Hammer Curls Vs Bicep Curls
Unlike dumbbell bicep curls, where your palms face upwards, during hammer curls, your palms face each other. This small tweak makes this movement primarily a long-head bicep exercise rather than a short-head exercise.
The Supinated Cross Body Curl allows us to preferentially hit the long head of the biceps. As we use a supinated hand position and come across the body in the Supinated Cross Body Curl, we are looking straight at the outer head of the biceps.
Barbell Curl: A classic for building mass, the barbell curl works both heads of the biceps. A close grip slightly favors the short head, (or the base) while a wider grip shifts emphasis to the long head. (or the peak) Dumbbell Curl: Versatile and allowing for individual arm focus, dumbbell curls work both heads.
The best biceps exercise for hitting all three functions of the biceps with overload is the Weighted Chin Up. Put quite simply, we are taking one of the best body weight exercises and adding weight to it. We can also increase that weight over time as we build strength.
Within a single week (microcycle) of training, we recommend between 2 and 5 different biceps exercises. For example, if you train biceps 3x a week, you can do a heavy barbell curl on one day, a lighter barbell curl on the next day, and a machine one-arm curl on the last day for 2 total exercises in the week.
The best long head exercises include: concentration curls, preacher curls, chin-ups, Bayesian cable curls, hammer curls, close-grip barbell curls, and incline bicep curls. For bigger arms, your workout routine should include some, if not all, of these isolation exercises and bodyweight exercises.
Regular bicep curls mainly target the long head and short head of the bicep but one muscle that is often overlooked is the brachialis. Technically, the brachialis is a distinct muscle from your bicep. It sits somewhere between the bicep and the tricep.
Rest between set durations should be based on sets/exercise (volume), and not load or training goal. General recommendations include moderate (2 min) rest between sets if performing 2 sets/exercise, long rest (3 min) if performing 3 sets/exercise, and very long rest (> 4 min) if performing 4 sets or more/exercise.
The best exercise for growing the bicep muscle is any variation of the curl. Curls are best done using a barbell and weights or a set of dumbbells. If you're training in the gym, sitting at a bench or using the preacher curl machine can help to further concentrate tension on the bicep muscle, leading to bigger gains.
I'd recommend the lying triceps extension, PRJ pullover, and overhead cable triceps extension. Exercises Moving Arm Down and Back: These exercises focus on moving the arm down and back, which also effectively engages the long head of the triceps.
While hammer curls activate mostly the long head of the bicep, a traditional bicep curl activates the shorter head of the bicep. The shorter bicep head is what produces more of the muscle peak you might be looking for when trying to fill out those t-shirts.
With the right form, drag curls minimise front deltoid involvement and maximise bicep isolation. The drag curl is useful for lifters looking to refine their arm routine or address weaknesses in bicep development. This isolation exercise can provide a fresh stimulus for muscle growth and strength gains.
So, which is better? It really depends on your goals. If you're looking to build bigger biceps, then you should focus on bicep curls a bit more than hammer curls. However, if you're just looking to tone your arms and don't really care about building bigger biceps, then either exercise will work just fine.
The short head of your bicep is on the inside of your arm. The short head is usually the part of your biceps which helps to make your arm look bigger and fuller. Therefore, if you are trying to put more size on your arms, train your short head. On the outside of your biceps is your long head.
Volume and Frequency
Research suggests that hitting a muscle group 2-3 times per week yields the best results for muscle growth. Therefore, you should aim for 12-20 sets per week for optimal biceps development.
In this muscle contraction, as you're flexing the elbow, you can measure your bicep gap. If you can fit more than 2 fingers in the gap between your bicep and your elbow, you may have short biceps! Although some find a short biceps brachii muscle less attractive, there are pros and cons to all bicep types.
Therefore, you must give yourself enough time to recover in between your bicep workouts. Generally, a 24-48 hour resting period is sufficient to avoid any injury. In case you're using heavy weights, make sure to rest at least for two consecutive days.