6 Best Bicep Exercises for Maximum Mass and Growth

That is why we are going to break down everything you need to know about the biceps - the different individual parts of the muscle group, why training them is so important for overall improvement, offering the most beneficial exercises that will help you maximize your potential for big biceps, and even throw in a sample plan for you to try out. Make sure you have your BULK Pre-Workout before you try this because you will need it.

The Importance of Biceps Exercises

Clearly, having bigger biceps is great, but training the biceps are about much more than that alone. The biceps are as much a "go" muscle as they are for "show." Specifically, they are involved in all pulling motions as a supporting player for the back. When you do pull ups, pulldowns, rows, and even shrugs with the arms fully extended, the bicep muscles are going to be involved.

So, this is not only about how you look in the mirror or when you snap that selfie. Training biceps will be very important to your strength, performance, and overall fitness as well as the aesthetics that come with a pair of well-shaped upper arms.

Biceps Muscle Anatomy

You wouldn't put together a car engine without knowing the parts and how they work, right? That same philosophy should apply to building and developing your muscles. Before we dig into bicep training, let's learn more about the parts that make up the whole.

Biceps Brachii

The biceps brachii is the main component that we are focusing on here. This is the muscle that you can see when you flex the upper arms. They will also be involved with shoulder flexion and when the elbow is bent for those pulling motions during your upper back training. Both heads connect at the shoulder as well as the elbow.

• Short Head (Inner Biceps) - This head runs along your inner upper arm. When you flex in a mirror, this is what you see.

• Long Head (Outer Biceps) - This runs along the top and outside of your upper arm. The peak and back of the bicep makes up the long head.

Brachialis

The brachialis is not as visible because it lies beneath the biceps brachii, but it is no less important. It is what makes the elbow bend for those curls, pulls, and rows. It is also more involved when the arm bends while the palm is facing down or into the body.

Brachioradialis

The brachioradialis is more associated with the forearm than the bicep, but it is also heavily involved when the elbow bends as well as when the forearm is pronated or supinated.

Why Targeting Everything is Important

Making sure you train all these individual parts is about more than building biceps muscle mass. It is also important for overall training and athletic performance as well as maximizing overall health of the elbow and upper arm. No one's biceps are going to grow while they are in rehab or sitting on the couch. Training the biceps completely with several bicep curl variations will maximize your potential for biceps growth and strength.

Top 6 Bicep Exercises for Mass

There are several great biceps exercises out there, but these are the standard, classic, tried and true movements that are proven to help with muscle hypertrophy and strength for the biceps. Proper form is vital to get the most out of them. So, take the time to master them with lighter weight if needed before bumping the weight up.

Concentration Curls

You have likely seen Arnold Schwarzenegger do the standing version of the concentration curl in the movie Pumping Iron, but the seated version is better for beginners, and it could be more beneficial because of how it isolates the biceps muscles. The short head of the biceps brachii will reap the biggest benefits here,

• Sit on a bench with feet wide apart. Place a dumbbell in your hand and position your working arm so it is against the inner thigh of the leg on the same side. Your arm should be straight with the palm facing out. You will need to lower your shoulders down to place yourself in the most comfortable position to start this exercise. Rest the non-working arm against the thigh on the same side.

• Bend the elbow and curl the dumbbell up until the bicep is flexed. Turn your pinkie up at the top of this movement to maximize the tension. Do not lean back for extra leverage. After a brief pause, lower the weight back to the starting position under control. Repeat for the desired reps before changing arms.

Hammer Curls

Many trainers and experts will tell you that the brachialis muscle is heavily involved in this exercise, and they are not wrong. However, it is a great way to target the long head of the biceps as well. Old-school lifters of a previous generation credited the hammer curl for bicep thickness.

• Stand tall with a dumbbell in each hand with arms down to the sides and palms facing each other. Keep the chest out and shoulders back. Keep feet shoulder width apart with knees slightly bent.

• While keeping the upper arm stationary, bend the elbow and lift the dumbbell up in a curling motion without turning the hands up. Curl until the dumbbell is almost at shoulder height. You should feel a contraction at the top. Slowly lower the dumbbell back to the starting position and repeat with the other arm. Continue until you have performed the desired reps for both arms.

• You can either perform all the reps on one side before the other or you can perform the curls with both arms simultaneously as long as you don't swing the weight up for momentum.

EZ Bar Curls

A bilateral biceps curl (both arms being used at the same time on one object) can be very beneficial for stimulating the bicep muscle (1). It can be used for both heads of the biceps brachii, depending on how you hold the barbell. A wider grip will focus more on the inner head while the opposite is true for a closer grip.

Straight barbell curls have been shown to provide more stimulus than an EZ Bar Curl, but the EZ Bar provides an angled grip that could be better for the elbows because the arms are in a more anatomically-friendly position. Regardless of which version you use, the guidance below will serve you well.

• Stand tall with the bar in both hands with an underhand grip and arms down and straight. Keep feet shoulder width apart with toes straight.

• While keeping the upper arms stationary, bend the elbows and curl the weight up until the bar is near shoulder height. Once the biceps are flexed, slowly lower the weight back to the starting position and repeat for the desired reps.

• If you want to eliminate any other muscle groups from being involved at all, do the Strict Curl with your head, back, and butt against a wall so you can't lean back during the curl. This will place even more load on the biceps muscle fibers.

Preacher Curls

This exercise is also known as the Scott Curl because it is named after the first Mr. Olympia, Larry Scott, who made it famous as a big part of his biceps training. This exercise can be done with a barbell, dumbbell, and a machine or cable, as long as the upper arm is braced against a bench pad or solid surface. Hypertrophy benefits were shown to be similar with the cable and barbell versions, but the barbell version proved to be better for strength in the bottom half of the movement (2).

• Sit at a preacher bench and take hold of the object you intend to use. Lift the weight up so it is at the top position of the curl. Place your chest against the pad, and your arm pits should be on the top of the angle of the bench when your arms are against the front pad.

• Slowly lower the weight as far as you safely can, but do not lock out the elbows. Stop just short of straightening your arms so you can maintain tension on the biceps. Reverse the motion and curl the weight back up until the biceps are flexed. Repeat for the desired reps. Stand up before lowering the weight back down to the rack if you do not have a spotter to assist you.

• If you don't have access to a preacher bench, an adjustable incline bench will work as well.

High Cable Biceps Curls

You may have seen this exercise performed with a low cable pulley, but the high cable version can be just as beneficial for muscle growth. The cable allows you to keep tension on the biceps throughout the entire range of motion, which is more challenging to do with dumbbell bicep curls.

There are different versions of this exercise that can be done, but this one will help you isolate each arm and may be more fun for newer lifters.

• Stand in the middle of a cable station and take hold of a single handle attachment on the top pulley of each side of the station. Stand in the middle with feet shoulder width apart and toes pointed straight. Have the arms extended to the sides while holding the weight with palms facing up. The pinned weight should not be able to touch the rest of the stack.

• Flex the biceps as if you are going to perform a front double biceps pose and bring the cable hands in while keeping your upper arms stationary. When you feel the biceps flex, stop and hold for a count of two. Slowly lower the handles back to the starting position and repeat for the desired reps.

Chin-Ups

This is the one that may confuse some of you. Yes, chins-ups are one of the best compound exercises for building a big back and upper body as a whole, and it does involve multiple muscle groups and the shoulder joint as much as it does the elbows, but this can also be as crucial to promote muscle growth as any other bicep curl variations. The key is that the chin ups grip you will use is the underhand grip, which recruits the biceps directly.

Sample Biceps Workout

Bicep workouts like this one performed every week could have you well on your way to building bigger biceps in a matter of weeks if you are new to training. If you have been in the iron game for a while, then this could possibly help you break a plateau to get back on the road to gains.

Chin ups with Underhand Grip - 3 sets of 6-8 reps

EZ Bar Curl - 3 sets of 8-10 reps

Preacher Curls or Concentration Curls - 3 sets of 8-10 reps for each arm

Hammer Curls - 2 sets of 8-10 reps for each arm

High Cable Bicep Curls - 2 sets of 15 reps

*Rest for 90 seconds between each set.

FAQ

What are the best biceps exercises, and how many should I do in my workout?

There are many more great biceps exercises than those on this list, but these are among the best exercises for lifters of all levels. If you train at home and need other alternatives, you can perform standard dumbbell curls or the incline dumbbell curl in place of those you can't do.

You can do anywhere from three to five biceps specific exercises in one session to see positive results. You could do one or two at the end of an upper back or pull training session as well if you find the biceps to be a trouble spot for you.

How often should I train the biceps for optimal growth?

Many new gymgoers believe that doing more is how to get bigger biceps, but that isn't completely accurate. They do need time to recover, and we are training them indirectly when we perform upper back movements. You could realistically dedicate one to two sessions per week as long as they do not have too much volume. Do one or two exercises with upper back and a dedicated biceps session with three to four movements around 72 hours later.

What else can I do to get the best results?

Recovery is key to growth. You are actually breaking the muscle fibers down during your biceps workouts. That is why fueling them with the proper amount of protein as well as recovery supplements like creatine and HMB is so important. Pay as much to your recovery as you do the training, and the results will speak for themselves.

Conclusion

Resistance training is important for muscle hypertrophy (3), but you can't simply rely on compound exercises to build everything up and maximize the shape of the physique. Building bigger biceps may appear to be simple, and it is a fun muscle group to train, but it is far from easy. Executing an intense bicep workout is going to be difficult when done correctly. It requires you to focus intently, use a full range of motion, and pushing yourself each time you train. These exercises, proper recovery, and supplementation will yield positive results that you will be ready to show off next time you need (or want) to flex for somebody.

References

1. Bilateral Biceps Curl Shows Distinct Biceps Brachii and Anterior Deltoid Excitation Comparing Straight vs. EZ Barbell Coupled with Arms Flexion/No-Flexion. Giuseppe Coratella 1,*, Gianpaolo Tornatore 1, Stefano Longo 1, Fabio Esposito 1,2, Emiliano Cè 1,2

2. Placing Greater Torque at Shorter or Longer Muscle Lengths? Effects of Cable vs. Barbell Preacher Curl Training on Muscular Strength and Hypertrophy in Young Adults. João Pedro Nunes 1, Jeferson L Jacinto 2, Alex S Ribeiro 1 2, Jerry L Mayhew 3, Masatoshi Nakamura 4, Danila M G Capel 2, Leidiane R Santos 2, Leandro Santos 1, Edilson S Cyrino 1, Andreo F Aguiar 2

3. Resistance Training Load Effects on Muscle Hypertrophy and Strength Gain: Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis. Pedro Lopez, Régis Radaelli 1, Dennis R Taaffe, Robert U Newton, Daniel A Galvão, Gabriel S Trajano 2, Juliana L Teodoro 1, William J Kraemer 3, Keijo Häkkinen 4, Ronei S Pinto 1