Variety is the Spice of Biceps
Biceps exercises are like avocados; there are tons available, but you gotta know how to choose the right ones. If you’re making guacamole tonight, you don’t want to choose an avocado that’s not ready yet. If you’re making guacamole in a few days, you don’t want to choose an avocado that’s ready tonight, but will be bad in two days.
It takes some practice learning which avocados are right for what you’re trying to do, and picking the right biceps exercises is no different. There are tons of options, but you need to know which ones to pick and why if you want bigger biceps.
That’s why we created this guide of the best biceps exercises.
The Exercises
We’ve broken the exercises down into four sections:
Depending on what equipment is available, you can do these exercises at the gym, at home, or on the road.
Dumbbells
Spider Curls
Why we like them:
Since your biceps span both your shoulder and elbow joints, when you do curls with your elbows in front of your body, your biceps are able to get a stronger contraction. Stronger contraction = bigger muscles. Spider curls are perfect for this.
How they’re done:
- Lay on your stomach on an incline bench
- Grab the dumbbells and allow your arms to hang straight down
- Without swinging your elbows, curl the weight up and squeeze your biceps as hard as you can
Add some variety:
You can even supinate as you curl up, adding a (literal) twist to this exercise and working in both functions of your biceps.
Supinated Dumbbell Curls
Why we like them:
Your biceps have two functions: flexion and supination. The supinated dumbbell curl works both.
How they’re done:
- Start with your palms facing your side
- As you curl up, supinate, or twist your wrists out, squeezing your biceps
Incline Curls
Why we like them:
Your biceps span both your shoulder and elbow joints, so when you do curls with your elbows behind your body, your biceps are able to get a full stretch. This works out the long head (or the “peak”) a little more, since the long head stretches over your humerus (big upper arm bone), and it is more stretched in this position, causing it to work more.
How they’re done:
- Lean back on an incline bench with your arms hanging straight down and a little behind your body
- Without swinging your elbows, curl the weight up and squeeze your biceps as hard as you can
- Come down to a full stretch
Pro tip:
Flex your triceps at the bottom of the exercise. This will ensure that you’re getting a full stretch, which is the biggest benefit of this type of curl.
Hammer Curls
Why we like them:
Underneath the biceps is a muscle called the brachialis. When you do hammer curls, your biceps are put in a weaker position, which allows the brachialis to do most of the work.
How they’re done:
- Start with your arms straight down by your sides and your palms facing your body
- Keep your palms facing your body (this is called a neutral grip) the entire time, and curl the weight up
Barbells
Preacher Curls
Why we like them:
Since your biceps span both your shoulder and elbow joints, when you do curls with your elbows in front of your body, your biceps are able to get a stronger contraction. Preacher curls are perfect for this.
Also, when you work both arms together (using barbells instead of dumbbells) your body is able to produce more force. More force = bigger muscles.
How they’re done:
- Lean over the pad, with your arms flat on the pad
- Grab the barbell about shoulder width apart and curl up, squeezing your biceps
- Come down to a comfortable stretch
Pro Tip:
Try not to let your shoulders roll forward too much. Sitting up tall will put your body in a stronger position than slouched over the pad.
Standing Barbell Curl
Why we like them:
The barbell curl is a practical way to use both arms together and do heavier curls than if you were to do dumbbell curls. Heavier weights = bigger muscles.
How they’re done:
- Grab the bar with a shoulder width grip
- Without swinging your elbows, slowly curl the bar up
- Stop and squeeze at the top, and slowly bring it down
Safety tip:
If the straight bar bothers your wrists or elbows, an ez bar is a great substitute.
Cables
Behind the Back Cable Curls
Why we like them:
This exercise is the cable equivalent to incline curls. Since your biceps span both your shoulder and elbow joints, when you do curls with your elbows behind your body, your biceps are able to get a full stretch and the long head is emphasized a little mroe.
How they’re done:
- With the cables at the bottom setting, grab the handles and step in front of the machine so that you can stretch your arms behind your back
- While keeping your elbows behind your body, curl until your biceps are fully flexed, and squeeze them as hard as you can
- Allow yourself to come into a full stretch at the bottom
Pro tip:
Flex your triceps at the bottom of the exercise. This will ensure that you’re getting a full stretch, which is the biggest benefit of this type of curl.
Supinated Rope Curls
Why we like them:
We love supination here, and the rope provides a little extra resistance against supination.
How they’re done:
- Grab the rope with your palms facing each other
- As your curl up, twist your wrists outwards
- At the top, make sure you’re supinating your forearms and squeezing your biceps as hard as you can
Add some variety:
Try standing at different distances from the base of the machine. Standing farther away from the pulley will create more resistance in the finished position, while standing closer to the pulley will create more resistance in the middle of the exercise.
Bodyweight
Chinups
Why we like them:
The chinup, with an underhand grip, is a great way to work out your biceps because biceps flexion plays a huge part in pulling your body up to the bar. Also, it’s not only a great arm workout, but a great back workout.
How they’re done:
- Grab the bar with an underhand grip about shoulder width apart
- Pull yourself up so your chin is over the bar, squeezing your biceps throughout the whole movement
Pro Tip:
If you can’t do a full chinup yet, or can only do a few, crank out some negative only chinups. Jump or climb up to the top, and lower yourself under control in 8-10 seconds.
Now what?
No babe swooning biceps were ever made sitting in front of a screen. Go figure out which of these are your favorite and lift!
If you need help putting these exercises into a routine, check out our Ultimate Guide to Building Bigger Biceps.