Most fitness enthusiasts are trying to achieve nice, carved biceps! The biceps, including the biceps brachii and brachialis muscles, are an essential part of arm strength and aesthetics. So to help you build even more impressive biceps, we organized the 10 best muscle-building exercises to spend your time on. Having these exercises in your plan will tighten your biceps as well as aid the other muscles of the upper body. Oh, and we will also both squeeze in that little bit about a tractor for good measure!
1. Curl Barbell
The barbell curl is key for bicep gains. It allows for progressive overload, which is a key aspect of muscle building, and isolates the biceps brachii.
How to Carry Out:
1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart holding a barbell with an underhand grip.
2. Now slowly curl the barbell up to your shoulders without moving your elbows.
3. Twist through the center of the dumbbells so that your palms are helping each other while you elevate the barbell higher. Slowly move this all the way back down into the starting place tightening your biceps at its peak.
4. 3–4 sets of 8–12 reps.
2. Curl with Dumbbells
They have a great ROM and can be used to fix any imbalances between your arms, aesthetically speaking.
How to Do It:
1. Sit (or stand), holding a pair of light dumbbells like these 3-pounders in each hand, palms facing up.
2. Simultaneously or alternately, curl the dumbbells towards your shoulders.
3. Bring the weights back to the starting position, squeezing your biceps. 4. Perform 3–4 sets of 10–15 reps.
3. Hammer Curl
Next in line are hammer curls, which work the brachialis muscle located under the biceps brachii for more arm thickness.
How to Perform:
1. Grab a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing you (neutral grip).
2. The weights must be curled towards your shoulders while also maintaining a pronated grip with both hands.
3. Squeeze and then slowly return the dumbbells down.
4. Perform 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps
4. Concentration Curl
How to Perform:
1. Take a seat on a chair with your legs apart.
2. RETURNS GRIP IS ONE HAND ELBOW INSIDE THE THIGH
3. Perform a bicep curl and at the top squeeze the biceps,
4. Reverse the motion – lower the weight to your chest, then back down.
5. Do 3-4 sets of 12-15 reps per arm.
5. Preacher Curl
The preacher curl allows you to maintain some tension on the biceps, making it an excellent isolation movement.
How to Perform:
1. Rest your arms on the pad of a preacher’s bench.
2. Grasp a barbell or one dumbbell across both hands with an underhand grip.
3. Hold the weight with your palms facing your thighs and curl the weight towards your shoulders, squeezing the biceps at the top.
4. Lower the weight back slowly
5. 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps.
6. Cable Curl
Cable curls provide continuous tension on the biceps from start to finish, which enhances muscle activation.
How to Perform:
1. Connect a triceps bar to a low pulley on a cable machine.
2. I want you to grip the bar wider than shoulder-width and underhanded.
3. Bend the elbows and curl the bar toward your shoulders.
4. Contract your biceps at the top and lower the bar slowly. 5. Perform 3-4 sets x 10-15 repetitions.
7. Chin-Up
Chin-ups involve the biceps and a full range of the back muscles, which are what make them great for upper-body gains.
How to Perform:
1. Grip a pull-up bar with your palms facing you, hands shoulder-width.
2. A single-arm hang too. (hang with both arms extensions)
3. Raise your body until your chin is over the bar
4. Lower with control.
5. Strive for 3-4 sets of max reps.
8. Incline Dumbbell Curl
Benefits Incline dumbbell curls help target the long head of your biceps in depth, which can lead to a fuller look.
How to Perform:
1. Tip: Angle an Incline Bench at 45 degrees.
2. Have a seat on a bench with the palm of your hand facing inwards.
3. Perform a bicep curl with the weights by your side, squeezing the biceps.
4. Return the weights down and you can replicate. 5. Do 3-4 Sets of 10-12 Reps.
9. Zottman Curl
A Zottman curl allows you to get the most out of both regular and reverse curls, hitting the biceps and forearms more efficiently.
How to Perform:
1. Grab a dumbbell in each hand with an underhand grip.
2. Bend your arms to bring the weights toward your shoulders.
3. At the top rotate your wrists so your palms face down and then lower the weights.
4. Turn your wrists back to the initial position and perform a succession of repetitions.
5. 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps
10. Reverse Curl
When you do reverse curls, you focus more on the brachialis and brachioradialis muscles which helps with forearm and overall arm development.
How to Perform:
1. Grip the barbell or EZ bar with an overhand grip.
2. Place feet shoulder-width apart, and curl the bar to shoulders.
3. Return the barbell back down, keeping your elbows in by your sides.
4. Try for 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps.
Final Thoughts
These top 10 bicep exercises to add to your workout schedule will surely ensure you are on the right path to stronger, more defined arms. So keep your shape and increase the weight when it starts to get easier always to promote muscle growth. Now imagine one more thing: When you are lifting those weights, consider that your biceps work the way a tractor operates in every workout: vigorous and indestructible. Happy lifting!