Biceps Workouts for Great Arms!

Bicep muscle is responsible for moving your hand towards your shoulder. The bicep muscle actually consists of 3 muscles. They are the biceps brachii (main bicep muscle), brachialis (the outside bicep muscle) and brachioradialis (the connector muscle between the main bicep and the forearm muscle). The primary function of the Bicep muscle is to move the forearm towards the shoulder (elbow flexion). The secondary function of the Bicep is supination of the forearm. This means turning the hand from a palms-down position to a palms-up position.

Great biceps

Biceps exercises

Dumbell Curl

The Dumbell curl is a great bicep exercise for hitting each bicep muscle individually. The dumbell curl good for isolating each bicep muscle. There are several dumbell curl variations. Which dumbell curl variations you use is up to you. One dumbell curl exercise is seated on an incline bench. This puts your bicep muscles in a weakened position and really works them hard! The most important dumbell curl tip - use strict and correct dumbell curl form and technique! This mean no “throwing the dumbell” up to the top of the curl, keeping your whole body tense and still and not leaning backwards to raise the dumbell. If you are leaning back, try doing your dumbell curls against a wall.
Control the dumbell throughout the whole dumbell curl. Most the dumbell up and down slowly. Don’t swing..that’s cheating!

Dumbell curl setup: Select the dumbells and stand straight up with the weights by your side, palms facing the outside of your leg. Keep your back straight and your chest out.

Dumbell curl execution: Starting with you left arm, raise the dumbell up to your shoulder. Twist the dumbell half way through the movement so that your palm is facing your bicep. Slowly lower the dumbell, and repeat for the right arm. It’s very important that you use strict form when executing the dumbell curl. See our dumbell curl tips for information on correct form.

Preacher dumbell curl

Sit on a preacher bench with one arm holding the dumbell fully extended. Curl the dumbell up towards your body. If the dumbell curl gets too hard for your arm, you can use the other arm as a spotter for it.

biceps Dumbell Curl

Hammer Curl

The hammer curl is a variation of the dumbbell curl that targets the brachioradialis. The brachioradialis is located near your elbow on the thumb side of you forearm. Additionally, brachialis is emphasized because of the neutral grip, as opposed to emphasizing the biceps with a supinated grip.

To perform the hammer curl, hold the dumbbell at arms length by your sides with a neutral (palms facing your sides) grip.
In a semicircular motion, raise the dumbbells toward you shoulder until your forearm contacts your bicep muscle, keeping your grip neutral throughout the lift. At the top of the lift, squeeze the muscle tight of a count before lowering the weight to the starting position in a controlled manner.

Barbell Curls

Standing Barbell Curls

The primary muscles involved in the standing barbell curl is the biceps brachii. However, the bicep muscle receives support form the brachialis and the brachioradialis. To perform the barbell curl exercise in your bicep workout, stand with your feet shoulder width apart and your knees slightly bent (this is sometimes referred to as the “athletic position”). Grab the barbell using an underhanded grip (palms facing away from you). For beginners, your hands should also be approximately shoulder width. This is the neutral position. By widening your grip, you target the inner portion of the bicep. To target the outer portion of you bicep, simply use a narrower grip. You can make the substitution from the neutral grip to a wide or narrow grip in any free workout plan below where you see the exercise “Barbell Curl.”

Preacher Curl

As with the barbell curl above, the primary mover involved in the preacher curl is the biceps brachii. However, the bicep muscle receives support form the brachialis and the brachioradialis.
Note: To perform this exercise, you must have a preacher bench and an EZ bar. You can find this bench and bar in most commercial gyms.
Place the back of your arms against the incline portion of the preacher pad. Grab the EZ bar with an underhand (palms facing up). Your hands should be approximately shoulder width apart. You elbows should be just below the end of the pad throughout the exercise. Lift the weight in a semicircular motion until your forearms touch your upper arms. For a more intense workout, squeeze your biceps brachii hard at the top of the movement before slowly lowering the weight to the starting position.

Biceps Barbell Curls

Reverse Barbell Curls

Barbell reverse curls target both the biceps and the forearms, giving your entire arm a workout. In execution, this exercise is similar to a regular standing barbell curl. Varying regular and reverse curls works your entire arm.

Cable Curl

The cable curl is the same as the barbell bicep curl except you are using a cable pulling machine instead of a barbell. The difference between the cable curl and the barbell curl is that the cable curl will keep the strain on your bicep muscle throughout the entire range of motion.
When you do a barbell curl, you can rest your bicep muscles at the top of the exercise. With the cable curl, the cable is constantly pulling away from you and down so you cannot rest your bicep muscles. The cable curl can be used as either a standing cable curl or a preacher cable curl. I will focus on the standing cable curl. During the cable curl stay as close as possible to the cable curl machine. You want to be pulling in an upward motion not an outward motion.
Through the whole cable curl exercise dig your elbows into your sides and keep them there. This will isolate you bicep muscles. If it feels more comfortable, use a close grip on the cable curl bar.
Don’t lean back! Leaning back in cable curls is cheating. You want to use your bicep muscle to move the weight, not your bodyweight! Always concentrate on using strict cable curl form!

Routines

Beginner

Barbell bicep curl 5 x 10 reps
Seated dumbell curl on incline bench 3 x 8 reps
Barbell preacher curl 3 x 10 reps
Reverse barbell curl 3 x 12 reps

Intermediate

Barbell Curl 4 x 6, 8, 10, 12 reps
Preacher Curl 4 x 6, 8, 10, 12 reps
Hammer Curl 4 x 10, 10, 10, 10 reps

Advanced

Wide Grip Barbell Curl 4 x 6, 8, 10, 12 reps
Standing Dumbbell Curl 4 x 6, 8, 10, 12 reps
Preacher Curl 4 x 10, 10, 10, 10 reps

Or (this is more power)

Barbell bicep curl / Seated dumbell curl on incline bench superset 6 sets. 10 reps on barbell and 6-failure reps bench curl
EZ bar bicep barbell preacher curl 2 x 6-8 reps, 2 x 4-6 reps (heavy weights!)
Single arm cable bicep curl 3 x 8-10 reps
Dumbell concentration curl 3 x 8 reps
Standing dumbell hammer curl 3 x 10
Reverse barbell curl 3 x 12 reps

Biceps stretching

Use this biceps stretch between biceps strength exercises like pullups, biceps curls, etc. Besides the biceps this exercise also stretches the shoulders and the chest.

1. Place your hands on a low bar so that your fingers are pointing back towards your body and only your fingers are on the bar. Lean forward and down. Try to push your elbows forward at the same time.

* This is also a good forearm stretch.
* If you do it one arm at a time, push forward on the back of your elbow with the other hand.

2. Put one hand on a wall or pole with your arm straight out to the side, then rotate your body away from your arm like in the chest stretch. Bend your wrist back to stretch the biceps.

biceps stretching

Injury prevention

Prevention of bicep tendonitis is simple. You should always warm up the area before exercise, don’t overdo it, and stretch and cool down after exercise. If you do feel a slight pain in the upper biceps area, apply some ice immediately to help ease the pain and reduce inflammation.