Professor X,
I don’t think that he is saying that body part splits don’t work. He actually stated that he got good results from doing one for many years. But, everyone reacts to different training parameters differently. Some people really thrive on body part splits. Others thrive on whole body routines. I think what’s important is to find what works for you and then use it.
To the OP,
There have been some good suggestions made so far in regards to possible exercises and training methodologies that may help you.
But, one thing that many people have seemed to overlook is that the biceps brachii actually crosses the elbow and shoulder joints (it is a biarticulate muscle). This means that it not only assists in elbow flexion, but it also plays a part in shoulder flexion and horizontal shoulder adduction. Also, take into consideration that the biceps is a major elbow stabilizer.
Take a look at the biceps on olympic gymnasts. These guys do no direct biceps work (at least the majority of them don’t), in fact, according to some well known gymnastics coaches, the bicep development that they recieve doesn’t come from movements that involve elbow flexion. Instead, their development comes from straight arm movements such as Iron Crosses, Planches, Maltese, Inverted Crosses, and the connecting movements between these holds.
So, to go against the grain a little here, I’d suggest that you include some straight arm movements into your routine. Oh, and by straight arm, I mean elbows locked out straight. I know that there are plenty of people out there who will tell you this is potentially dangerous, but if you carefully and systematicaly approach these exercises, you are no more likely to get hurt than you would with an exercise like bench pressing.
Here are a couple of straight arm exercises that you can try:
Supinated straight arm dumbell raises- Stand with a dumbell in each hand, palms turned up (supinated) and while keeping the arms locked out straight and really trying to keep your palms supinated raise the dumbells up until your arms are over head.
Straight arm flys- These can be done either with dumbells, cables, or even rings if you have access to them. Basically the idea is to do a fly, but instead of keeping your arms slightly bent like most people do them, keep them completely locked out. You won’t have the range of motion that you normally would, but you’ll definetely feel them in your biceps.
Those are just a couple of exercises, but they will at least help you to realize the benefits of straight arm work.
Some other exercises that I might suggest would be:
Rope/rock climbing
Sled/car/train (if you had access to it and were into strong man competitions) pulling
Good luck and good training,
Sentoguy