What does the brachialis do for the bicep?

Author: Aliza Batz  |  Last update: Thursday, June 19, 2025

The brachialis (brachialis anticus) is a muscle in the upper arm that flexes the elbow. It lies beneath the biceps brachii, and makes up part of the floor of the region known as the cubital fossa (elbow pit).

Does brachialis make the bicep bigger?

Makes your Arms look THICK: A large brachialis pushes your biceps higher, giving your arms both a thicker & more rounded look. It's what gives you that fuller, wider arm, especially from the side.

What action does the brachialis perform vs the biceps brachii?

In summary, while both muscles contribute to elbow flexion, the biceps brachii is more involved in supination and flexion, while the brachialis serves as a powerful flexor in all positions of the forearm.

What does working the brachialis do?

The main function of the brachialis muscle is elbow flexion. It is one of the most important flexors of the elbow and allows for flexion of the elbow at various angles.

What are the benefits of a strong brachialis?

Even if you don't care about having wicked guns, the brachialis deserves some extra attention for one very practical reason: by generating approximately 50% more force than the bicep, it's the prime mover of elbow flexion. The stronger your brachialis, the better your chin-ups and dumbbell rows.

Brachialis Muscle Anatomy: Origin, Insertion, Workout Exercise, Action

What is the main function of the brachialis?

The brachialis is an important flexor muscle of the forearm at the elbow. [1] The brachialis provides elbow flexion at all physiologic positions and is considered a "pure flexor" of the forearm at the elbow. [2] It lies in the anteroinferior area of the arm and is deeper than the biceps brachialis muscle.

How often should I train my brachialis?

Bicep Weekly Training Frequency for Intermediate and Advanced level. It is recommended that intermediate lifters should do 12-20 total training sets per week. The weights used to exercise the biceps can vary, but heavy weights (less than 8 reps) should be avoided because they might cause damage.

Do bicep curls hit brachialis?

The biceps curl is characterized by an elbow flexion accompanied by a dynamic or mainly isometric arm flexion, as well as wrist supination/pronation [5,11]; therefore, the main targeted muscles are the elbow flexors (i.e., biceps brachii, brachioradialis, and brachialis), the arm flexors (e.g., anterior deltoids), and ...

How to get thicker biceps?

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.

What is a fun fact about the brachialis?

It is speculated that our forebears' brachialis muscle developed to assist them when they climbed trees. The brachialis muscle gradually developed to its current role in arm mobility when humans evolved to walk upright.

What exercise hits the brachialis?

There are a few key exercises like the Crossbody Hammer Curl, Narrow Grip Pull Up, and Narrow Grip Inverted Row that help us to pronate the forearm and close down the angle into our chest, therefore emphasizing the action of the brachialis and minimizing the biceps' involvement.

What is the antagonist to the brachialis?

Antagonistic muscles that provide balance to the actions of the biceps and brachialis include: Triceps Brachii: Serves as the primary antagonist to the biceps and brachialis, facilitating elbow extension.

How do you know if you have a brachialis injury?

Symptoms of brachialis injury may include:
  • Pain in the front of your elbow.
  • Swelling in the front of your elbow.
  • Difficulty extending your elbow (this may place stress over the injured brachialis tendon)
  • Weakness when bending your elbow, especially when your forearm is in the pronated position.

What exercise gives you the biggest biceps?

Studies have proven that bicep curls, performed with the EZ bar, are one of the best exercises for big biceps [3]. Unlike a straight bar, the EZ bar only requires a semi-supinated grip due to the angle of the bar.

What is the best dumbbell exercise for the brachialis?

The brachialis muscle lies underneath the biceps and is responsible for greater biceps width and overall upper arm size. The best dumbbell exercise for training the brachialis is a dumbbell hammer curl variation called the Crossbody Hammer Curl done with a pronated forearm.

Will hammer curls build big arms?

Want thick, juicy biceps that pop out of your T-shirt? Then you should probably be doing more hammer curls. This curl variation shoots a powerful pump through your biceps and forearms that lead to big gains in a different way than traditional bicep curls.

Do pushups work the biceps?

Do Push Ups Work Biceps? Whilst the biceps help to stabilize the shoulder and elbow joints during the lowering phase of a push up, they don't directly work the biceps. If your goal is to build your biceps, you'd be better off focusing on bicep isolation exercises such as bicep curls, hammer curls, or chin ups.

What is a good bicep size?

The average bicep size is around 13–14 inches for young adult males with big biceps measuring 15+ inches. That said, some professional bodybuilders' biceps have reached 20+ inches. Therefore, with regimented training and nutrition, 18-inch arms are achievable.

Do reverse curls work brachialis?

Which Muscles Are Trained By the Reverse Curl. Yes, we said that your biceps aren't as involved in the reverse curl—but those big guns are still part of the equation. So is the brachialis, another muscle involved in elbow flexion.

Is brachialis more important than biceps?

The brachialis is the major flexor of the elbow. It has a large cross-sectional area, providing it with more strength than the biceps brachii and the coracobrachialis.

Is hammer curling 50 pounds good?

The average Hammer Curl weight for a male lifter is 51 lb (1RM). This makes you Intermediate on Strength Level and is a very impressive lift. What is a good Hammer Curl? Male beginners should aim to lift 18 lb (1RM) which is still impressive compared to the general population.

Why can't I flex my brachioradialis?

Conditions that affect the brachioradialis include muscle strain, tendonitis, avulsion fracture, or weakness with cervical radiculopathy. Brachioradialis strain can be caused by sudden trauma to the arm muscle, while tendonitis may be due to repetitive movement.

Should you do reps or weights for biceps?

In general, like all muscles, the biceps benefit from weights in the 30%-85% 1RM range, which in many people roughly translates to a weight that results in between 5 and 30 reps on a first set taken to failure.

Can I do pushups every day?

Doing push ups every day is good for building upper body muscles and even strengthening your core, back, and lower extremities. You can start with 10 push ups a day and then work up to doing 50 or 100 push ups everyday. Breaking them up into smaller sets throughout the day can make it easier to start as well.

How do I activate brachialis?

Brachialis Exercises

Hammer curls: Hold a dumbbell in each hand with a neutral grip (palms facing each other). Perform bicep curls while keeping the elbows close to the body. This exercise emphasizes the brachialis by minimizing the involvement of the biceps brachii.

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