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Having bigger and stronger arms play a significant role in building your overall physique. Apart from giving you all the confidence and aesthetic looks, strong arms have great importance in helping you to do routine activities with ease.
Whether you wish to hit the beach to show your summer body or just want to look great in those short sleeve shirts while walking around the town, your biceps can make a big difference in how you look and feel.
The list of benefits of having stronger arms just goes on. There are hundreds of exercises and workout routines promising to increase your arm size. However, we have compiled all the best bicep exercises tried and recommended by professional bodybuilders.
1. Muscle Anatomy of The Bicep and Bicep Exercises To Target Each Head
The bicep may seem like a small muscle group but it further comprises four smaller muscles that combine to form the bicep.
They are known as long head, short head, brachialis, and brachioradialis. All the head of the bicep needs to be targeted efficiently only then you would be able to develop stronger biceps.
In the picture below you can see the different bicep heads, their functions, and how you can target them individually.
2. Training Tips For Performing Bicep Exercises
The biceps are small muscles in your arms as compared to the triceps. They make up almost 30% of your arms and the rest are triceps.
But, the biceps are one of the most stubborn muscle groups in your body. As a beginner, you will see some improvement in your bicep size which is probably referred to as newbie gains.
After it’s been some months that you have been training, your biceps will stop showing positive improvements.
These are some of the tried and tested training tips that you must follow to develop your biceps efficiently.
2.1. Maintain a Strong Mind-Muscle Connection While Doing Bicep Exercises
Most gym-goers have a false perception in their minds that the heavier they lift the more will be the gains. It’s only true when you lift while maintaining a proper form and only use the specific muscle to lift.
Some of the people you see at the gym will just be swinging weights while doing any bicep exercises. Trying to lift heavier than you can not get you any closer to your goal.
Make sure that you maintain a mind-muscle connection while doing bicep exercises. With a proper mind-muscle connection, you will feel a pump in your muscles even with lighter weights.
Also read: Best Beginner AB Workout
2.2. Incorporate Slow Negative Repetitions in Your Bicep Workout
If you wish to engage maximum muscle fibers and achieve better hypertrophy then you should add negative repetitions while doing bicep exercises.
The negative reps are beneficial to improve your strength and explosiveness. The negative curls while doing any bicep exercises help in overloading the muscles and make them grow faster.
2.2.1. How To Perform Negative Bicep Curls?
To easily perform negative bicep curls you will need to take help from your partner. They will help in curling the barbell upwards (positive rep).
And, then you will bring the barbell down slowly to the starting position while maintaining mind-muscle connection.
Make sure that you slowly bring the barbell down using your bicep, don’t let the barbell just come down due to gravity.
2.3. Progressively Overload Your Bicep Exercises
If you are not progressively overloading your muscles by increasing weight then you won’t be able to achieve hypertrophy efficiently.
To bring constant improvement in your biceps, you need to progressively overload them when performing the bicep exercises.
Some of the methods that professionals recommend for overloading the muscles are:
- Add more weight after each set.
- Increasing the number of reps.
- Decreasing the rest period between sets.
- Intensify your workouts by adding drop sets and supersets etc.
Also read: Best Beginner AB Workout
2.4. Don’t Miss the Brachialis While Doing Bicep Exercises
The brachialis is one of those muscles which is often left out while doing a bicep workout. But, it holds great significance in the overall development of your bicep.
The brachialis helps your bicep to look massive from the side view. It pushes the triceps and biceps muscles away from each other which helps your bicep to improve its width.
Building brachialis also helps in improving your peak because it gets a higher platform to stand on. So, make sure that you do at least one bicep exercise with palms facing one another so the brachialis is targeted.
2.5. Don’t Hesitate To Use Machines For Doing Bicep Exercises
This has remained a topic of controversy for quite some time. We agree that the basic exercises performed with dumbbells and barbells have more ability to engage muscle fibers.
But, through using machines you can do the isolated movements with much more perfection.
Gone are the days when machines had inappropriate ranges of motion that could cause injury.
The fixed range of motion that the machine provides makes sure that you can lift a little more weight to intensify your workout while maintaining the proper form.
3. How To Warmup Before Performing Bicep Exercises?
We agree that the craze of getting big biceps would force you to start doing a heavy bicep workout as soon as you step into the gym.
But, always remember that starting a workout without warming up your muscles efficiently can lead to injury and you can sacrifice your workout performance.
One way to warm up your muscles before doing a bicep workout is doing some basic bicep exercises such as dumbbell curls but with much lighter weight.
Doing resistance band bicep exercises is also an effective way to warm up your muscles before stepping into the workout.
Some other stretching exercises you can try in the warmup are as follow
3.1. Standing Bicep Stretch
- Interlock your hands with each other just above your hips.
- Straighten your arms, taking them away from your back.
- Raise your arms as high as possible.
- Repeat this movement for a few seconds.
3.2. Wall Assisted Bicep Stretch
- Press your right palm with a wall.
- Slowly turn your body in the opposite direction of the wall.
- Feel the stretch in your biceps and hold this position for 20-30 sec.
- Repeat the same movement with the left side.
3.3. Chinups
This is a basic bicep exercise that can be performed by bodybuilders of all levels. But, as it’s a low-impact exercise so you can do it as a warmup.
3.4. Resistance Bands For Warmup
The resistance bands come in a variety of resistances. You can do bicep curls and stretching exercises using the lowest resistance band for warm-up.
4. The Best Bicep Workout Exercises
So, let’s head onto the best bicep exercises that you need to be performing for adding some mass to your biceps.
4.1. EZ Barbell Biceps Curl
4.1.1. Benefits of Performing It
The EZ barbell has an ergonomic grip which is more comfortable than the straight barbell rod. If you have a history of shoulder injuries or pain in your forearm then you can easily do bicep curls on an EZ bar.
Should You Perform EZ Bar Curl With a Narrow or Wide Grip?
If you want to target your long head then you should be doing the EZ bar curl with a close grip. But, if you wish to target your brachialis and short head then try doing it with a wide grip.
4.1.2. How To Do It Efficiently?
- Grab the EZ bar with a close or wide grip according to your need.
- Your palms should be facing up, curl your arms until the bar reaches in front of your chest.
- Keep your elbows as close to your body as possible.
- Slowly bring the bar down to the starting position.
- Repeat this movement for the required number of sets.
4.1.3. Sets and Reps
Do a maximum of 4 sets, keep a rep range of 15 RM-12 RM-10 RM-8 RM while increasing weight after each set.
4.2. Incline Dumbbell Curls Bicep Exercise
4.2.1. Benefits of Performing It
In this exercise, your chances of doing cheat reps are almost zero as your front body is being supported by the incline bench.
This bicep exercise efficiently targets the long head of your tricep and forces your peak to grow.
4.2.2. How To Do It Efficiently?
- Set the bench at an angle of a 45-degree incline.
- Rest your chest and upper body on the bench and hold an EZ bar with a close grip.
- Curl the bar upwards bringing it near your chest.
- Pause for a second and then slowly bring it down to starting position.
- Repeat the movement for the required number of reps.
4.1.3. Sets and Reps
Do a maximum of 4 sets, keep a rep range of 12 RM-12 RM-10 RM-10 RM while increasing weight after each set.
4.3. Concentration Bicep Curl Exercise
4.3.1. Benefits of Performing It
This is a crucial exercise for ripping your biceps. Most famous bodybuilders have recommended performing this exercise as it eliminates the body’s momentum and helps you to maintain a mind-muscle connection.
The biceps receive an increased amount of tension throughout this exercise as a result of which you achieve muscle hypertrophy much faster.
4.3.2. How To Do It Efficiently?
- Sit on a bench that puts your knees at approximately an angle of 90-degrees.
- Grab a dumbbell in your left hand and push your elbow on the inner part of your right thigh.
- Maintain a neutral spine and put your left hand on the left knee.
- Lift the dumbbell feeling the contraction in your bicep and then slowly lower it to the starting position.
- Repeat the movement with the other side.
4.3.3. Sets and Reps
Do a maximum of 4 sets for each side, keep a rep range of 12 RM-12 RM-10 RM-10 RM while increasing weight after each set.
4.4. Seated Alternate Dumbbell Curls
4.4.1. Benefits of Performing It
This is an old-school exercise for training your biceps. The curls can also be performed while standing and you can lift more weight while standing.
But, performing them seated enforces strict form and helps to maintain mind-muscle connection easily.
Alternating the dumbbells allow your muscles to constantly undergo stress which causes greater hypertrophy.
4.4.2. How To Do It Efficiently?
- Sit on a bench with a dumbbell in each hand.
- Lift your right dumbbell by curling your arm and bringing it near your chest.
- As soon as you bring it down, lift the left dumbbell in the same way.
- While bringing the dumbbell down don’t let your muscles fully relax.
- Repeat the same movement with both sides alternatively.
4.4.3. Sets and Reps
Do a maximum of 4 sets for each side, keep a rep range of 15 RM-12 RM-10 RM-10 RM while increasing weight after each set.
4.5. Hammer Bicep Curl
4.5.1. Benefits of Performing It
As discussed before that the brachialis is one of the most important muscles in growing your bicep size. The hammer curls are somehow similar to the typical bicep curls but the difference is that it maximizes the brachialis engagement.
4.5.2. How To Do It Efficiently?
- Stand hip-width apart with a dumbbell in each hand.
- While holding the dumbbells your palms should be facing inwards.
- Curl the dumbbells upwards bringing them near your chest.
- Pause at the top for a second and squeeze your biceps.
- Slowly lower the dumbbells to starting position.
- Repeat the movement for the required number of sets.
4.5.3. Sets and Reps
Do a maximum of 4 sets, keep a rep range of 15 RM-12 RM-10 RM-8 RM while increasing weight after each set.
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