One of the most effective exercises for training the biceps is the barbell curl. It targets the biceps brachii and helps build overall arm strength. Ensure proper form by keeping your back straight and elbows close to your body during the movement.
Nippard crowned Bayesian cable curls king of biceps exercises; preacher curls a close second! Though the biceps are small muscles that flex the arm, when well-developed, they command a visual prominence comparable to much larger muscles, which requires proper training.
The Weighted Chin Up hits all three functions of the bicep: elbow supination, elbow flexion and shoulder flexion. We can utilize an intensity technique if we pair up the Weighted Chin Up with heavier weights in a drop set with the Peak Contraction Chin Up.
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.
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.
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.
Concentration curl (~98% activation) Cable curl (~81% activation) Chin-up (~80% activation) Barbell curl (~76% activation)
The Squat is the king/queen of movements – no other movement is as complex or as basic as a squat.
Hammer curls are great for developing parts of your bicep as well as targeting your forearms and wrists. On the other hand, the bicep curl is better at targeting your entire bicep as a whole. There's a reason why this exercise is used by so many to build their arms.
And when scientists examine all bicep exercises, they conclude the most effective one is the concentration curl (1,2). The concentration curl is so effective because it takes out the use of the anterior deltoid (front of the shoulder), that's utilised quite heavily during other bicep exercises (3).
Muscle activation levels
In general, the step-up exercise and its variations [lateral, diagonal, and cross-over] showed the highest GMax activation (average 125.09% MVIC, ranging from 104.19-169.22% MVIC).
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.
For a typical pull day, we recommend starting with six total exercises, e.g. three compound exercises and one isolation movement for the muscles of the back, and two additional isolation exercises for 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.