as possible. It was to maximise muscular tension through strict execution and controlled tempo.<\/p>\n

How to Do Mentzer\u2019s Preacher Curl Properly<\/p>\n

According to Cortizas, Mentzer focused on a few key technique principles:<\/p>\n

Let the arms hang fully straight at the bottomKeep the elbows close togetherUse a slightly wider gripLift the weight under controlPause briefly at peak contractionLower the weight slowlyAvoid momentum completely<\/p>\n

\u2018Maximum contraction equals maximum stimulation,\u2019 Cortizas says.<\/p>\n

\"Play\"VideoMike Mentzer\u2019s Biceps Training Volume Was Surprisingly Low<\/p>\n

Unlike modern high-volume arm workouts, Mentzer kept things minimal.<\/p>\n

His typical biceps session included:<\/p>\n

One heavy working set of 5-6 repsOne lighter set focused entirely on control and technique<\/p>\n

That was it.<\/p>\n

He also limited direct biceps training to once or twice per week at most, believing recovery was just as important as intensity. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Almost everyone in the gym trains biceps \u2013 but according to bodybuilding icon Mike Mentzer, most people are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":697031,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[49,48,37720,407,84],"class_list":["post-697030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-discover","tag-fitness","tag-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=697030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697030\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/697031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=697030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=697030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=697030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}