There is probably no other body part that shows off your hard work in the gym better than biceps. This goes for men or women (but ok - mainly men). Anyone who works out likey wants toned arms, but for guys, the appeal of larger, more muscular biceps is pretty common. So, let’s look at 5 great exercises to make sure you include in your arms routine, to help you build some serious t-shirt stretching biceps.
Barbell Curl
This is the true basic bicep exercise. But, being the simplest and most standard doesn’t mean you should skip it in favor of fancier exercises. This exercise is simple and easy to repeat. You can learn proper form in no time and you absolutely will build stronger and bigger biceps by implementing it into your workout routine.
Simply grab a barbell (with plates on it or just the bar if that is the appropriate weight for you) with an underhand grip, with your hands slightly wider than your shoulders, and extend your arms down until they are fully extended. Keep your chest up and your shoulder blades pulled closely together.
Make sure the front of your biceps are facing outward (which they should be naturally). Now curl the barbell up toward your chest, using only your biceps. Try to get the bar as close to your chest as possible. You don’t want to just execute half reps.
Hinge at the elbow and do not lean forward or backward. You can cheat by swinging your upper body backward to get leverage on the bar, but this defeats the purpose. Wash, rinse, repeat for as man reps as planned for each set.
Hammer Curl
Break out the dumbbells for this one, as each arm will be independent. It’s important to mix in biceps exercises that use both arms together to move a single weight with others that have weights held separately in each hand. Which brings us to the hammer curl.
Grab a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing each other (inward) and let them rest at your sides, arms extended. This is a neutral wrist position, making it fairly comfortable to lift heavier weights. It also helps truly target the biceps and forearms when you perform the exercise.
Now lift both arms upward (or you can alternate one arm at a time), keeping your wrist straight, bending only at the elbow until the top of end of the dumbbell touches or nearly touches your chest. Then, release and extend the weight toward your side and repeat.
Try to keep a well-controlled motion throughout, not too fast and not too slow (although ultra slow reps are great as well).
Concentration Curl
This is another single-arm exercise, but in this case, you will actually complete the exercise on one arm and then switch to the other. The name is pretty descriptive, as you really focus on the biceps even more than most other dedicated biceps exercises. Do it right and you will really feel it.
First, grab a single dumbbell in one hand. Then sit down on the end of a bench with your legs spread out to either side. Bring the weight in front of you, between your legs, with your arm extended and hanging loose. Lean forward until you can dig your elbow into the inside of your thigh near the knee.
That becomes your fulcrum as you lever the weight upward, palm up, hinging at your elbow, up toward your chest. Stop before you smack yourself in the face and then lower and repeat. At the top of the rep, really focus on squeezing your biceps.
EZ-Bar Reverse Curl
This hits your biceps at a slightly different angle than most of the other exercises on this list. It also benefits your forearms and grip. It can feel a bit awkward and you can expect not to be able to lift as much weight as with a normal curl, so be aware when picking your starting weight. You’ll need an EZ-Curl Bar, but fortunately, I have never worked out in a gym that didn’t have them. The EZ-Curl bar is the shorter barbell that juts out in the middle. It’s kind of a twisty-looking barbell.
Put the appropriate amount of weight on each end and grasp the bar with your palms facing your body when extended to the bottom. Grasp the bar at two places where it angles outward. This means you will be curling with your palms facing away from you as you executive the exercise. Now stand up and keep your chest up and shoulder blades pinched back. Lift the bar toward your chest, hinging at the elbows. You’ll find a natural stopping point before the bar reaches your chest. Then lower the bar slowly and repeat.
TRX Suspension Curl
This is a change-up, as it is a pure bodyweight exercise. Of course, you’ll need a TRX band to make this work, so hopefully, your gym has one. Your arms will be separate, but working together to lift your body weight. So, it is feasible to compensate and use one arm a bit more than the other. Concentrate on your form and spreading the weight evenly.
Wrap the band around the upper section of a lifting cage (or a TRX structure) so that the handles hang down to around chest height. Next, take the handles in a palms-facing-you grip. You may start by standing fairly in line with where bands hang down vertically. Then, lean back, extending your arms until more or less fully extended.
Now curl biceps, which will bring your body back toward your starting position. If this is too easy, make your lean a bit more severe. It if’s too hard, lean back a bit less. It’s pretty intuitive how to adjust your body position to control the tension level, so just play with it a bit and you’ll find the right spot.
