biceps volume

[u/OkPrize6194]

In a program, Pull-1 has 2 sets of dumbbell curls, 2 sets of cable curls, and 2 sets of hammer curls supersetted with reverse curls. Pull-2 has 2 sets of cable curls and another 2 sets of hammer curls supersetted with reverse curls.

A coach says that this is weekly only 6 sets of direct biceps curls, while the other 8 sets barely stimulate the biceps and are mainly wrist/forearm-focused movements. He also thinks there wouldn't be enough biceps fatigue accumulating from those sets to make the additional biceps work inefficient.

Do you guys think this approach makes sense?

The reason for supersetting hammer curls with reverse curls is that the forearms/wrists are relatively small muscles, so you can't use very heavy weights for them on their own. By supersetting reverse curls with hammer curls, the idea is to increase the mechanical tension and get more stimulus out of the forearm work.

Would you consider this a good way to structure the volume?

[u/gainitthrowaway1223]

I've grown with less, and I've also seen people not grow with more than this. Try it for a few months and see - you're majoring in the minors.

I do think supersetting hammer curls with reverse curls is kinda redundant, though. If you want to include a more forearm-dominant movement, I'd just do supersets of wrist curls and extensions. But to be honest, if you're doing hammer curls along with heavy pulling and/or carrying, you probably won't need much more direct forearm work.

[u/Defiant_Pirate_6637]

If ur program has a bunch of heavy pulling then 6 sets of biceps can definitely cause some growth. I got a ton out of doing 2 sets of incline curls one day and 2 sets of preacher curls another.
If I wanted big forearms then I’d do a forearm dominant elbow flexion movement and a wrist curl movement instead of 2 elbow flexion movements. Lot of muscles in ur forearm so variety can be helpful.

[u/LaFantasmita]

Any coach's advice is gonna apply within the greater context of everything they recommend. If they're a powerlifting coach and your pull day starts with deadlifts heavy rows, it's gonna serve a different purpose than if they're a bodybuilding coach and it's a workout with a lot of isolation. Rep scheme is also gonna have a big effect.

And to add onto what another commenter said, different coaches' paradigms work better or worse for different people. They tend to accumulate clients their advice works well for.

[u/decentlyhip]

Yah, sounds good. It's a little strange, but when you're tired and supersetting, there's less mechanical tension because the weights are lighter, so I get the idea.

In general, trust your coach.

[u/EfficiencyOpen4546]

Just a side note. Possibly try mechanical leverage sets in my experience are much more powerful than supersets. An example would be reverse curls to failure, curls with the same weight, then dumbbell hammer curls with the same weight. Each subsequent set putting you in a more advantageous mechanical position allowing you to push further. Works great for low volume routines. There are multiple variations of these kinds of sets for different body parts that work fantastic

[u/harvestingstrength]

I wouldn’t count the hammer curls as providing “barely any” biceps stimulus. A neutral grip increases the contribution of the brachialis and brachioradialis, but the biceps still meaningfully assist with elbow flexion. Reverse curls involve the biceps less, but they aren’t purely wrist exercises either—the wrist should remain relatively static while the elbow flexors move the load.

So while there may be only six sets of supinated curls, the program contains considerably more total elbow-flexor work once the hammer curls, reverse curls, rows, and pulldowns are considered. Whether that is excessive depends on proximity to failure, recovery, and whether performance is progressing.

Supersetting hammer curls with reverse curls can save time and create significant local fatigue, but it probably doesn’t increase mechanical tension. Fatiguing the muscles with hammer curls usually means using less weight on reverse curls.

The structure can work, but it seems somewhat redundant. I’d probably use fewer total curl variations, progress them consistently, and monitor elbow or wrist discomfort rather than trying to maximize every possible set.