9 Best Biceps Exercises According To Pro Bodybuilders

When you ask somebody to flex, 99% of the time, they are going to throw an arm up and put their biceps on show. A fantastic set of biceps can considerably alter the looks of your arm and make your on a regular basis life simpler (folks with youngsters who need to be carried on a regular basis know this all too effectively). We have watched numerous hours of your favourite professional bodybuilders pump up their biceps and have give you 9 of the very best biceps workouts you have to be incorporating into your exercises now. On this article we’ll check out:

• Supinated Dumbbell Curl
• Incline Dumbbell Curl
• Hammer Curl
• Spider Curl
• Barbell Curl
• Preacher Curl
• Focus Curl
• Cable Curl
• Excessive Cable Curl

1. Supinated Dumbbell Curl

Almost definitely probably the most well-known biceps train on this checklist, the dumbbell curl will get taken to the subsequent stage with a little bit further supination (rotating the hand so your thumb is dealing with out) of the wrist. Bodybuilding legend Arnold Schwarzenegger credit supinated dumbbell curls with assist constructing his legendary peaks.

In an interview with Muscle & Health, the Austrian Oak recommends making an attempt to get the pinkie larger than your thumb, acknowledging it is going to harm like hell, however will assist deliver your arm growth to the subsequent stage. Supinated dumbbell curls will be completed standing, however performing them seated together with your again supported may also help cease physique swing, actually placing the deal with the biceps doing the work.

Learn how to Carry out A Supinated Dumbbell Curl

1. Select Your Weights: Choose a pair of dumbbells which can be applicable in your energy stage. It is necessary to begin with a weight that enables you carry out the train with correct kind.
2. Beginning Place: Stand together with your toes shoulder-width aside, or sit on a weight bench together with your again supported. Maintain a dumbbell in every hand together with your arms at your sides and palms dealing with ahead. That is the supinated place. Maintain your elbows near your torso.
3. Stabilize Your Core: Have interaction your core muscle groups to stabilize your physique. This can assist stop any pointless swaying or motion of the higher physique through the train.
4. Curl the Weights: Exhale as you curl the dumbbells upwards in direction of your shoulders. Deal with shifting solely your forearms; your higher arms ought to stay pinned subsequent to your torso all through the motion.
5. Squeeze on the Prime: When you attain full contraction, squeeze your biceps for a second to maximise muscle engagement.
6. Decrease the Dumbbells: Inhale as you slowly decrease the dumbbells again to the beginning place. It is necessary to regulate the motion each on the way in which up and right down to maintain stress on the biceps.
7. Preserve Kind: Maintain your again straight and shoulders relaxed all through the train. Keep away from utilizing momentum to elevate the weights; the motion must be managed and deliberate.

Professional Tip: One other piece of recommendation to get as a lot stress on the biceps as doable is to let your wrist dangle and the load roll towards your fingers at peak contraction. This would possibly not permit the load to be in a “resting” place on the prime of the motion, retaining your muscle firing the entire time.

Check out the video under to see Roelly Winklaar performing textbook supinated dumbbell curls.

2. Incline Dumbbell Curl



Incline dumbbell curl was a favourite of old-school bodybuilders and will be seen on outstanding show by Lou Ferrigno in Pumping Iron. Recognized for being completely brutal as a result of full stretch at first of the motion, incline dumbbell curls provide a wider vary of movement than commonplace standing dumbbell curls, putting your biceps underneath stress for longer. The incline dumbbell curl is a go-to of Roelly Winklaar, and with arguably the very best arms within the historical past of the game, you may wager he is aware of what he is doing.

Learn how to Carry out Incline Dumbbell Curls

1. Set Up the Bench: Alter an incline bench to an angle of about 45 to 60 levels. It is necessary to discover a snug angle that does not put pressure in your again.
2. Choose Your Dumbbells: Select a pair of dumbbells which can be applicable in your energy stage. Keep in mind, kind is extra necessary than weight, particularly with incline curls the place the biceps are underneath stress for an extended interval.
3. Sit Down and Place Your self: Sit on the bench together with your again flat towards the pad. Maintain a dumbbell in every hand together with your arms hanging down and palms dealing with ahead.
4. Stabilize Your Shoulders: Roll your shoulders again barely and right down to stabilize them. This place helps isolate the biceps through the train.
5. Carry out the Curl: Exhale as you curl the dumbbells up in direction of your shoulders. Your higher arms ought to keep in place, shifting solely your forearms. Keep away from swinging or utilizing momentum.
6. Squeeze on the Prime: As soon as your forearms are vertical or simply earlier than the dumbbells attain shoulder stage, squeeze your biceps for a second to maximise muscle engagement.
7. Decrease the Dumbbells Slowly: Inhale as you decrease the dumbbells again to the beginning place slowly. Guarantee a managed motion to take care of stress on the biceps.
8. Preserve Correct Kind: Maintain your elbows and again stationary all through the set. Keep away from arching your again or lifting your elbows off the bench.

Professional Tip: Make certain to maintain your elbows down. “Floating” elbows take the stress off of your biceps at peak contraction, robbing you of the advantages of the incline dumbbell curl. Deal with your elbow as a hinge tucked into your facet.

You possibly can try a video of a younger 7x Mr. Olympia Phil Heath demonstrating incline dumbbell curls under.

3. Hammer Curl



Hammer curls are one if, if not the very best train for brachialis and brachioradialis muscle groups. The small, typically underappreciated, brachialis muscle could make or break a again double biceps pose. Located between the lateral head of the triceps and the lengthy head of the biceps, a well-developed brachialis may also help add thickness to your arm in addition to push the lengthy head of the biceps up into a greater peak. Hammer curls also can pack on some dimension to the brachioradialis, which is an absolute should for a balanced trying arm. When you see an IFBB professional with nice biceps peaks and big forearms, you may nearly assure that hammer curls are an integral a part of their coaching.

Learn how to Carry out Hammer Curls

1. Choose Your Dumbbells: Select a pair of dumbbells which can be applicable in your energy stage.
2. Beginning Place: Stand together with your toes shoulder-width aside. Maintain a dumbbell in every hand together with your arms prolonged at your sides and your palms dealing with your torso. That is your beginning place.
3. Stabilize Your Core: Have interaction your core muscle groups to maintain your torso regular through the train. This helps in sustaining stability and correct kind.
4. Curl the Weights: Whereas retaining your elbows pinned to your torso, exhale and curl the dumbbells in direction of your shoulders. Your palms ought to stay dealing with one another, and your higher arms ought to keep stationary.
5. Squeeze on the Prime: When the dumbbells are at shoulder stage, squeeze your biceps for a quick second to maximise muscle engagement.
6. Decrease the Dumbbells: Inhale as you slowly decrease the dumbbells again to the beginning place. Make sure you management the descent, resisting gravity for a greater muscle exercise.
7. Preserve Kind: Maintain your wrists straight all through the train to keep away from pressure. Additionally, keep away from swinging your arms or utilizing momentum; the motion must be managed and targeted on the biceps and forearms.

Professional Tip: Hammer curls have a number of the greatest curl variations; benefit from them! Crossbody hammer curls, incline hammer curls, preacher hammer curls, and cable hammer curls are simply a number of the some ways to carry out hammers. Strive them out and see which one works greatest for you!

Beneath is a video of the Maryland Muscle Machine throwing up critical weight with hammer curls.

4. Spider Curls



A favourite of 4x Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler, the spider curl is a tremendous option to isolate the biceps and get a full stretch of the muscle. A staple of his coaching regimine main as much as the 2009 Mr. Olympia (the yr of the “Quad Stomp”), spider curls helped Cutler deliver his biceps to the extent wanted to reclaim the Sandow. Generally seen getting used on his shoppers by coach Hany Rambod, professional bodybuilders rave concerning the contraction they’re able to get utilizing ez bars, straight bars, and dumbbells on this place. With 24 Olympia titles underneath his belt, I will belief that Hany is aware of what he is doing with regards to muscle growth.

Learn how to Carry out Spider Curls

1. Set Up the Bench: Alter an incline bench to a few 45-degree angle. You will be mendacity face down on the bench, so guarantee it is at a snug top.
2. Select Your Weights: Choose a pair of dumbbells that you could elevate with out sacrificing kind.
3. Lie Down on the Bench: Lie face down on the bench together with your torso and stomach flat towards the pad. Your toes must be firmly planted on the bottom for stability.
4. Arm Place: Maintain a dumbbell in every hand together with your arms prolonged in direction of the bottom. Your palms must be dealing with one another.
5. Carry out the Curl: Exhale and curl the dumbbells in direction of your shoulders. In contrast to conventional curls, your arms ought to dangle straight down, offering a singular angle for bicep contraction.
6. Squeeze on the Prime: As soon as you’ve got curled the dumbbells as excessive as you may, squeeze your biceps on the prime for optimum muscle engagement.
7. Decrease the Weights: Inhale and slowly decrease the dumbbells again to the beginning place. Preserve management all through the descent.
8. Preserve Kind: Maintain your head and backbone in a impartial place aligned together with your again. Keep away from physique swing or utilizing momentum to elevate the weights.

Professional Tip: When you actually need to keep away from arm swing, you should utilize a preacher bench (chest on the angled facet, again of the triceps on the straight facet) to get rid of any momentum.

This is a video of Jay Cutler himself doing a little dumbbell spider curls.

5. Barbell Curl



For constructing uncooked energy in your biceps, look no additional than the barbell curl. A mainstay in 8x Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman’s arm exercises, typically performing 10-12 reps at 225 lbs, there is no such thing as a doubt that barbell curls can construct up some critical energy. For anybody trying to improve their energy, barbell curls are a good way to problem your arms to develop with extra weight than you’d be capable to do with dumbbells. One phrase of warning, these with wrist mobility points would possibly need to take it simple or avoid these solely.

Learn how to Carry out Barbell Curls

1. Choose the Barbell: Select a barbell with an applicable weight. Begin lighter to deal with kind, particularly should you’re new to the train.
2. Grip the Barbell: Get up straight together with your toes shoulder-width aside. Grip the barbell together with your palms barely wider than shoulder-width aside, palms dealing with upwards. That is your beginning place.
3. Stabilize Your Physique: Have interaction your core and maintain your knees barely bent to stabilize your physique. Guarantee your again is straight and your shoulders are barely rolled again.
4. Carry out the Curl: Whereas retaining your elbows near your sides, exhale and curl the barbell up in direction of your chest. Deal with shifting solely your forearms; your higher arms ought to stay stationary by your sides.
5. Squeeze on the Prime: When the barbell is at chest stage, squeeze your biceps for a second to maximise muscle engagement.
6. Decrease the Barbell Slowly: Inhale as you slowly decrease the barbell again to the beginning place. Management the motion to maintain stress on the biceps.
7. Preserve Correct Kind: All through the train, maintain your elbows tucked in and keep away from swinging the barbell or utilizing your again to elevate the load.

Professional Tip: Elevate with a associate to do a couple of destructive reps on the finish of your units to exhaust your bis past failure.

Lee Priest offers an incredible YouTube quick on how you can correctly carry out barbell curls within the video under.

6. Preacher Curl



One other wonderful means to verify your biceps are doing all of the work is to hop on a preacher bench and smash out some preacher curls. Appropriately named for resembling a preacher leaning over a pulpit, preacher curls got here into trend within the Sixties. For anybody who’s a fan of the historical past of bodybuilding, is perhaps aware of how Larry Scott (the very first Mr. Olympia) launched Arnold to preacher curls, bringing his arms to an entire new stage. A number of frequent variations of preacher curls will be carried out utilizing a cambered bar, straight bar, dumbbells at tandem or one after the other, or machine preacher curls.

Learn how to Carry out Preacher Curls

1. Set Up the Preacher Bench: Alter the preacher bench in order that while you sit down, your armpits are comfortably resting on the prime of the pad. This positioning is essential for correct kind.
2. Select Your Weight: Choose an EZ curl bar or a barbell with an applicable weight. It is higher to begin lighter to focus in your kind and keep away from pressure.
3. Grip the Bar: Sit on the preacher bench and grip the bar together with your palms about shoulder-width aside. When you’re utilizing an EZ curl bar, the angled grip will be extra snug in your wrists.
4. Beginning Place: Relaxation your higher arms on the pad, extending your arms nearly absolutely. Your palms must be dealing with upwards, and your elbows must be barely bent at first to keep away from joint pressure.
5. Carry out the Curl: Exhale and slowly curl the bar in direction of your face. Maintain your higher arms firmly planted on the pad all through the motion. Deal with utilizing your biceps to elevate the load.
6. Squeeze on the Prime: As soon as you’ve got introduced the bar as near your face as comfortably doable, squeeze your biceps arduous on the prime of the motion for optimum muscle engagement.
7. Decrease the Weight Slowly: Inhale and slowly decrease the bar again to the beginning place. Management the descent to take care of stress within the biceps.
8. Preserve Correct Kind: Make sure that your again stays straight and your shoulders are relaxed. Keep away from the temptation to lean ahead or use momentum to elevate the load.

Professional Tip: Do not let your elbows lock out on the backside; it places pointless pressure in your elbows and can maintain stress in your biceps. Bonus tip: do not let your forearms get utterly vertical, as that may put extra load in your forearms relatively than your biceps.

When you’re eager about some preacher curl variations, all-star coach to the Olympians Hany Rambod walks you thru some under.

7. Focus Curl



Concentration curls are a improbable selection for laser-focusing on bicep growth. Sitting on a bench, you lean ahead barely and isolate every arm in flip, successfully eliminating momentum and guaranteeing that your biceps are absolutely engaged. This train gained recognition within the golden period of bodybuilding and has continued its recognition by fashionable lifting.

The important thing to focus curls is the place: one arm at a time curls the load from a dangling place, elbow normally braced towards the interior knee, absolutely stretching the bicep on the backside after which contracting it on the prime with a peak squeeze. The simplicity and effectiveness of focus curls make them a staple in bicep exercises, excellent for anybody trying so as to add critical definition and peak to their arms.

Learn how to Carry out Focus Curls

1. Select Your Weight: Choose a dumbbell of applicable weight. It is higher to begin with a lighter weight to make sure correct kind.
2. Sit Down: Sit on the sting of a bench or chair together with your legs unfold extensive. Plant your toes firmly on the ground for stability.
3. Place Your Arm: Choose up the dumbbell together with your proper hand. Lean ahead barely and place the higher a part of your proper arm towards your proper interior thigh. Your arm must be prolonged holding the dumbbell and hanging between your legs.
4. Stabilize Your Physique: Place your left hand in your left knee or the bench for stability. Maintain your again straight and head in a impartial place.
5. Carry out the Curl: Exhale and slowly curl the dumbbell up in direction of your proper shoulder. Deal with shifting your forearm and retaining your higher arm stationary towards your thigh.
6. Squeeze on the Prime: As soon as the dumbbell is close to your shoulder, squeeze your bicep for peak contraction.
7. Decrease the Dumbbell Slowly: Slowly decrease the dumbbell again to the beginning place, inhaling absolutely extending your arm.
8. Preserve Correct Kind: All through the train, maintain your higher arm pressed towards your thigh to isolate the bicep. Keep away from swinging to elevate the load.

Professional Tip: For a special tackle focus curls, attempt utilizing a resistance band to essentially improve the stress put in your biceps all through the complete train.

Take a look at the clip of Flex Wheeler performing seated focus curls under.

8. Cable Curl



Whilst you might imagine that hardcore gymnasium rats would shun cable machines without cost weights, you could not be farther from the reality. They won’t be on everyone’s Mount Rushmore of biceps workouts, however cable curls deserve a spot up there.

The fantastic thing about cable curls is the flexibility you could have in your setup. Altering the angle you need to hit your biceps will be completed by shifting the pulley up a little bit bit or dropping it down. Doing any kind of curl variations on a cable machine additionally means that you’re retaining fixed stress on the muscle groups since there is no such thing as a relaxation spot.

Learn how to Carry out Cable Curls

1. Set Up the Cable Machine: Connect a straight bar or an EZ curl bar to a low pulley on a cable machine. Choose an applicable weight; begin lighter to make sure correct kind.
2. Stand in Place: Stand dealing with the cable machine together with your toes shoulder-width aside for stability. Maintain a slight bend in your knees.
3. Grip the Bar: Grip the bar together with your palms about shoulder-width aside. Your palms must be dealing with upwards if utilizing a straight bar, or barely inward if utilizing an EZ curl bar.
4. Stabilize Your Physique: Have interaction your core and maintain your again straight. Roll your shoulders again and right down to stabilize them.
5. Carry out the Curl: Exhale and curl the bar in direction of your shoulders. Maintain your elbows near your sides and keep away from shifting them ahead through the curl.
6. Squeeze on the Prime: As soon as the bar is at chest stage, squeeze your biceps for a second or two to maximise muscle engagement.
7. Decrease the Bar Slowly: Management the descent to take care of stress on the biceps.
8. Preserve Correct Kind: All through the train, maintain your higher physique stationary. Keep away from swinging or utilizing momentum to elevate the load.

Professional Tip: Strive all of the attachments for the cable machine! Rope curls, ez-bar curls, straight bar curls, and single-arm curls can all hit the biceps in a different way. Additionally, experiment with the peak of the pulley, distance away from the machine, in addition to physique orientation (give cross-body curls a shot!). We have even give you a bicep cable workout you can provide a attempt.

You possibly can try the video under of World’s Strongest Man Brian Shaw curling the load stack underneath 8x Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman’s tutelage.

9. Excessive Cable Curl



Although I may not be an IFBB professional, these are one in every of my favourite finishers for biceps. You could not belief my opinion, however I am certain you may agree with Flex Lewis, Phil Heath, and Ronnie Coleman, who swear by them. Mimicking a entrance double biceps pose, the excessive cable curl is a good way to work the height of the biceps. Most bodybuilders suggest doing larger reps of those, suppose 15-20 relatively than 8-12.

Learn how to Carry out Excessive Cable Curls

1. Set Up the Cable Machine: Alter the pulleys to a excessive place, above your head, on a cable machine. Connect a deal with to every of the pulleys. Choose an applicable weight.
2. Stand in Place: Stand in the midst of the cable machine together with your toes shoulder-width aside. Your physique must be equidistant from every pulley.
3. Grip the Handles: Attain up and seize every deal with together with your palms dealing with up. Your arms must be absolutely prolonged and angled barely in direction of every pulley.
4. Stabilize Your Physique: Have interaction your core and maintain a slight bend in your knees. Maintain your again straight and chest up all through the train.
5. Carry out the Curl: Exhale and curl your palms in direction of your shoulders in a managed method. Your elbows ought to transfer solely barely from their beginning place, retaining barely elevated from shoulder stage.
6. Squeeze on the Prime: When your palms are close to your shoulders, squeeze your biceps arduous to maximise muscle engagement.
7. Decrease the Handles Slowly: Inhale and slowly prolong your arms again to the beginning place. Management the motion to take care of stress within the biceps.
8. Preserve Correct Kind: Maintain your actions easy and managed. Keep away from utilizing momentum or swinging your physique to elevate the weights.

Professional Tip: You possibly can change the angle much more dramatically by taking place on one knee to carry out your set.

Here’s a one minute video of 7x 212 Mr. Olympia Flex Lewis demonstrating excessive cable curls, with some added suggestions.

Ultimate Ideas

Whereas this is not a complete checklist of all of the biceps workouts on the market, we expect it is among the finest. When you return and take a look at all of the Mr. Olympia winner’s exercises, you may see that they’re nearly completely made out of workouts on this checklist. If these workouts work for the very best arms on the planet, they are going to undoubtedly be just right for you! Tell us down under what your favourite biceps train is. And in case you are taking place the rabbit gap of biceps workouts and wish extra focused actions, you may learn our articles on the Best Short Head Exercises, Best Long Head Biceps Exercises, and Best Brachialis Exercises.