20 Best Bicep Exercises, Plus 5 Full Workouts | BarBend (2024)

Big biceps signal to the world that you’ve put in some serious sweat equity at the gym. The biceps are small muscles, but growing them takes time, knowledge, and intelligent programming. Big biceps don’t just look good — they serve a real function. The next time you pick up your kid, load up a weight plate, or perform a perfect pull-up, that’s your biceps at work.

The good news for you is training the biceps is pretty simple — you curl, curl, and curl some more. And certain exercises get the job done better than others.

To help you figure out which is best for you, we’ve compiled 20 of the best biceps exercises into one list. You’ll also get more info on the muscle itself and learn how to incorporate biceps workouts into your routine.

20 Best Biceps Exercises

1. Barbell Curl
2. Cheat Curl
3. Drag Curl
4. Preacher Curl
5. Reverse Curl
6. Dumbbell Curl
7. Incline Dumbbell Curl
8. Hammer Curl
9. Zottman Curl
10. Spider Curl
11. Concentration Curl
12. Rope Hammer Curl
13. Standing Cable Curl
14. Bayesian Cable Curl
15. Single-Arm High Cable Curl
16. TRX Suspension Curl
17. 21 Curl
18. Reverse-Grip Barbell Row
19. Chin-Up
20. Inverted Row

Editor’s Note: The content on BarBend is meant to be informative in nature, but it should not be taken as medical advice. When starting a new training regimen and/or diet, it is always a good idea to consult a trusted medical professional. We are not a medical resource. The opinions and articles on this site are not intended for use as diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatment of health problems. They are not substitutes for consulting a qualified medical professional.

1. Barbell Curl

[Read More: The 8 Best Biceps Stretches to Support Long-Term Arm Thickness and Strength]

The barbell curl is a classic biceps-builder. This exercise targets the biceps and can increase serious strength and size to the entire muscle when done correctly. You can curl more weight with the barbell curl than other curl variations as you lift a singular implement with both hands.

It’s also straightforward to do. Simply load a barbell, hold it in both hands, and lift it toward your chin. Rinse and repeat.

How to Do It

1. Grab a barbell with an underhand grip, slightly wider than the shoulders.
2. Pull your shoulders back into their sockets to expose the fronts of your biceps. Your elbows should be under your shoulder joints, or slightly in front by your ribs.
3. Curl the barbell up using your biceps.

Coach’s Tip: Make sure not to let your torso lean forward, shoulders collapse forward, or elbows slide backward to the side of your body. Instead, they should stay slightly in front of your shoulders.

Sets and Reps: With moderate to heavy weight, do three to four sets of six to 12 reps.

Equipment Needed: Barbell, weight plates, fractional plates

2. Cheat Curl

Good form is integral to successful lifting, but that doesn’t mean you must color within the lines during every single biceps workout. Sometimes breaking the rules and performing deliberate cheat curls can paint a better picture.

By adding a bit of body English to your standard barbell curl, you can glean several unique benefits. You’ll be able to lift heavier weight, creating more mechanical tension, and you can emphasize the eccentric portion of the curl by lowering the bar slowly after using some force to hoist it up.

How to Do It

1. Stand upright grasping a loaded bar as though you were going to perform a regular strict curl. Load up with a bit more weight than you’re used to.
2. Initiate the cheat curl by hinging at the hips slightly and, as you bend your elbows, push your hips forward to give the bar a bit of kick.
3. At the top, reverse the motion and fight the bar as you lower it down. Resist the weight, stretching your biceps out until your elbow straightens fully.

Coach’s Tip: Contract your biceps hard as you curl; don’t rely solely on momentum from your legs.

Sets and Reps: Hit it hard and heavy with 3-4 sets of 5-8 reps here.

Equipment Needed: Barbell, weight plates, fractional plates

3. Drag Curl

[Read More: The 10 Best Arm Exercises for Major Muscle Growth]

Almost all biceps exercises involve pinning your upper arm to your torso and keeping it locked there for the duration of your set. This is undeniably wise, as your biceps really only affect your elbow joint.

However, the main benefits of the drag curl involve exploiting how your biceps insert onto your shoulder blade. By pulling your elbow backward behind you as you curl, you can stretch the biceps at one end and contract at another, creating unparalleled tension.

How to Do It

1. Stand upright holding a barbell (or dumbbells) in your hands with a supinated grip.
2. Curl the bar up and, simultaneously, pull your elbows back behind your torso.
3. Use your biceps to guide the bar up your torso, making very gentle contact.
4. Curl until you can’t pull your arms back any further, then reverse the motion.

Coach’s Tip: The bar should gently kiss your shirt, but you shouldn’t drag it along your body hard enough to create any friction.

Sets and Reps: Try 3 sets of 12-15 repetitions on this one.

Equipment Needed: Barbell, weight plates, fractional plates; OR dumbbells

4. Preacher Curl

[Read More: The 15 Best Dumbbell Exercises You Need for Muscle and Strength]

Curling on a preacher bench lengthens the exercise’s range of motion. As a result, the biceps will be under tension for a longer period of time, which usually equates to more muscle growth.

You can enhance the preacher curl further by working with one arm at a time — the single-arm preacher curl allows you to stretch your biceps out a bit more and target them individually for balanced development.

How to Do It

1. Set an incline bench station to about 60 degrees if you don’t have access to a preacher bench.
2. Drape one or both arms over the pad of the bench, ensuring your elbow is jammed snugly into the edge.
3. Unfurl your arm and lower the weight slowly down until your elbow is almost fully straight.
4. Reverse the motion and curl until your forearm is at least perpendicular to the surface you’re resting on.

Coach’s Tip: Keep your body locked into place throughout each rep.

Sets and Reps: With a moderate to heavy weight, perform three to four sets of eight to 12 reps.

Equipment Needed: Dumbbell, adjustable weight bench

5. Reverse Curl

[Read More: The 10 Best Grip Strengtheners On the Market (Spring 2023 Update)]

To perform a reverse curl, you’ll need to flip your hands over and hold the shaft of the bar with your palms facing the floor. A cambered barbell allows for this unique grip adjustment, but it isn’t required.

This curl variation trains the forearm and upper arm muscles — most notably the brachialis and brachioradialis — helping increase size and improve grip strength.

How to Do It

1. Grab the shaft of the bar in each hand with your palms facing down (or best fit to the slanted part on the bar).
2. Keep your arms tucked in at your sides.
3. Flex at your elbows to curl the bar up towards your shoulders. Lower the bar back down with control.

Coach’s Tip: Take a moment to find the optimal grip for your limb length and hand size before starting your sets in earnest.

Sets and Reps: Use a moderate weight and perform two to four sets of eight to 15 reps.

Equipment Needed: Barbell or EZ bar; weight plates, fractional plates

6. Dumbbell Curl

[Read More: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Arm Workout, Explained and Remixed for All
Experience Levels]

Dumbbell biceps exercises are uniquely fulfilling. Indeed, few things are more satisfying than simply hammering away at set after set of dumbbell curls. When it comes to training your biceps, the barbell can be awkward to work with (or unavailable altogether in a crowded gym).

Dumbbells afford you more freedom of movement and allow you to flex your arms individually, without relying on your stronger biceps to pick up the slack of the weaker side. Dumbbells are also widely accessible in just about every gym, making the dumbbell curl a true grab-and-go lift.

How to Do It

1. Stand upright holding a dumbbell in each hand at your sides, palms facing each other.
2. Curl one or both arms up; as you bend your elbow, rotate your wrist around so your palm faces the ceiling.
3. Reverse the motion and lower the weights back down to their original position.

Coach’s Tip: You can curl both weights simultaneously, or perform the dumbbell curl by alternating one arm at a time.

Sets and Reps: Try out a pyramid, doing 4 sets of 6, 8, 12, and 15 or more repetitions.

Equipment Needed: Dumbbells

7. Incline Dumbbell Curl

To perform the incline dumbbell curl, you’ll need to lie back on an incline gym bench. Curling from an incline takes the momentum out of the equation so that the lifter can’t cheat the weight up.

Secondly, curling with lengthened, extended arms creates a longer range of motion, ultimately making this curl variation more effective.

How to Do the Incline Dumbbell Curl

1. Lie back on an incline bench, angled at about 60 degrees, with a dumbbell in each hand. Let your arms hang so they’re fully extended.
2. Curl the weight up without moving your shoulders.
3. Hold at the top of the movement for about a second, then slowly lower the dumbbells with control.

Coach’s Tip: Maintain contact between the backs of your shoulders and the bench.

Sets and Reps: With moderate weight, perform two to three sets of eight to 15 reps.

Equipment Needed: Dumbbells, adjustable weight bench

8. Hammer Curl

The hammer curl requires you to curl dumbbells with your palms facing each other. This neutral wrist position is more comfortable for most folks and should allow you to curl heavier weights, stimulating some extra muscle growth.

The hammer curl targets the biceps brachialis and brachioradialis for more arm thickness. This will be advantageous whether you’re looking to build out your physique or craft a strong grip to support massive deadlifts.

How to Do It

1. Hold a dumbbell in each hand while standing.
2. Turn your wrists so that they’re facing each other.
3. Keep your arms tucked in at your sides and flex your elbows to curl the dumbbells up towards your shoulders. Lower them back down with control.

Coach’s Tip: Focus on squeezing your biceps at the top of each rep to make the most of this move.

Sets and Reps: With moderate to heavy weight, do three to four sets of eight to 12 reps.

Equipment Needed: Dumbbells

9. Zottman Curl

If you want to build bigger biceps, you need forearms that can support all that extra weight. Enter the Zottman curl — your new go-to for building both forearms and biceps.

It might take you a minute to get used to the movement pattern here. But once you’ve gotten the hang of the rhythm, you’ll feel your forearms fighting on the eccentric while your biceps fire up on the concentric portion. A win-win for bigger all-around arms.

How to Do It

1. Take hold of the dumbbells with your palms facing up. Curl as usual.
2. Rotate your hands so that your palms are facing down once you reach the top of your rep.
3. Lower the weights slowly and with control. When your arms lengthen, rotate your hands again so your palms are facing up.

Coach’s Tip: Move as slowly as you can manage on the eccentric portion. Squeeze your biceps hard at the top of each rep.

Sets and Reps: Use a weight that you can control with a reverse grip on the way down. Perform two to three sets of six to 10 reps with a very slow eccentric (lowering) phase.

Equipment Needed: Dumbbells

10. Spider Curl

If you’re afraid of the creature this biceps curl variation is named after, don’t worry — no arachnids need to join in the fun. Instead, you’ll be channeling their energy by making your arms as long as possible as you set up for your curl.

You’ll be in roughly the same position as with an incline prone row, lying on your chest on an incline bench. You can use dumbbells, a barbell, or an EZ bar. Whichever you choose, take advantage of the external support to channel every ounce of energy toward your biceps.

How to Do the Spider Curl

1. Set up an incline bench so that when you lie on it face down, your arms can just barely reach weights on the ground. (Use stable weight plates to raise the bench if needed.)
2. Lie on the bench facing the ground, with your chest supported and your head extending over the top.
3. Reach down to grab your chosen implement securely then reestablish a stable starting position.
4. Curl the implement using only your biceps, avoiding any momentum.

Coach’s Tip: Bear down on your core as you prepare for each rep. This will allow you to focus as much as possible on your biceps during the lift itself.

Sets and Reps: Use a moderately heavy weight, aiming for two to three sets of eight to 10 reps. Hit failure with each set.

Equipment Needed: Dumbbells, adjustable weight bench

11. Concentration Curl

The concentration curl is all about feeling your biceps work. You sit down on a bench, rest your elbow on the inside of your thigh, and curl a dumbbell from full extension to contraction.

Lifting with one arm at a time means you’re doing more overall work. Plus, you’ll allow your weaker arm to play catch-up with your dominant arm. The isolated curling position really lets you hone in on your biceps as you curl a light dumbbell.

How to Do the Concentration Curl

1. Sit on a bench with your feet set wide enough to allow your arm to hang in the middle, with your elbow resting on the inside of the thigh.
2. Slowly curl a dumbbell upward at a controlled tempo, concentrating on contracting the biceps to move the load. At the top of the movement, flex as hard as possible.
3. Lower the load slowly.

Coach’s Tip: The key is not to lose tension on the biceps at any point in the range of motion.

Sets and Reps: Use moderately heavy weights and perform two to four sets of eight to 12 reps per side.

Equipment Needed: Dumbbell, weight bench

12. Rope Hammer Curl

Cables are, in many ways, a bodybuilder’s best friend. They provide constant mechanical tension, are easy to adjust, and fit nicely into a biceps workout. To exploit all the value cables have to offer, try out the rope hammer curl.

And the rope attachment isn’t just helpful for the best triceps exercises. It pairs nicely with the execution of the hammer curl. It allows you to comfortably keep your wrists in a neutral position and “spreading the rope” as you curl should activate your forearms as well.

How to Do It

1. Set an adjustable cable fixture to its lowest setting, down on the floor. Fix the rope attachment to the carabiner.
2. Grab each end of the rope with a neutral grip and take a step backward to pull the cable taut.
3. Keep your upper arms pinned back against your sides and bend your elbows until they’re at a 90-degree angle.

Coach’s Tip: Think about actively “pulling the rope apart” as you curl.

Sets and Reps: Cables are great for drop sets. Do 2 sets of 12, then immediately lower the weight a few notches and curl until failure.

Equipment Needed: Cable machine, rope attachment

13. Cable Curl

Free weight biceps exercises are excellent, but they’re not the only thing you need. When you curl a dumbbell or barbell, the movement is hardest at the midpoint of the lift since the weight is furthest from the body. However, cables keep tension on the muscle throughout the movement, as the weight stack you’re lifting is suspended throughout.

This adds more tension to the muscle for more growth. You can also attach different handles to a cable machine’s pulley to attack your biceps from different angles.

How to Do the Cable Curl

1. Attach the desired handle to the pulley of a cable machine set to the lowest height.
2. Grab the handle in both hands and take a few steps back so there’s constant tension on the cable (the weight stack should be elevated the entire time).
3. Curl the bar up to your chest and then slowly lower it back down.

Coach’s Tip: Focus on setting up the angles of your body and the machine to ensure that the line of pull from the cable lets you focus intently on your muscle contraction.

Sets and Reps: With light to moderate weight, perform two to three sets of 15 to 25 reps.

Equipment Needed: Cable machine, straight bar attachment

14. Bayesian Cable Curl

To perform the Bayesian cable curl, you need to stand facing away from the cable tower. You won’t be able to see the cable stack or the weights you’re lifting, but you’ll be able to see the gains.

This setup allows you the same benefits of the incline dumbbell curl — a greater stretch due to a longer range of motion — coupled with the unique resistance of the cables, which keeps tension on the muscle throughout the entire movement.

How to Do It

1. Set the handles of the cable pulleys to the lowest setting and attach D-handles to each pulley. Pick up a handle in each hand.
2. Tense your upper back and let your arms hang so they’re fully extended.
3. Curl the weight without moving your shoulders. Hold the top of the movement before slowly lowering the handles with control.

Coach’s Tip: Step away from the cable stack far enough to feel resistance from the cables but not enough to lose structural integrity across your body.

Sets and Reps: Using weight that’s challenging but doesn’t pull you off balance, perform two to four sets of 15 to 25 reps.

Equipment Needed: Cable machine, D-handle attachment

15. Single-Arm High Cable Curl

Few cable biceps exercises can match the tension provided by the single-arm high cable curl. By removing any support structure for your upper arm and aligning it with the direction the cable pulls, you can remove any other forces acting on your arm. The only thing that moves the weight is your biceps contracting.

Curling from a high, extended arms position is thought to emphasize the short biceps head, which is what builds that coveted biceps peak. While this isn’t a shoulder exercise, you’ll get the added benefit of building a lot of shoulder stability in this position.

How to Do It

1. Set a cable pulley to about shoulder height and attach A standard handle to the pulley.
2. Stand between the pulleys and raise your arm to shoulder level, keeping your upper arm parallel to the ground.
3. Curl the handle toward your head, then slowly lower the load back to the starting position.

Coach’s Tip: Maintain your shoulder position throughout the range of motion, not allowing your elbows to dip. Keep tension in your upper back to help keep shoulders stable and arm position constant, driving up tension in your biceps.

Sets and Reps: Use a weight that you can control while maintaining your upper arm position. Do two to three sets of 15 to 20 reps.

Equipment Needed: Cable machine, D-handle attachment

16. TRX Suspension Curl

This curl variation is great for anyone with limited access to free weights, cables, and machines. It’s as close to a bodyweight biceps exercise as you can get without actually going equipment-free. Like other suspension-based exercises, you can also easily adjust the difficulty of the exercise by adjusting your body position — the more upright your body position, the easier it will be.

Because you are only using bodyweight as your resistance, altering the rep tempo can increase the time under tension on your biceps. While this isn’t quite a biceps exercise with no equipment, you definitely need minimal supplies — and you can mimic the effects using a doorway.

How to Do It

1. Secure the TRX suspension to an anchor overhead.
2. Grab hold of the handles and take a few steps forward toward the anchor point.
3. Lean back, keeping your spine neutral and your hips and shoulders aligned.
4. Curl your body weight up.

Coach’s Tip: To increase the difficulty of the exercise, adjust your body position. The further you lean back, the more of your body weight you will resist during the movement. If you want to make the exercise easier, you can position your body to be more upright.

Sets and Reps: Perform three to four sets to failure, adjusting your foot position as needed.

Equipment Machine: TRX suspension strap, stable anchor (power rack or squat rack)

17. 21 Curl

The 21s workout isn’t a lift in and of itself, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t put it on a list of biceps-builders. You can perform nearly any biceps movement with this method — and it’s a real arm developer.

You’ll take advantage of partial range of motion training for 14 of your 21 reps here. The final seven reps — true scorchers — will have you move through the entire range of motion. This means you’ll be hitting your biceps at all ranges.

How to Do It

1. Set up with a barbell or dumbbells as you would for a standard curl.
2. Perform seven half reps, only raising the weight to 90 degrees.
3. Do seven more half reps, this time moving between 90 degrees (the midway mark of a traditional curl) and the top end of the range of motion.
4. Perform seven more standard reps, moving the weight through the entire range of motion.
5. Note: The model above is performing each portion of the movement once, in a row, to demonstrate the different ranges of motion. you should perform each phase consecutively as directed above.

Coach’s Tip: Avoid using any momentum or swinging motions, regardless of fatigue level. Use a lighter weight if you find yourself cheating every or most reps.

Sets and Reps: Do one or two sets of a single rep. Each “rep” here comprises 21 reps — 14 with a partial range of motion and seven with a full range of motion.

Equipment Needed: Barbell, weight plates, fractional plates

18. Reverse-Grip Barbell Row

You’re right to think of this movement as a traditional back exercise. It is. That said, similar to the chin-up, the supinated grip of this bent-over row variation involves the biceps to a great degree.

You can manage more weight on the barbell compared to other biceps exercises. Also, you’ll build up your biceps in conjunction with your back muscles for more overall muscularity.

How to Do It

1. Grab a barbell with an underhand grip that is about shoulder-width apart.
2. Assume the proper bent-over row position, with the back flat and chest up.
3. Row the barbell to your stomach. Pull with both your back and arms, lowering the weight under control and repeating for reps.

Coach’s Tip: You can use very heavy weights here. Load up the bar, but make sure you’re not throwing your weight around to cheat each and every rep.

Sets and Reps: With heavy weight, perform three to four sets of six to eight reps.

Equipment Needed: Barbell, weight plates

19. Chin-Up

The chin-up is a bodyweight exercise that can induce serious muscle growth of the biceps (and back) with nothing but a pull-up bar. If you have a door-mounted pull-up bar in your home gym, then that’s all you need to bang out sets of chin-ups.

Since you’re working with your entire body weight, your biceps are exposed to loads heavier than you can lift with a barbell. Make sure you’re keeping your emphasis on your biceps by engaging your core and pulling your shoulder blades back and down. As a bonus, this is also one of the best forearm exercises you can do, so you’ll be building your whole arm up.

How to Do the Chin-Up

1. Hang from a bar with palms facing you and your hands about shoulder-width apart or slightly wider.
2. Squeeze your shoulder blades together from a dead hang.
3. Pull your body up, making sure not to let your body fold inward until your chin is at or above the bar.

Coach’s Tip: Imagine drawing your elbows down and back slightly into your back pockets.

Sets and Reps: Using a resistance band to assist you if needed, perform three to five sets of as many reps as possible.

Equipment Needed: Pull-up bar OR power rack

20. Inverted Row

An inverted row — if you use a supinated, underhand grip — is a two-for-one: You can build your biceps without weights and also work toward the back strength to perform a chin-up if you’re not quite there yet.

Think of inverted rows as horizontal chin-ups. By flipping your palms, they also happen to serve as tremendous biceps exercises that you can add some extra resistance to as needed.

How to Do It

1. Set a barbell low to the ground in a rack or cage at about hip height.
2. Lie underneath it on the floor and reach up to grab it with an underhand grip.
3. Pull your body off the floor by bending your elbows and contracting your biceps.
4. Pause at the top when your body comes close to touching the bar, then reverse the motion.

Coach’s Tip: Take time to find the exact right grip width that really turns on your biceps.

Sets and Reps: Bodyweight movements like the inverted row are awesome workout finishers. Do 2 sets to failure at the end of your biceps workout.

Equipment Needed: Barbell, squat rack, safety spotter arms or Smith machine

5 Biceps Workouts To Try

Working out your biceps is technically as simple as hitting the dumbbell rack and performing curl, after, curl, after curl. However, a good biceps workout should be more; more fun, more engaging, more challenging and, especially, more rewarding. If your arm day needs a touch-up, give any of these five workouts to pump up your sleeve-stretchers.

Biceps Workout for Mass

Here, you’ll strategically mix up the best biceps exercises for mass to create a major arm-builder. You’ll want to aim for 10-14 total sets per workout. Start with one arm workout per week, and then add another once your gains begin to plateau.

Also, you’ll want to rest between 90 seconds and two minutes between each set — long enough so that you can still push yourself on weight, but not too long that you’ll go cold.

Equipment Needed: Barbell, weight plates, fractional plates, cable machine, straight bar attachment, dumbbells, pull-up bar

Biceps Workout for Strength

When you’re training for strength, you’ll keep the volume lower — fewer reps and sets — but you’ll lift heavier weights. It’s also important to make sure the volume isn’t too low, though, so it doesn’t diminish some of your strength and muscle growth.

For this reason, it’s recommended that you stick to a rep range between six and eight reps and do no more than three to four sets. To ensure adequate recovery between sets, rest for as long as two minutes.

Equipment Needed: Pull-up bar, barbell, weight plates, fractional plates, dumbbells

Biceps Workout for Bodybuilders

For your biceps to look the most massive and ripped as possible, you as a bodybuilder should do as many reps, exercises, and sets as possible, without overtraining. You’ll also want to work with a variety of different equipment, ensuring that you hit your biceps thoroughly from all angles.

Equipment Needed: Barbell, weight plates, fractional plates, cable machine, straight bar attachment, rope attachment, D-handle, dumbbells, adjustable weight bench

Biceps Workout for CrossFitters

The main objective for CrossFitters is performance; not having large arms. If you train for CrossFit, your biceps need to adequately assist you during exercises like pull-ups, rope climbs, on the rowing machine, and so on. The best way to develop your biceps, then, is to combine strength and endurance-focused training.

Equipment Needed: Pull-up bar, barbell, safety spotter arms, squat rack, weight plates, fractional plates, dumbbells

Benefits of Training Your Biceps

Your biceps are glamorous muscles — at least, you might want them to be. If you’re looking for round, peaking biceps, the benefits of training them might seem obvious. But even if you aren’t motivated by a particular aesthetic, strong biceps can help you with your bigger lifts.

Support Compound Lifts

If you want to build a strong, powerful back, you’ll need strong, powerful biceps. Whenever you’re doing any kind of rowing motion, you need biceps strength to support all that weight.

[Read More: How To (Safely) Train to Failure to Boost Your Intensity and Muscle Mass]

Your back should be doing most of the work during heavy rows. But if your biceps are too weak to assist, your back gains will plateau before they’ve even gotten started.

Strengthening your biceps is tremendously important for supporting those back-builders. But they’re important for heavy pushing movements, as well. If you love bench pressing, your triceps are likely to get a lot of attention. Train your biceps to keep balance in your arms. This balance is crucial for fending off injury.

Functional Fitness

Big biceps aren’t just about ripping your shirt sleeves. Having strong upper arms also supports you through daily activities ranging from lifting up your kids to hoisting your grocery bags into the trunk of the car.

[Read More: 5 Functional Exercises to Improve Warmups, Movement, and Overall Fitness]

Your wrists and forearms benefit when you train your biceps, too. You need the muscles involved here to be able to maintain your grip throughout long training sessions that emphasize functional movements like farmer’s carries.

Physique Training

In addition to supporting your big lifts, training your biceps can support your big physique goals. If you want thicker arms, you need to work your tris — but there’s a limit to how much your shirt sleeves can bulge without a strong set of biceps.

What Muscles Make Up the Biceps

The biceps are called brachii, which is Latin for “two-headed muscle of the arm” — representing the short head and the long head. The biceps attach across two joints — the elbow and the shoulder. Its core function is to flex the elbow and turn the wrist.

The biceps are small muscles, but they serve a pivotal function when you really think about it. Anytime you pick something up or press something overhead, you’re flexing your elbow (and therefore your biceps) to some degree.

• Biceps Brachii: This two-headed muscle originates on your scapula and inserts onto your forearm. Its two heads perform mostly identical functions, but adjusting how you curl and the position of your upper arm will make an impact. (1)(2)
• Brachialis: This thick muscle sits underneath your biceps and on the outside of your humerus. The brachialis only crosses the elbow joint and doesn’t interact with your shoulder, making it the principal muscle for elbow flexion.
• Brachioradialis: This small muscle is considered part of your forearm, but acts as an assistive muscle during elbow flexion, particularly when you’re performing exercises with a pronated hand.

More on Biceps Training

You’re now equipped to crush the best biceps exercises out there. You even know how to select the most effective biceps exercises for your specific goals and experience level.

Since you’ve got biceps workout fever, here are some more biceps training articles to tide you over until your next training session.

• 10 Commandments of Biceps Training
• The Best Short-Head Biceps Exercises to Round Out Your Upper Arms
• The 6 Best Bodyweight Biceps Exercises for Getting Jacked Outside the Gym

References

1. Schoenfeld, B. J., Ogborn, D., & Krieger, J. W. (2016). Effects of Resistance Training Frequency on Measures of Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 46(11), 1689–1697.
2. Tiwana MS, Charlick M, Varacallo M. Anatomy, Shoulder and Upper Limb, Biceps Muscle. [Updated 2020 Aug 11]. StatPearls Publishing; 2021 Jan.

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