How Gymnasts Have So HUGE Biceps? (Secret Revealed!)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
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How gymnasts have such huge biceps?
In this video I’ll tell you the secret of the insane gymnast biceps, highlighting the most important information that I bet many don’t even use.
So if you want to have bigger biceps and want to get the most out of your training, stay with me and let’s get right into it!
If we talk about biceps training everybody’s thinking about the good old biceps curls with bars, dumbbells or cables.
You can improve your biceps with those exercises for sure, but surprisingly gymnasts almost never do those and they still have huge bicepses.
But how?
To put it simple, the insane gymnast biceps comes from the charachteristic of their sport and the complexity of their strength training.
In general we can say that they do many type of exercises and yes, their strength training covers many pull-up variations for example.
This is not surprising, how else would you do strength training in a sport where you need to be able to move and dominate your whole bodyweight easily if not with compound exercises such as the pull-ups and chin ups.
They do a whole variety of pulling exercises: inverted rows, pull-ups, chin-ups, muscle ups etc. And other complex pulling exercises such as the ice cream maker or buttermaker.
The brachialis and biceps play a key role in all these exercises and even if it’s a surprise for many, this is enough to build decent bicepses - isolations are not absolutely necessary.
As I said before, many people use only isolations when it comes to biceps training and neglect the compound exercises such as the chin-ups which work the bicepses like no other exercise if done properly.
Besides all these exercises I’d like to highlight a really important one which is the king of bent-arm strength when it comes to gymnast biceps training, and this is rope climbing.
That’s an absolute must if you want to build big arms and I already made a video on how to master it step by step along with all the exercises I’ve mentioned so check them out after this one, but don’t go anywhere because here comes the point:
There is one thing that gymnats do which is really different and unusual...
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Athletes shown in the video: Arthur Zanetti, Ivan Ivankov, Jonathan Horton, Jake Dalton, Brandon Wynn, Yuri Van Gelder, Yuri Chechi, Chen Yibing, Aleksandr Balandin, Marcell Nguyen, Jordan Jovtchev, Tamas Bittmann Thumbnail: Jake Dalton
The big secret is 5 hour a day training 6 days a week starting at young age really no secret just hard work
@uriel nicolas rosso I just turned 40. Casual gym goer with a boxing back ground. Was never happy with the size of my muscles, despite being strong. Always put it down to genetics. I'll try these though.
Nope….talent plays a role. I can practice basketball 10hrs a day for 30 years. I would never beat Lebrun James in basketball.
@@User-54631 not with that attitude you wont. Lebron James is a punk! Anyone can be better than him with enough hard work. If you dont believe that thsn you will forever be mediocre.
wouldn't a 5 hour session be considered overtraining by many?
@@davidrtrains overtraining is a myth
Tension seem to be the most important stimulus for muscle growth - put the muscle under load and in a stretched position at the same time. This is true for every muscle, it seems.
Muscles only know tension. Tension is everything. Muscle fibers are like ropes
Exactly
its not, we have science for this
@@Rumo_Notna That is what the science says. For example, you can read the book of Dr. Mike Israetel, Dr. James Hoffman, Dr. Melissa Davis, Jared Feather. See chapter 2.
Yeah, my arms and shoulders grew immensely when I started calisthenics seriously. I was a hardcore weightlifter for many years and also did a few years of Muay Thai, nothing ever developed my muscles close as calisthenics did.
This is legit. Been doing pulling and straight arm strength exercises for the past 3 months now and have seen insane growth in my arms especially the biceps.
3 months its a short period maybe you need more time and diferrent type of training
Thank you! Sounds good! :))
Can you tell me exercises you do? @UltraRed
@@ajithsidhu7183 pommel horse is definitely great for triceps :) It’s just hard :D
@@ajithsidhu7183 with supporting a lot with locked elbows
The most important consideration is individual genetic variation. The gymnasts you see on TV are the genetically gifted who 'made it' to the top. I was a high level gymnast during high school. On my team, we all did the same strength training, but each of us responded very differently. One guy on the team had very large muscles throughout his body (and very large wrists too). A few teammates were muscular but very thin. I was one of them, despite being able to pull-out from an L-cross at 15. Eventually I became a powerlifter and did bodybuilding exercises, and *that* is what got my upper body growing (bench presses, rows, barbell curls, etc)
Exactly what I was thinking, great comment!!
So like Arnie said: "Choose the right parents." 🤣
You're right, but I know many gymnasts who you don't see on TV and look even better. :D Genetics, training, nutrition, lifestyle all matter, they are not exceptions, the gymnasts who look like this are really concious about what they do and how :)
It’s not really genetics, it’s hard work. Genetics don’t really matter in this sense it’s decades of training
Its probably the PEDs lol the skinny kids never caught on that the bigger guys were juicing. It's the great equalizer. It's hilarious watching guys on gear talking about "genetics". Biggest egos in the world. "Yeah I'm on gear, but it's my God given natural ability, that got me larger than genetically possible"
Gymnasts pull-ups are always satisfying to watch, clean, controlled, and clear to count
💪
Thankyou bro
I'm adding 'chin ups' and 'rope climbing' in my training routine.
🙏 Let's go!
I just did the floor and wall elbow push-up my tri’s were burning. It seems easy until you do the full extension. And it did not hurt my elbow as much. Great stuff.
🙏🙏 I’m glad you like it!
I was attracted to the sport for its body building results and had competed against Bart Conner who attended a sister High School. Most of us did lots of stretching exercise and weight lifted but stayed away from building mass in our legs. It was all about upper body strength chest, lats, shoulders, triceps and stomach. Biceps were involved in some routines but nothing like the muscle group I listed.
👍 legs are important too just not the way that most people think about it. I’ll make a video about that
Gymnasts develope biceps muscles to prevent injuries, they uses elastic bands, dumbells, and of course bodyweight workout.
The control you have over your body is impeccable. Unreal
As an owner of quite good biceps i can say that most of it goes to genetics. The second is volume of training (per week), with sufficient intensity of course. Exercise doesnt matter that much, if it suits you.
If that's you in your pfp,then yes you have great biceps
Nice man.my arm genetics are shit.i work very hard to grow them but they have been slow
@@desisoorma you may try specialisation. Increase the volume of work per week for arms for around 2-3 months. Reduce the volume for all other muscle groups for that time. You may increase it by 2-3 sets per week. Yes, the final volume will be insane, but its your best bet. Arms dont take that much off body to recover, so i guess you will handle it.
@@Trener_Artem you are right brother.i have done that i will increase it even further.but for some reason (genetics) my arms r thin.i have been having arms only day for the last 1 year.very high rep low weight sets.i used to lift heavy but was not growing much.now i have been lifting light weight high reps and m growing good
What's great about gymnastics is you not only have very góry body, but you have functiinality that will benefit you in your life.
Ans I am not tslking about professional gymnasts.
I was growing up in post soviet Poland, but in school we hab PA classes with "old school" type teacher.
We hab like 6 hours a week and all PA classes were gymnastics.
I am still able to do all the muscle ups, hand stands etc. without any issue.
On top of that I am very mobile and flexible.
I was engaged in many other sports, and I got the edge in every single one because of gymnastics.
I believe that PA classes as gymnastic should be a standard in all schools.
you're so underrated man! you actually make a great tutorials for us 👊
Thank you, I'm happy you like them!
This was a pretty cool in depth video
Great video. Ive never thought of bicep training from this perspective. I’ll certainly change now. Many thanks
I'm extremely proud of myself right now because this is a question that's been asked in fitness TH-cam videos for a while now, and I guessed it was exactly this; gymnasts using straight arms for a lot of movements (the point at which the biceps are the most elongated and therefore weakest).
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Here's another secret: Gymnasts are typically short and have short arms. So x-amount of muscle fibers on their biceps will look fuller than x-amount of muscle fibers on a guy with longer arms.
This is pretty obvious :)
False
Just did the push up, leaning forward with elbows locked, definitely felt it on my biceps
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Great video, it's so true! Ever since I started training on the rings my biceps have gotten massive 💪 Thanks for a great video bro
Right? I’m glad you like it, keep it up man!!
Bravo. I don't watch a lot of this kind of videos, but you hit the target right in the center. And you tell people not to rush with this things, witch is very important!!!
Not to mention that you just told people the best (natural) exercises for human upper body!!!
🙏🙏
Great video , and I appreciate his warnings to build slowly ! The risk of biceps rupture is very real from a straight arm position! I’m 68 years old, I I can attest to the joint pain that can result from overloading a joint from a locked position! Please warm up and take it slow your body will thank you now and later in life.
word!
This video gave me a shock. I expected the plain-old routine rec's, but what is presented here is different, and makes sense to really work. Well done!
Thank you 🙏
My biggest problem was my bicep tendons got sore before i could even exhaust my bicep muscles. I now take collagen peptides and it seems to work. I will take your advice now and hope I can get some more size in my biceps. Thank you
🙏🙏
Can I ask what you brand of collagen peptides you are taking? Is it really helping your tendons?
@@mcgragor1 It's from Costco Australia 'purely inspired' brand grass fed type 1 and 3. Very cheap gram for gram. I can now exhaust my biceps with out my tendons hurting first.
I don't know how to thankyou ,your awesome man 🔥
is isometric contraction great way to build muscle? I heard that isometric exercises do not that cause muscle hypertrophy though. I'll wait and see for your couple of next videos Adam!
Building muscle is a matter of tearing the muscle and/or pumping fluid into the muscle. The gymnastic static (isometric) elements put massive strain on particular muscles and tendon attachments of the muscle and this causes small level tearing. The repair of this tearing over time is what creates their hypertrophy. The static gymnastic movements basically maxing out a particular part of the muscle. Iron cross is a sort of max out for the bicep attachment to the chest and particular forearm muscles. Planche, especially with supinated/hands back position seems to max out the bicep brachialis at the attachment to the forearm. These are not the best way to pump fluid into the muscle, because they typically don't relax the said muscle (as a rep exercise would) to allow fluid to flow back in. They may cause temporary increase in vascularity as the contraction pressure pushes fluid into superficial veins. The statics create what, in bodybuilding, they refer to as "quality" or "grainy" muscle, that is to say, and increase in the fiber size rather than an engorged/less"detailed'/pumped look. The good news is these are the type of "gains" that you can keep for longer/as opposed to the pumped gains that have a greater tendency to go away after a few days as fluid drains.
It definitely helps, also don't forget that the real secret is to even use it and do the other types as well.
@@michaellopez2070 wow thanks for your insight !
Look at gymnasts and decide for yourself
As a rock climber back in the day, i mixed in isometrics alot in my training and am sure i saw improvements, not in size as much as lock off strength. Wasnt really interested in building size as a climber as the extra beef would have to be pulled up the cliff. climbing and gymnastics are very similar in a lot of ways for sure.
Planche and maltese and handstand and iron cross and reverse cross all these elements except the handstand are static exercises that work the biceps. Do that since you are 3 and you got the biceps you wanted
lol yeah but you can have the benefits much later if you want to
WOW! I've always been enamored with the size of the biceps of gymnasts, yet never knew what was the impetus for their growth. Great video, thanks for sharing the insight. A little advanced in age but will def start slow to see what difference it can make.
Thank you! Yes, slowly but surely ;)
I've literally never seen a professional bodybuilder mention this function of the biceps. Its amazing what we can learn from each other
Cause most bodybuilders can hardly do pull ups anyway
Massive advice ! Thank you so much ! 🙏 By the way, where dis you get your t-shirt, it's cool ? 😁
🙏🙏 T-shirt is matter of days/weeks and will be available, it's my brand
If I had a dollar for every gymnastics biceps video recommended to me I’d be able to buy a house
😂
Anyone that has tried gymnastics straight arm statics will know that they put massive strain on the weakest links in the give movement. They all basically have equivalent of the lower back for the deadlift. Iron cross or planche, etc., the so-called "static" elements in gymnastics basically max out a given muscle or set of muscles, and these muscles tend to greatly contribute to aesthetics, (biceps, delts, forearms, abs). You can think of them like equivalents powerlifting movements but with different weakest links. Just as nothing strains the spinal erectors quite like a heavy deadlift, nothing strains the bicep attachment to the chest quite like an iron cross, and nothing strains the brachialis quite like a supinated planche or back lever. A cool thing is in gymnastics, the weakest links tend to be muscles or muscle groups that contribute greatly to aesthetics (shoulders, biceps, lats, abs, forearms etc.).
This information is pure gold ! Subscribed!
Thank you!
Great video. Thank you. My older brother got me into gymnastics around age 6 and I never stopped until a serious work related back injury at age 66. I am now 71 and wish I could do what I used to do. Sure miss it.
Wow! I’m sure you can do some stuff still
Thanks for the video! I found it by mistake, and said, " I've been looking for this " New Sub.
Haha great! Thank you I appreciate it!
In short: Strength and metabolic training is the key.
What’s metabolic training?
saw you earlier when the channel was very small.By now I think its totally subscribable
Thank you! :)
we want and need a V-sit tutorial
haha okay
@@GymnasticsMethod didn't you ask what do you want to see in future videos ? So why you're laughing ? Just can't get it !
@@houssamadjerid I was just laughing the way you wrote it :)
@@GymnasticsMethod haha okay dude
No nonsense information. Thank you!
The "secret" of big biceps is known to every little bit experienced bodybuilder. To grow big biceps need to do pull-ups and pull-downs plus train triceps, especially the long head.
Thank you
Ah yes, grow the biceps by training the triceps, that's the secret 😮
Thanks for the tips brother.
This is of course very true. The isolation biceps exercise with dumbbells cannot compare with the complex movements that are used by gymnasts. Not only is this true but the gymnast bicep strength is far greater and more useful and practical because they use their biceps in conjunction with crazy whole body movements which only these athletes can achieve. They have REAL strength and not just artificially " pumped up " biceps...like ARNOLD says.
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Doing cross on rings is a must also for biceps. Unbelievably hard too!
Thank you, so much for this video break down. This is well thought-out and precise, very informative.
Thank you!
Gymnast have a complete exercise program that works every part of there body !
It’s crazy cause they’re not even trying to get great physiques... the bodies are just an effect from their sport just like massive legs are an effect from Olympic cycling
yeah :D
Great video, glad to have found your channel my friend.
I’m glad you liked it! 🙏
i somehow disagree. how are you expecting to hold a planche without strong biceps??? it is impossible. and by only doing straigh arm work you will strengthen your biceps in only one position. What is the cue then?? GYmnasts do perform lots of bicep curls, not necesarily for aesthetics but for injury prevention and to target weak points in certain movements, and trust me that elbow flexion (CURLS) AND ELBOW EXTENSION( TRICEP EXERCISES) are higly included and technically mandatory for gymnasts to avoid injury. Yes, you can get bigger biceps from straight arm movements; howeverm dont expect such growth. So, why do gymnasts have insane arms and biceps?? The real answer is due to proportions in height and genetics. Name an olympic gymnast who is more than 1.74 meters. And yes there are some above that height, but their biceps and overall physique wont look as jacked as a smaller dude. By definition, shorter levers=apparently bigger muscles. That doesnt mean that gymnasts arms are weak and stuff like that and that straight arm work is BS. The final conclusion is that there is no secret in bicep development for gymnasts. It is simply an illusion from height (muscles looking so much bigger in smaller guys) and lots of isolation work as injury prevention exercises such as bicep curls and its variations. And YES, STRAIGHt arm work does play a role in bicep development of gymnasts regardless of height, but is not the major factor on it, simply an aim and not a driver for it.
Disclaimer: it is okay if you disagree with me, any one can have their own opinion. I am speaking the facts and things ive experienced and seen through my years of training in calisthenics and gymnastics, so i am not new in the game. I would be glad top hear your opinions. God bless.
Your Gentle Gymnast here.
Iv also known 3 or 4 Male gymnasts all 6ft tall and all had 18.5 nearly 19" Upper arms and guess what??? Not once did i spot them use a single Dumbbell! I worked out with them 3 days a week using Rings and doing Planche press work.
@@OldSchoolStrength the fact that you didnt spot them doesnt mean that they didnt do it. I deedz i understand tour statement. But from ThE years of training ive had, not isolating bíceps and tríceps forma gymnastics is simply a suicide for bíceps, not only to mention that you would become a torso dominant guy if you dint isolate as well as not being strong enough forma straight arm work it self. Yuri van gelder, Yuri cherchi, liu yang, petrounias, zannetti al of these dudes perform isolation work for arms wheter you like it or not. And as for heights you mentioned, congratulations for them forma having big arms but you must know that it was not due to straight arm work. The fact that you are tall doesnt mean you cant build big bíceps, but they wont be as impressive as the ones Adam mentioned in the video. In fact, my biceps are preety big around 18 19 inches as well, but I don't atribute that to straight arm work. And dou you think your friends train only 3 times per week and those are their only weekly sessions as gymnasts?? That is far from reality. Novice calisthenics programming would look like that. Truth is that they train at least 4 or 6 times per week doing skill work days or before their trainings, as well as other days performing heavy and light strength or hypertrophy work (hypertrophy works great cause a bigger muscle has greater strength exertion potential). So they definitely train more than just planche and press work. Anyway, your point makes sense, but is not entirely accurate. Also they do heavy chinups, big arm flexion as well.
Sure bro they use dumbbells too , but we are talking difference here. Gymnasts are definitely doing something different.
@@carlosisaacr7384 You dont have a clue mate
@@Change_ido No they dont ! Have any of you actually trained with male Competitive gymnasts?
Nice tips 🔥🔥🔥
Gymnasts have huge biceps because of elite genetics that are required to be gymnasts, its a circular logic. Same as "How do elite sprinters get so fast?", genetics. Sure, training, diet and Im sure for many steroids, help, but you dont get arms like that by choosing pull ups over curls my friend.
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Do 10 sets of chin ups to failure and you will find my friend!
@@nishant_singh You're missing the point.
😂 What?? Have you seen a gymnast before they get into the gym, they are skinny ASF, no Biceps whatsoever. They are yoked out in the arms cuz they weigh like 150lbs and they do 90% arm workouts for just training 💪🏾
You remind me of a young version of
Jean- Claude Van Damme bro I’m trying to get buff like him. Thank you for the wisdom keep it up brother
Haha :) your welcome
Gymnasts athlete is not only having huge biceps but generally also have a proportional body. That's what I like from a Gymnast athlete.
Yess!
Nice, that is one thing I never thought about before, normally I connect the triceps with straight arm not the biceps.
Absolutely!
You have one of the most aesthetics looks i´ve ever seen
🙏
thanks for the information
Your welcome
Thanks for putting out this content. Exited to see this series.
🙏💪
Great video man thank you so much for all the information . Greetings from Greece
🙏🙏
Thank you for uploading the video.
🙏 Your welcome! :)
So smiple and very hard work at the same time. Thanks
💯🙏
In high schoolo we were working out after football practice and bet a gymnast he couldn't do 150 bar dips. I was in good shape, 215lbs and could do about 35 bar dips, so I thought it was possible since the gymnast had a much better strength to weight ratio than we did but others didn't think so. There was about $150 in the pot and the gymnast did 150 bar dips, kept going and stopped at 200 bar dips. He may have been able to do more.
Wow crazy 😄
Nagyon jó , köszi szépen a sok hasznos infót :)
I never knew this. Thank you so much for sharing such a golden knowledge. I'll try to incorporate them in my workouts.
🙏💪 let’s goo!
thanks for the tips bro. I would apply same concepts on legs, they deserve some love too
I’m glad you like it!
Amazing video and thank You.
🙏🙏
Further, the best on point arms building advice.
However, even the most basic exercises are advanced
Thanks! Yes it’s really unique in gymnastics and it has risks for sure
I’m ready now, when can you help me train and how soon will I see results? Also, what about the diet? Is a Carnivore diet good?
If you’re consistent you can see (and feel) results in a matter of weeks. I’m following a balanced diet, but there are many options that can work, your body can adapt to many things. I have a nutrition section on my website as well as programs, you’re welcome to join anytime.
Excellent information. Thank you!
Thank you!
Should do a video on biceps stretches
great info!!!
I remember years ago when people still read magazines stumbling across an article where a guy wanted to develop his lower chest more so he went to the grumpy old man at the gym who directed him to dusty old gymnast rings hanging in an out of sight location. He would go on to report results he wasn't previously able to achieve
Ive since been inside many many gyms and never seen the rings. Only place i remember seeing them was at my middle school gymnasium.
Most people that wanna do bodybuilding neglect that type of training even though we've always known about gymnasts and their amazing physiques.
Good stuff!
Thank you! 🙏
excellent video
Thank you!
If there's a time machine, I'd be sure to go back to my toddler years and enroll myself into gymnastics🤣
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Amazing ! Can't wait for the next videos
Thank you!
PLEASE Tell us what training we have to do to become basic gymnast, I see a lot and I don't know where to start
Check out the prehab and basic series!
A lot of good info. What is the training for legs
Thank you! No magic: squats, lunges, cossack squat, jumps, pistol squats and weights
@@GymnasticsMethod Kewl, do you do these on the same day as upperbody training or separate day?
Finally found a gymnast explaining stuff. Hope you have or will a planche video
I'll have planche video for sure!
Very interesting vid.
Thanks
Biceps .. sure but look at the shoulders!
Yeah, same there :)
Excellent advice. Cant wait to try in the gym soon.
Let’s goo!
Great video!!! Amazing information 💪💪
Thank you!
what is this move called? you are on two bars ready to do a dip, you tuck your knees to your chest then you transition to a handstand on the bars. Also how do we train to achieve that?
Very good tutorial
Thank you!
Thanks!
Welcome!
Pull ups, chin ups, inverted rows; all very close to biceps exercises you do in the gym (not isometric like claimed, but still good stuff.)
Rope climbing isn't so special, I did well at rope climbing machine; never did me any good.
It's the continued frequency of their workouts doing these exercises. They train MANY hours per week throughout the year just to get to this level.
Yes but the physique part of it can be reach with way less sessions
Very powerful arms! 💪
my man, you are amazing! :)
Thank you! :))
love the video and your content you constantly keep me motivated to workout thank you .
🙏🙏🙏
Great video. Thank you
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Thanks for an excellent videoi
Does anyone know where I can get the lights in the background which you can see at the end of this video starting at around 5:20 in the bottom right?
Thnk u my brother for such detailed gd infos💚💯👊
I'm glad you liked it!
Great video, one question brother can i train my biceps everyday. Please reply
It’s not necessary. Why would you do that?
@@GymnasticsMethod brother with low intensity?
@@SM-sg8bd you can
@@GymnasticsMethod okay bro thankyou im overall a skinny boy 😅
Probably best to train them every other day to be able to give adequate stimulus and then give them time to recover before the next session.
MY PROBLEM IS THE FOR ARM PLEASE MAKE A VIDEO TO THIS
???
@@GymnasticsMethod I think they mean forearm
Exercise not only changes your body. It changes your mind, attitude & mood
good video. Subscribed.
Thank you! 🙏
I don't attend any gym and all of my exercising is done at home. I basically do calisthenics and some dumbbells. I would love to integrate a rope climbing routine, but I have no experience or knowledge of how to implement it. Would you please help me with suggestions or advice? I would greatly appreciate it!!
Check out this video: th-cam.com/video/zPNbf-WoKHg/w-d-xo.html
Great video!, greetings from México.
Thank you!
Mike Metzer promoted this👍🏿
A lot of calisthenics guys do this in NYC parks!
Excellent
Amazing 🔥
Thanks
!!!