Top 5 Exercises for Your Bicepe Workout

Start Position:  Stand straight with good posture, with arms slightly bent at your sides, holding the barbell. Keep your elbows tight to your body, and palms facing forward.  You will get the best bicep workout (working long and short heads) if you start with a wider grip – slightly wider than shoulder width – and then with each progressive set slightly narrow your grip.

Technique:  In a controlled motion, contract the biceps to curl the barbell to just short of vertical without resting, then return the barbell to start position.  Keep a laser focus on your biceps, and feel the contraction and burn at the top.

Sets / Reps / Rest:

Muscle Mass and Size: 3-4 / 6 to 12 / 30 seconds

Muscle Hardness and Density:  3-4 / 3 to 6 / 90 seconds

Variations:  Start with a wide grip on your 1st set, and narrow your grip with each successive set, until your last set is slightly less than shoulder width.

NOTE: A straight barbell can put strain on your wrists, especially as you age. So if barbell curls are straining your wrists, then try EZ Bar curls, which are a more natural fit for your grip. This puts much less strain on your wrists, and is a more comfortable movement.

PREACHER CURLS

This is a favorite bicep workout exercise. It just seem to provide the most gains (strength and size) when you prioritize this in a given month.

Start Position:  Sit at the preacher bench, and lift the barbell (or EZ curl bar) to the up position. Your upper arms should be positioned on the pad, with your armpits and chest flush to the pad for support. This is the starting position.

Exercise:  Curl the weight up, but make sure you stop short of vertical, as this is a rest position. Return the barbell to the down position.  Throughout the movement keep your body and upper arms still, and feel like your elbows are on a fixed hinge. You don’t want to swing your body or jerk your head to perform the curl.

Sets / Reps / Rest:

Mass and Size: 3-4 / 6 to 12 / 30 seconds

b 3-4 / 3 to 6 / 90 seconds

Caution:  When you get to the down position, make sure you stay in control of the weight. A slip here and you can tear your bicep, so always maintain control.

Variations:  If your hand grip is wider, you will work the interior head.  If your grip is narrower, you will work the outside head more.

Rope Bicepe Curls

Another top bicep workout. It does not put great strain on the elbows and wrists, and yet you’ll feel a very good burn and pump.

Start Position: Standing and holding the rope attached to a cable, with hands close together (nearly touching), and palms facing.

Exercise:  Perform a fluid, controlled curl motion – up to nearly vertical, and then down. Do not arch your back to achieve the curl – maintain steady posture.

Sets / Reps / Rest:

Mass and Size: 3-4 / 6 to 12 / 30 seconds

Hardness and Density:  3-4 / 3 to 6 / 90 seconds

Variations:  You can work the muscles from a slightly different angle by spreading your hands 6″ apart at the start position – it is hard to hold this position with a heavy weight, but it’s doable.

Caution: This is generally a safe exercise for your bicep workout, just be cautious of the strain on your lower back and of course lifting the correct weight.

NOTE: It’s suggested to grip the rope 1″ below the end knobs on the rope. If your index finger and thumb are flush to the knob when performing the curl with a heavy weight, it can be painful on your hand. This can be avoided by gripping 1″ below the knobs with a strong grip strength.

Alternating Dumbbell Curls

Start Position:  Standing with your arms at your side holding dumbbells, and palms facing your body.  Make sure your posture is good, feet shoulder width.

Exercise: One arm at a time, rotate the forearm until the palm is facing up as you contract the bicep and perform the curl.  Return to the start position rotating the arm to the start position on your way down.  Performing one

Sets / Reps / Rest:

Mass and Size: 4-5 / 6 to 12 / 30 seconds

Hardness and Density:  3-4 / 3 to 6 / 90 seconds

Variations: Some people have weak elbows due to past tendon problems, so the rotation can be a problem. In this case, perform the same exercise without rotating the forearm on the up motion (bicep contraction).  (So the starting position would be palms forward).

Caution: Perform the rotating motion controlled and deliberate. Jerking motions can put strain on your elbows.

Hammer Curls

Alternating Dumbbell Curls

Start Position:  Standing with your arms at your side holding dumbbells, and palms facing your body. Feet are shoulder width and your posture is upright.

Exercise: Both arms together, contract the biceps and perform the curl without rotating the forearm. So a hammer curl differs from a traditional dumbbell curl because the palms remain facing each other during the curl, with no rotation. Return to the start position.

Sets / Reps / Rest:

Mass and Size: 4-5 / 6 to 12 / 30 seconds

Hardness and Density:  3-4 / 3 to 6 / 90 seconds

Variations:  Do Hammer Curls “down the rack” at the end of your bicep workout. Start with your comfortable weight, and go “down the rack” without rest between sets.

Example: Start with 20# dumbbells, hammer curls to failure, switch to 15# dumbbells, hammer curls to failure, switch to 12.5#, hammer curls to failure, etc  —  all in quick succession, usually doing about 5 to 6 sets total (20# down to 5#).

Caution: Pretty safe – just watch the weight.

 “Also Rans”

Actually, these are not also-rans…they are every bit as worthy of the Top 5 list as any bicep workout:

Incline Dumbbell Curl – Great for working the long head muscle.

Supinated Bent-Over Rows – Great for bicep mass and also working the back.

Close-grip Chin-ups – Great for working biceps as well as back.

Avoiding Injury and Bicep Tears

As you get older, you slowly start to create wear on the biceps’ tendons that connect the biceps to the shoulder and the elbow.

bicep-injuryMost torn biceps tendons at the shoulder occur in people over the age of 60 or 70, and are not the result of a bicep workout.

However, as you get into middle age, you have to be aware and cautious of tears at the elbow when performing your bicep workout. This is the vulnerable location of most torn biceps tendons for middle-aged men, and they usually happen when attempting lifts with heavy weights and jolting movements. Sometimes there is no warning that it’s coming (pain, discomfort, etc.).

These tears often require surgery, so you obviously want to take every precaution to avoid this:

You want to use heavy weights in resistance training to increase mass, but not so heavy that you lose control of the weight and overextend your arm.

Make sure you keep your lifting and curling motions controlled and fluid, not jerky and sudden.

Make sure you are stretching properly – dynamic stretching and light cardio before your workout to warm and loosen the muscles, and more static stretching after your workout.

Always use proper form and technique – don’t let your ego get the best of you and lift weights that you are not yet ready for.

Bicep Preacher Curl

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David Williams

A diet and fitness enthusiast, David Williams is an ex-Army Airborne Ranger and Infantry soldier with decades of fitness and wellness experience. A West Point graduate with a degree in engineering, he focuses on technical research related to fitness, nutrition, and wellness. He loves the beach, and spending time with his wife and daughters.