How to train your biceps

The pulling muscle everyone trains, often poorly

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Anatomy

The biceps brachii has two heads, the long head (outer side, contributes to the peak) and the short head (inner side, contributes to width), both of which cross the elbow and the shoulder. Its primary job is elbow flexion and forearm supination (turning the palm up). The brachialis sits underneath and is the stronger pure elbow flexor; the brachioradialis assists in neutral-grip positions. All three are trained with curling movements, but grip and arm angle determine which gets emphasized.

How to train it

Curls in the 8–15 rep range drive most hypertrophy. Long-head emphasis: incline dumbbell curls (arm behind the body). Short-head emphasis: preacher curls (arm in front). Brachialis and brachioradialis: hammer curls and reverse curls. Two to three sets per exercise, two to three sessions per week, is a reasonable starting point. Biceps also accumulate volume from all rowing and pulling movements, so account for that total. The most common mistake: using too much weight and letting the elbow drift forward, which shortens the range and offloads the bicep onto the front delt.

Coaching cues

• Keep the elbow pinned to your side throughout
• Supinate the forearm at the top for full contraction
• Lower in 3 seconds. Do not drop the weight
• Drive the pinky toward the shoulder, not the thumb

Staple biceps exercises

All biceps exercises (53)

• Alternate Hammer Curl
• Alternate Incline Dumbbell Curl
• Barbell Curl
• Barbell Curls Lying Against An Incline
• Brachialis-SMR
• Cable Hammer Curls - Rope Attachment
• Cable Preacher Curl
• Close-Grip EZ Bar Curl
• Close-Grip EZ-Bar Curl with Band
• Close-Grip Standing Barbell Curl
• Concentration Curls
• Cross Body Hammer Curl
• Drag Curl
• Dumbbell Alternate Bicep Curl
• Dumbbell Bicep Curl
• Dumbbell Prone Incline Curl
• EZ-Bar Curl
• Flexor Incline Dumbbell Curls
• Hammer Curls
• High Cable Curls
• Incline Dumbbell Curl
• Incline Hammer Curls
• Incline Inner Biceps Curl
• Lying Cable Curl
• Lying Close-Grip Bar Curl On High Pulley
• Lying High Bench Barbell Curl
• Lying Supine Dumbbell Curl
• Machine Bicep Curl
• Machine Preacher Curls
• One Arm Dumbbell Preacher Curl
• Overhead Cable Curl
• Preacher Curl
• Preacher Hammer Dumbbell Curl
• Reverse Barbell Curl
• Reverse Barbell Preacher Curls
• Reverse Cable Curl
• Reverse Plate Curls
• Seated Biceps
• Seated Close-Grip Concentration Barbell Curl
• Seated Dumbbell Curl
• Seated Dumbbell Inner Biceps Curl
• Spider Curl
• Standing Biceps Cable Curl
• Standing Biceps Stretch
• Standing Concentration Curl
• Standing Dumbbell Reverse Curl
• Standing Inner-Biceps Curl
• Standing One-Arm Cable Curl
• Standing One-Arm Dumbbell Curl Over Incline Bench
• Two-Arm Dumbbell Preacher Curl
• Wide-Grip Standing Barbell Curl
• Zottman Curl
• Zottman Preacher Curl

Train it with MyoAmigo

MyoAmigo's MyoMap heatmap shows your biceps volume against an evidence-based weekly band, so you can see at a glance whether you're under-training it. See also how many sets per muscle per week and the training guides.

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