Born in the Philippines, Charles “Ray” Arde’s family moved to America before he was one. Growing up in Northern California, he segued from martial arts to bodybuilding and eventually won the light-heavy class at the 2005 NPC Nationals. In his rookie pro season in 2008, Arde was victorious at the Houston Pro 202 and placed eighth in the Olympia 202 Showdown.
Throughout his career, biceps fullness has been a strength. As “Stingray” explains, the free-weight basics are the secret to being well-armed.
ARDE ON BICEPS TRAINING
* “The basics are best for bi’s. A barbell and a dumbbells is all you need.”
* “My favorite biceps exercise is standing alternate dumbbell curls. If I could do just one exercise for bi’s, that would be the one.”
* “I prefer dumbbells to barbells or EZ-curl bars for bi’s because they provide the most freedom of motion and you can work each arm individually.”
* “I usually pyramid my sets which allows me to do both higher reps [15] and low-to-moderate reps [8] of the same exercise.”
* “Hammer curls have long been a mainstay for building biceps, brachialis and forearms.”
