9 Best Biceps Exercises According To Pro Bodybuilders

If you happen to ask someone to flex, 99% of the time, they’ll throw an arm up and put their biceps on display. An awesome set of biceps can significantly alter the looks of your arm and make your on a regular basis life easier (individuals with kids who wish to be carried on a regular basis know this all too well). We have watched countless hours of your favorite pro bodybuilders pump up their biceps and have provide you with nine of one of the best biceps exercises you could be incorporating into your workouts now. In this text we’ll take a have a look at:

• Supinated Dumbbell Curl
• Incline Dumbbell Curl
• Hammer Curl
• Spider Curl
• Barbell Curl
• Preacher Curl
• Concentration Curl
• Cable Curl
• High Cable Curl

1. Supinated Dumbbell Curl

More than likely probably the most well-known biceps exercise on this list, the dumbbell curl gets taken to the subsequent level with a bit of extra supination (rotating the hand so your thumb is facing out) of the wrist. Bodybuilding legend Arnold Schwarzenegger credits supinated dumbbell curls with help constructing his legendary peaks.

In an interview with Muscle & Fitness, the Austrian Oak recommends attempting to get the pinkie higher than your thumb, acknowledging it can hurt like hell, but will help bring your arm development to the subsequent level. Supinated dumbbell curls might be done standing, but performing them seated together with your back supported might help stop body swing, really putting the deal with the biceps doing the work.

Find out how to Perform A Supinated Dumbbell Curl

1. Select Your Weights: Select a pair of dumbbells which can be appropriate in your strength level. It is vital to begin with a weight that enables you perform the exercise with proper form.
2. Starting Position: Stand together with your feet shoulder-width apart, or sit on a weight bench together with your back supported. Hold a dumbbell in each hand together with your arms at your sides and palms facing forward. That is the supinated position. Keep your elbows near your torso.
3. Stabilize Your Core: Engage your core muscles to stabilize your body. This can help prevent any unnecessary swaying or movement of the upper body in the course of the exercise.
4. Curl the Weights: Exhale as you curl the dumbbells upwards towards your shoulders. Deal with moving only your forearms; your upper arms should remain pinned next to your torso throughout the movement.
5. Squeeze on the Top: When you reach full contraction, squeeze your biceps for a moment to maximise muscle engagement.
6. Lower the Dumbbells: Inhale as you slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position. It is vital to regulate the movement each on the way in which up and all the way down to keep tension on the biceps.
7. Maintain Form: Keep your back straight and shoulders relaxed throughout the exercise. Avoid using momentum to lift the weights; the movement needs to be controlled and deliberate.

Pro Tip: One other piece of recommendation to get as much tension on the biceps as possible is to let your wrist hang and the load roll toward your fingers at peak contraction. This would possibly not allow the load to be in a “resting” position at the highest of the movement, keeping your muscle firing the entire time.

Take a have a look at the video below to see Roelly Winklaar performing textbook supinated dumbbell curls.

2. Incline Dumbbell Curl

Incline dumbbell curl was a favourite of old-school bodybuilders and might be seen on outstanding display by Lou Ferrigno in Pumping Iron. Known for being absolutely brutal as a consequence of the complete stretch in the beginning of the movement, incline dumbbell curls offer a wider range of motion than standard standing dumbbell curls, placing your biceps under tension for longer. The incline dumbbell curl is a go-to of Roelly Winklaar, and with arguably one of the best arms within the history of the game, you possibly can bet he knows what he’s doing.

Find out how to Perform Incline Dumbbell Curls

1. Set Up the Bench: Adjust an incline bench to an angle of about 45 to 60 degrees. It is vital to search out a snug angle that does not put strain in your back.
2. Select Your Dumbbells: Select a pair of dumbbells which can be appropriate in your strength level. Remember, form is more necessary than weight, especially with incline curls where the biceps are under tension for an extended period.
3. Sit Down and Position Yourself: Sit on the bench together with your back flat against the pad. Hold a dumbbell in each hand together with your arms hanging down and palms facing forward.
4. Stabilize Your Shoulders: Roll your shoulders back barely and all the way down to stabilize them. This position helps isolate the biceps in the course of the exercise.
5. Perform the Curl: Exhale as you curl the dumbbells up towards your shoulders. Your upper arms should stay in place, moving only your forearms. Avoid swinging or using momentum.
6. Squeeze on the Top: Once your forearms are vertical or simply before the dumbbells reach shoulder level, squeeze your biceps for a moment to maximise muscle engagement.
7. Lower the Dumbbells Slowly: Inhale as you lower the dumbbells back to the starting position slowly. Ensure a controlled movement to take care of tension on the biceps.
8. Maintain Proper Form: Keep your elbows and back stationary throughout the set. Avoid arching your back or lifting your elbows off the bench.

Pro Tip: Ensure 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. Treat your elbow as a hinge tucked into your side.

You’ll be able to take a look at a video of a young 7x Mr. Olympia Phil Heath demonstrating incline dumbbell curls below.

3. Hammer Curl

Hammer curls are one if, if not one of the best exercise for brachialis and brachioradialis muscles. The small, often underappreciated, brachialis muscle could make or break a back double biceps pose. Situated between the lateral head of the triceps and the long head of the biceps, a well-developed brachialis might help add thickness to your arm in addition to push the long head of the biceps up right into a higher peak. Hammer curls can even pack on some size to the brachioradialis, which is an absolute must for a balanced looking arm. If you happen to see an IFBB pro with great biceps peaks and large forearms, you possibly can almost guarantee that hammer curls are an integral a part of their training.

Find out how to Perform Hammer Curls

1. Select Your Dumbbells: Select a pair of dumbbells which can be appropriate in your strength level.
2. Starting Position: Stand together with your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold a dumbbell in each hand together with your arms prolonged at your sides and your palms facing your torso. That is your starting position.
3. Stabilize Your Core: Engage your core muscles to maintain your torso regular in the course of the exercise. This helps in maintaining balance and proper form.
4. Curl the Weights: While keeping your elbows pinned to your torso, exhale and curl the dumbbells towards your shoulders. Your palms should remain facing one another, and your upper arms should stay stationary.
5. Squeeze on the Top: When the dumbbells are at shoulder level, squeeze your biceps for a transient moment to maximise muscle engagement.
6. Lower the Dumbbells: Inhale as you slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position. Make sure you control the descent, resisting gravity for a greater muscle workout.
7. Maintain Form: Keep your wrists straight throughout the exercise to avoid strain. Also, avoid swinging your arms or using momentum; the movement needs to be controlled and focused on the biceps and forearms.

Pro Tip: Hammer curls have a few of one of the best curl variations; benefit from them! Crossbody hammer curls, incline hammer curls, preacher hammer curls, and cable hammer curls are only a number of the some ways to perform hammers. Try them out and see which one works best for you!

Below is a video of the Maryland Muscle Machine throwing up serious weight with hammer curls.

4. Spider Curls

A favourite of 4x Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler, the spider curl is a tremendous solution to isolate the biceps and get a full stretch of the muscle. A staple of his training regimine leading as much as the 2009 Mr. Olympia (the 12 months of the “Quad Stomp”), spider curls helped Cutler bring his biceps to the extent needed to reclaim the Sandow. Commonly seen getting used on his clients by trainer Hany Rambod, pro bodybuilders rave in regards to the contraction they’re able to get using ez bars, straight bars, and dumbbells on this position. With 24 Olympia titles under his belt, I’ll trust that Hany knows what he’s doing on the subject of muscle development.

Find out how to Perform Spider Curls

1. Set Up the Bench: Adjust an incline bench to a few 45-degree angle. You will be lying face down on the bench, so ensure it’s at a snug height.
2. Select Your Weights: Select a pair of dumbbells that you may lift without sacrificing form.
3. Lie Down on the Bench: Lie face down on the bench together with your torso and abdomen flat against the pad. Your feet needs to be firmly planted on the bottom for stability.
4. Arm Position: Hold a dumbbell in each hand together with your arms prolonged towards the bottom. Your palms needs to be facing one another.
5. Perform the Curl: Exhale and curl the dumbbells towards your shoulders. Unlike traditional curls, your arms should hang straight down, providing a novel angle for bicep contraction.
6. Squeeze on the Top: Once you’ve got curled the dumbbells as high as you possibly can, squeeze your biceps at the highest for max muscle engagement.
7. Lower the Weights: Inhale and slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position. Maintain control throughout the descent.
8. Maintain Form: Keep your head and spine in a neutral position aligned together with your back. Avoid body swing or using momentum to lift the weights.

Pro Tip: If you happen to actually need to avoid arm swing, you should utilize a preacher bench (chest on the angled side, back of the triceps on the straight side) to eliminate any momentum.

Here’s a video of Jay Cutler himself doing a little dumbbell spider curls.

5. Barbell Curl

For constructing raw power in your biceps, look no further than the barbell curl. A mainstay in 8x Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman’s arm workouts, often performing 10-12 reps at 225 lbs, there is no such thing as a doubt that barbell curls can construct up some serious strength. For anyone seeking to increase their strength, barbell curls are an important solution to challenge your arms to grow with more weight than you’d find a way to do with dumbbells. One word of caution, those with wrist mobility issues might wish to take it easy or keep away from these entirely.

Find out how to Perform Barbell Curls

1. Select the Barbell: Select a barbell with an appropriate weight. Start lighter to deal with form, especially in the event you’re latest to the exercise.
2. Grip the Barbell: Arise straight together with your feet shoulder-width apart. Grip the barbell together with your hands barely wider than shoulder-width apart, palms facing upwards. That is your starting position.
3. Stabilize Your Body: Engage your core and keep your knees barely bent to stabilize your body. Ensure your back is straight and your shoulders are barely rolled back.
4. Perform the Curl: While keeping your elbows near your sides, exhale and curl the barbell up towards your chest. Deal with moving only your forearms; your upper arms should remain stationary by your sides.
5. Squeeze on the Top: When the barbell is at chest level, squeeze your biceps for a moment to maximise muscle engagement.
6. Lower the Barbell Slowly: Inhale as you slowly lower the barbell back to the starting position. Control the movement to maintain tension on the biceps.
7. Maintain Proper Form: Throughout the exercise, keep your elbows tucked in and avoid swinging the barbell or using your back to lift the load.

Pro Tip: Lift with a partner to do a couple of negative reps at the top of your sets to exhaust your bis beyond failure.

Lee Priest gives an important YouTube short on methods to properly perform barbell curls within the video below.

6. Preacher Curl

One other great solution to be certain 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 fashion within the Nineteen Sixties. For anyone who’s a fan of the history of bodybuilding, could be acquainted with how Larry Scott (the very first Mr. Olympia) introduced Arnold to preacher curls, bringing his arms to a complete latest level. Just a few common variations of preacher curls might be performed using a cambered bar, straight bar, dumbbells at tandem or one by one, or machine preacher curls.

Find out how to Perform Preacher Curls

1. Set Up the Preacher Bench: Adjust the preacher bench in order that while you sit down, your armpits are comfortably resting at the highest of the pad. This positioning is crucial for correct form.
2. Select Your Weight: Select an EZ curl bar or a barbell with an appropriate weight. It’s higher to begin lighter to deal with your form and avoid strain.
3. Grip the Bar: Sit on the preacher bench and grip the bar together with your hands about shoulder-width apart. If you happen to’re using an EZ curl bar, the angled grip might be more comfortable in your wrists.
4. Starting Position: Rest your upper arms on the pad, extending your arms almost fully. Your palms needs to be facing upwards, and your elbows needs to be barely bent in the beginning to avoid joint strain.
5. Perform the Curl: Exhale and slowly curl the bar towards your face. Keep your upper arms firmly planted on the pad throughout the movement. Deal with using your biceps to lift the load.
6. Squeeze on the Top: Once you’ve got brought the bar as near your face as comfortably possible, squeeze your biceps hard at the highest of the movement for max muscle engagement.
7. Lower the Weight Slowly: Inhale and slowly lower the bar back to the starting position. Control the descent to take care of tension within the biceps.
8. Maintain Proper Form: Be certain that your back stays straight and your shoulders are relaxed. Avoid the temptation to lean forward or use momentum to lift the load.

Pro Tip: Don’t let your elbows lock out at the underside; it puts unnecessary strain in your elbows and can keep tension in your biceps. Bonus tip: don’t let your forearms get completely vertical, as that may put more load in your forearms moderately than your biceps.

If you happen to’re involved in some preacher curl variations, all-star trainer to the Olympians Hany Rambod walks you thru some below.

7. Concentration Curl

Concentration curls are a improbable selection for laser-focusing on bicep development. Sitting on a bench, you lean forward barely and isolate each arm in turn, effectively eliminating momentum and ensuring that your biceps are fully engaged. This exercise gained popularity within the golden era of bodybuilding and has continued its popularity through modern lifting.

The important thing to concentration curls is the position: one arm at a time curls the load from a dangling position, elbow often braced against the inner knee, fully stretching the bicep at the underside after which contracting it at the highest with a peak squeeze. The simplicity and effectiveness of concentration curls make them a staple in bicep workouts, perfect for anyone seeking to add serious definition and peak to their arms.

Find out how to Perform Concentration Curls

1. Select Your Weight: Select a dumbbell of appropriate weight. It’s higher to begin with a lighter weight to make sure proper form.
2. Sit Down: Sit on the sting of a bench or chair together with your legs spread wide. Plant your feet firmly on the ground for stability.
3. Position Your Arm: Pick up the dumbbell together with your right hand. Lean forward barely and place the upper a part of your right arm against your right inner thigh. Your arm needs to be prolonged holding the dumbbell and hanging between your legs.
4. Stabilize Your Body: Place your left hand in your left knee or the bench for stability. Keep your back straight and head in a neutral position.
5. Perform the Curl: Exhale and slowly curl the dumbbell up towards your right shoulder. Deal with moving your forearm and keeping your upper arm stationary against your thigh.
6. Squeeze on the Top: Once the dumbbell is near your shoulder, squeeze your bicep for peak contraction.
7. Lower the Dumbbell Slowly: Slowly lower the dumbbell back to the starting position, inhaling fully extending your arm.
8. Maintain Proper Form: Throughout the exercise, keep your upper arm pressed against your thigh to isolate the bicep. Avoid swinging to lift the load.

Pro Tip: For a special tackle concentration curls, try using a resistance band to actually increase the stress placed on your biceps throughout your entire exercise.

Take a look at the clip of Flex Wheeler performing seated concentration curls below.

8. Cable Curl

While you could think that hardcore gym rats would shun cable machines free of charge weights, you could not be farther from the reality. They may not be on everybody’s Mount Rushmore of biceps exercises, but cable curls deserve a spot up there.

The great thing about cable curls is the flexibility you’ve in your setup. Changing the angle you would like to hit your biceps might be done by moving the pulley up a bit of bit or dropping it down. Doing any style of curl variations on a cable machine also means that you simply are keeping constant tension on the muscles since there is no such thing as a rest spot.

Find out how to Perform Cable Curls

1. Set Up the Cable Machine: Attach a straight bar or an EZ curl bar to a low pulley on a cable machine. Select an appropriate weight; start lighter to make sure proper form.
2. Stand in Position: Stand facing the cable machine together with your feet shoulder-width apart for stability. Keep a slight bend in your knees.
3. Grip the Bar: Grip the bar together with your hands about shoulder-width apart. Your palms needs to be facing upwards if using a straight bar, or barely inward if using an EZ curl bar.
4. Stabilize Your Body: Engage your core and keep your back straight. Roll your shoulders back and all the way down to stabilize them.
5. Perform the Curl: Exhale and curl the bar towards your shoulders. Keep your elbows near your sides and avoid moving them forward in the course of the curl.
6. Squeeze on the Top: Once the bar is at chest level, squeeze your biceps for a second or two to maximise muscle engagement.
7. Lower the Bar Slowly: Control the descent to take care of tension on the biceps.
8. Maintain Proper Form: Throughout the exercise, keep your upper body stationary. Avoid swinging or using momentum to lift the load.

Pro Tip: Try 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 otherwise. Also, experiment with the peak of the pulley, distance away from the machine, in addition to body orientation (give cross-body curls a shot!). We have even provide you with a bicep cable workout you possibly can give a try.

You’ll be able to take a look at the video below of World’s Strongest Man Brian Shaw curling the load stack under 8x Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman’s tutelage.

9. High Cable Curl

Though I may not be an IFBB pro, these are one among my favorite finishers for biceps. Chances are you’ll not trust my opinion, but I’m sure you possibly can agree with Flex Lewis, Phil Heath, and Ronnie Coleman, who swear by them. Mimicking a front double biceps pose, the high cable curl is an important solution to work the height of the biceps. Most bodybuilders recommend doing higher reps of those, think 15-20 moderately than 8-12.

Find out how to Perform High Cable Curls

1. Set Up the Cable Machine: Adjust the pulleys to a high position, above your head, on a cable machine. Attach a handle to every of the pulleys. Select an appropriate weight.
2. Stand in Position: Stand in the course of the cable machine together with your feet shoulder-width apart. Your body needs to be equidistant from each pulley.
3. Grip the Handles: Reach up and grab each handle together with your palms facing up. Your arms needs to be fully prolonged and angled barely towards each pulley.
4. Stabilize Your Body: Engage your core and keep a slight bend in your knees. Keep your back straight and chest up throughout the exercise.
5. Perform the Curl: Exhale and curl your hands towards your shoulders in a controlled manner. Your elbows should move only barely from their starting position, keeping barely elevated from shoulder level.
6. Squeeze on the Top: When your hands are near your shoulders, squeeze your biceps hard to maximise muscle engagement.
7. Lower the Handles Slowly: Inhale and slowly extend your arms back to the starting position. Control the movement to take care of tension within the biceps.
8. Maintain Proper Form: Keep your movements smooth and controlled. Avoid using momentum or swinging your body to lift the weights.

Pro Tip: You’ll be able to change the angle much more dramatically by taking place on one knee to perform your set.

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

Final Thoughts

While this is not a comprehensive list of all of the biceps exercises on the market, we predict it’s probably the greatest. If you happen to return and have a look at all of the Mr. Olympia winner’s workouts, you will see that they’re almost exclusively constituted of exercises on this list. If these exercises work for one of the best arms on the planet, they’ll definitely give you the results you want! Tell us down below what your favorite biceps exercise is. And in the event you are taking place the rabbit hole of biceps exercises and need more targeted movements, you possibly can read our articles on the Best Short Head Exercises, Best Long Head Biceps Exercises, and Best Brachialis Exercises.