8 Different Bicep Exercises To Try Out!

Who doesn’t love to work their guns? No one, that’s who. (Except the guys on Facebook that’ll say training your biceps is stupid.)

The fact is, muscular arms make you look fit. And since you can expose them almost anywhere, anytime, they’re like a built-in publicist for all the hard work you do in the gym. (They’re also one of The Muscles She Loves More Than a Six-Pack.)

That’s why we created this list of 8 awesome ways to work your biceps.

Incline Dumbbell Curls

The opposite of the decline variation, you’ll lie on your back, allowing your arms to drop down behind your body. This puts an extra challenge on the long head of your biceps brachii because you’re working from a deficit—meaning, you’re starting the movement at a point where you have less leverage than normal.

Hammer Curl

Along with targeting the short head, hammer curls also indirectly work the brachioradialis. You can perform these by bringing the dumbbell across your body to the opposite shoulder, or begin with a neutral grip where your palms face each other. Antoian prefers the latter variation. “Be careful with the amount of weight you use during this exercise,” he advises. “If you go too heavy you can easily injure your wrist.”

Lying barbell curls

Kneel on an inclined bench, with your chest leaning against the back rest and your arms hanging over the other side. Hold a barbell a little less than shoulder-width apart, making sure that your arms form a 90° angle with your chest at all times

 Keneeling Single Arm

Curling a weight with one arm helps you zero in on weak spots—especially if you have one side that’s stronger than the other, says Gaddour. And performing the biceps exercise in a kneeling position will diminish the chance that you use body English to heave the weight up to the top position.

4. 21’s

You’re dividing the curls into three sets of seven for a total of 21 reps. “Do these first in your workout,” Antoian explains. “They’re a good overall mass builder because they hit every single angle of the biceps … but they’re also exhausting.” Beginners should do two sets and add more as they see fit.

Dumbbell or barbell curls

The standards never go out of style. Grab a barbell loaded with weight or two dumbbells, with your palms facing outward, and curl. If you want an extra challenge, lower the barbell or dumbbells very slowly (i.e. take a full four seconds to do so) and feel the burn

 Cable Rope Hammer Curl

Just like the dumbbell hammer curl, this biceps exercise will hit your brachialis to build thickness in your arms. But unlike the dumbbell version, the cable machine keeps a more steady and constant load on the biceps for longer, which may elicit more growth, according to Brad Schoenfeld, Ph.D.

Concentration Curls

Done either standing or seated, this isolation curl is meant to be performed deliberately slow and controlled. “I suggest doing them seated so you’re giving 100 percent of your energy to the curl,” he suggests. “Press your elbow into your knee, take two seconds on the concentric phase of the lift, and four seconds on the eccentric phase of the lift. You’re not trying to perform fast reps and calories; you’re objective is to build your biceps peak.”
.