10 Best Bicep Exercises

Start with how your biceps actually work

If you want to pick the best bicep exercises, it helps to know what you are training. Your biceps brachii has two heads:

• The long head sits on the outside. It adds to the “peak” of your bicep.
• The short head sits on the inside. It adds thickness and width.

You also involve:

• The brachialis, a deep elbow flexor that pushes the bicep up when it grows.
• The brachioradialis and forearm flexors, which stabilize your grip and help with curls and pulls.

The best bicep exercises hit both heads of the biceps and your supporting muscles from a few angles. You will see terms like “short head focused” or “long head focused” below. That does not mean one exercise ignores the other head. It just means you bias the load slightly.

You also get better growth by training biceps more than once per week. A 2024 analysis found that training a muscle two or three times weekly led to about 3.1 % more weekly hypertrophy than training it once, as long as you still recover between sessions. Spread these exercises across your week instead of cramming them into one “arm day”.

Before you start, take five minutes to warm up your elbows and shoulders. A simple warm up can include:

• Light banded chin ups
• Rotational dumbbell curls with very light weight
• An inverted plank
• Straight arm behind the back stretches

Keep this warm up well away from failure. You just want blood flow and easy range of motion, not a workout before your workout.

Choose the right tools for your arms

Most of the best bicep exercises use either a curl barbell or dumbbells, plus a pull up bar or cable machine if you have access. Each tool has its own strengths.

• Curl barbells let you lift heavier with more stability and less wrist strain. Heavier loads create higher tension, which is great for size if your form stays honest. Curl barbells also make it easy to use variations like preacher curls and close grip curls to stress both biceps and brachialis.
• Dumbbells give each arm its own weight so you can fix imbalances. They allow a longer range of motion, more natural wrist rotation, and better stabilizer activation. That leads to strong, symmetrical, and more “sculpted” biceps over time.

Your best option is the one you can use with good form, no pain, and consistent progression. If your gym is limited, you can still use bodyweight or household items and get solid results. You will see those variations near the end.

1. Standing barbell curl

Standing barbell curls are a classic mass builder and belong on almost any list of the best bicep exercises. You can use a straight bar, but a curl bar is usually nicer on your wrists and elbows.

What it targets

• Both heads of the biceps
• Brachialis
• Forearms and grip stabilizers

How to do it

1. Stand tall with your feet under your hips and your core braced.
2. Hold the bar with an underhand grip about shoulder width apart.
3. Let your arms hang straight with the bar in front of your thighs and your elbows close to your sides.
4. Curl the bar up toward your chest in a smooth arc. Think about driving your knuckles up while keeping your upper arms almost still.
5. Squeeze your biceps hard at the top for a beat.
6. Lower the bar back to the start position twice as slow as you lifted it. Do not let it drop.

Form tips and common mistakes

• Avoid swinging your torso or thrusting your hips forward. That momentum shifts the work off the biceps and onto your lower back.
• Keep your elbows close to your ribs. A small natural shift is fine, but if they fly forward, you are probably going too heavy.
• Do not rush. Going too fast and bouncing out of the bottom is one of the easiest ways to strain your elbow or use your shoulders instead of your arms.

Sets, reps, and progression

Try 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps with a weight you can control. The last 2 or 3 reps should feel challenging while still allowing strict form. Aim to add either a little weight or 1 rep per set every week or two.

2. Seated dumbbell curl

Seated dumbbell curls are often ranked just behind barbell curls for building size. Sitting helps cut down on cheating, which forces your biceps to do the work.

What it targets

• Both heads of the biceps
• Extra isolation because you remove body momentum

How to do it

1. Sit on a flat bench with your feet planted and a dumbbell in each hand.
2. Let your arms hang straight by your sides with your palms facing forward.
3. Brace your core and keep your back on the bench or slightly upright.
4. Curl both dumbbells at the same time, keeping your elbows close to your torso.
5. Lift until the dumbbells are around shoulder height without letting your shoulders roll forward.
6. Lower slowly to full elbow extension while keeping tension in the biceps.

Form tips and common mistakes

• Do not lean back or use your hips to start the curl. If you need to rock, the weight is too heavy.
• Keep your wrists neutral and in line with your forearms. Do not let them collapse backward at the top.
• Avoid letting the dumbbells slam into your thighs at the bottom. That breaks tension and makes the set less effective.

Sets, reps, and progression

Work with 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps. Begin with a weight you could lift about 12 times with solid form, where the last few reps are hard but clean. When you can hit 12 a bit too easily, move up in weight.

3. Single arm preacher curl

Single arm preacher curls are one of the best bicep exercises for isolating the short head on the inside of your arm. They also help correct left to right strength differences.

What it targets

• Short head of the biceps
• Brachialis
• Unilateral control and symmetry

How to do it

You can use a preacher bench or an incline bench set high.

1. Sit with your chest against the pad and your working arm draped over the bench. Your armpit should rest near the top.
2. Hold a dumbbell with an underhand grip and let your arm extend until your elbow is almost straight.
3. From this stretched position, curl the weight toward your shoulder in a controlled arc.
4. Pause briefly at the top and squeeze your biceps.
5. Lower the dumbbell under control until your arm is nearly straight again. Do not relax completely at the bottom.

Form tips and common mistakes

• Avoid bouncing out of the bottom. That puts stress on the elbow joint.
• Stay strict. Your shoulder and torso should stay still, the movement should come from your elbow.
• Do not rush your negative, the lowering phase is where a lot of muscle growth happens.

Sets, reps, and progression

Use 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps per arm. Start slightly lighter than your regular dumbbell curl weight because the isolation makes this feel tough. Build up by adding reps first, then a little weight.

4. Hammer curl

Hammer curls earn a top spot among the best bicep exercises because they do more than just hit the biceps. They thicken the upper arm by training brachialis and forearm muscles alongside the long head of the biceps.

What it targets

• Long head of the biceps
• Brachialis
• Brachioradialis and forearms

How to do it

1. Stand or sit with a dumbbell in each hand, arms hanging by your sides, palms facing your body.
2. Keep your elbows close to your ribs and your shoulders relaxed.
3. Curl the dumbbells up while keeping the palms facing inward, like a hammer.
4. Lift until the dumbbells reach about shoulder height.
5. Squeeze, then lower slowly to the starting position.

Form tips and common mistakes

• Do not flare your elbows out wide. That pulls tension away from the target muscles.
• Avoid shrugging your shoulders as you curl. Keep your traps relaxed.
• Control the lowering. If you drop the weight, you lose much of the benefit.

Sets, reps, and progression

Perform 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps. Because hammer curls recruit multiple muscles, you may be able to handle slightly more weight than a regular curl, as long as your form stays tight.

5. Concentration curl

Concentration curls are one of the most effective ways to dial in the short head of your biceps and improve your mind muscle connection. You focus on one arm at a time and remove momentum almost completely.

What it targets

• Short head of the biceps
• Mind muscle connection and isolation

How to do it

1. Sit on a bench with your feet wide and a dumbbell between your legs.
2. Pick up the dumbbell with one hand and rest the back of that upper arm against the inside of your thigh. Your elbow should be just above your knee.
3. Let the dumbbell hang straight down with your palm facing inward.
4. Curl the weight toward your shoulder while keeping your upper arm pinned to your leg.
5. Pause at the top and squeeze the bicep hard.
6. Lower slowly until your elbow is almost straight but still under control.

Form tips and common mistakes

• Keep your torso still. Imagine your upper arm is glued to your thigh.
• Do not let the dumbbell drift forward. Keep it in a smooth, vertical path.
• Focus on feeling the bicep contract instead of just moving the weight from A to B.

Sets, reps, and progression

Try 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps per arm with a moderate weight. When you can finish all reps with a strong squeeze at the top and no swinging, move up slightly in load.

6. EZ bar curl

If straight bar curls irritate your wrists, the EZ bar version may be a better fit. The angled grip can reduce joint stress while still allowing you to move serious weight, which makes this a staple in many best bicep exercises lists.

What it targets

• Both bicep heads
• Forearm flexors with a more natural hand angle

How to do it

1. Stand tall and hold an EZ bar with an underhand grip on the angled portions that feel most comfortable.
2. Let your arms hang straight and your elbows rest close to your torso.
3. Curl the bar up toward your shoulders while keeping your upper arms relatively still.
4. Pause briefly at the top, then lower under control to the starting position.

Form tips and common mistakes

• Avoid letting your elbows drift behind your body at the bottom. That can stress the front of the shoulder.
• Do not half rep unless you are doing it on purpose. Go through a full controlled range of motion that feels natural for your joints.
• Resist the urge to lean back as the set gets hard. If your back starts to arch, your weight is too heavy.

Sets, reps, and progression

Use 3 or 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps. Curl barbells are well suited to progressive overload, so track the weight you use and aim to increase in small jumps as your strength improves.

7. Single arm high cable curl

Cable curls keep constant tension on your biceps, which is why many lifters rely on them toward the end of an arm workout. The high cable version also gives you a strong contraction at the top of the range.

What it targets

• Biceps, with emphasis on the peak contraction
• Shoulder stability and control

How to do it

1. Set a cable pulley slightly above shoulder height and attach a single handle.
2. Stand sideways to the machine and grab the handle with the far hand in an underhand grip. Your upper arm should be roughly parallel to the floor.
3. Without moving your upper arm much, curl your hand toward your ear by flexing at the elbow.
4. Squeeze at the top, then slowly extend your arm back to the start.

Form tips and common mistakes

• Do not let your shoulder roll forward as you curl. Keep your chest open and shoulder blades gently pulled back.
• Control the cable on the way down. The constant tension is what makes this variation effective.
• Avoid twisting your torso to help the weight. Stay square and stable.

Sets, reps, and progression

Aim for 2 to 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps per arm. Cables are ideal for higher rep, tension focused work. Increase the weight only when you can keep smooth control and a strong squeeze on every rep.

8. Chin up

Chin ups are a compound exercise that many lifters overlook when they think about the best bicep exercises. They are not an isolation move, but they hit your biceps hard while also training your back.

What it targets

• Biceps, especially the long head
• Upper back, lats, and grip

How to do it

1. Grab a pull up bar with a shoulder width underhand grip. Palms face you.
2. Start from a dead hang with straight arms and your shoulders active, not shrugged up around your ears.
3. Pull your chest toward the bar by driving your elbows down and back.
4. Aim to get your chin above the bar or your chest close to it.
5. Lower yourself slowly until your arms are straight again.

Form tips and common mistakes

• Avoid half reps. Use as much range as you comfortably can.
• Do not let your legs swing wildly. Cross your ankles or keep your knees slightly bent and still.
• If bodyweight is too hard, use a band for assistance or a machine that offsets some of your weight.

Sets, reps, and progression

Start with 3 sets of as many quality reps as you can do. If you can do more than 10 reps per set easily, you can add weight with a belt or backpack to keep progressing.

9. Biceps focused bodyweight and home options

You can still train effectively if you have no equipment. Some of the best bicep exercises at home rely on smart body positioning and common household items.

Biceps push ups

Turn your hands around during push ups to shift more load onto the biceps.

How to do them:

1. Get into a push up position with your hands under your shoulders.
2. Rotate your hands so your fingers point back toward your feet.
3. Keep your elbows tucked close to your sides as you lower your chest toward the floor.
4. Press back up while keeping tension through your arms.

Keep the reps moderate and stop if you feel wrist pain.

Door frame bodyweight curls

Door frame curls let you use your body weight as resistance.

How to do them:

1. Stand in an open doorway and hold the sides of the frame with both hands at about chest height.
2. Lean back, keeping your body straight from head to heels. Your arms should be extended.
3. Curl your body toward the door frame by bending at the elbows.
4. Slowly extend back to the starting lean.

Step your feet further forward to make it harder or closer to the door to make it easier.

Negative curls with household items

Eccentric or negative curls can trigger strong strength and size gains, even with lighter loads.

How to do them:

1. Fill two milk jugs, water bottles, or a backpack with weight that you can manage.
2. Use your non working hand to help curl the object up to the top position.
3. Take your helper hand away and lower the weight as slowly as you can with the working arm.
4. Repeat for 6 to 8 controlled negatives per side.

You can also loop a towel through a backpack to create a makeshift “barbell” and perform bilateral negatives. This challenges your grip and multiple arm muscles at once.

Inverted rows at home

Inverted rows are great for both back and biceps and can be done using a sturdy table or rope or bedsheet secured safely. These rows give you a compound pull similar to a low bar row but with your body as the weight.

10. Build a simple bicep workout plan

It is tempting to try every variation in one long session. You will get better results by picking a few of the best bicep exercises that cover different angles and rotating them over time.

For beginners

If you are new to strength training, keep things simple and consistent. A good starting plan can look like this twice per week:

• Seated dumbbell curls: 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps
• Standing barbell or EZ bar curls: 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps
• Single arm preacher curls: 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps per arm

Use about 70 to 85 % of the maximum weight you could lift for one rep, though you do not need to test that max. As a rule of thumb, the last 2 or 3 reps of each set should be tough but doable with clean form. Aim to add 1 rep or a small amount of weight every week for 4 to 6 weeks.

For intermediate lifters

If you already train your arms regularly, you can use more volume and mix in variety and higher frequency. For example, three bicep sessions per week with mixed tools:

Day 1, heavier focus

• Standing barbell or curl bar curls: 4 sets of 6 to 8 reps
• Hammer curls: 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps

Day 2, bodyweight and cables

• Chin ups: 3 sets close to failure
• Single arm high cable curls: 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps

Day 3, isolation and detail

• Seated dumbbell curls: 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps
• Concentration curls: 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps per arm
• Optional preacher curls: 2 sets of 12 to 15 reps

Adjust the total volume based on your recovery and your other pulling work like rows and pull downs. If your elbows feel beat up, pull back on sets and prioritize quality over sheer quantity.

How to choose the right weight

For most of the best bicep exercises, a useful guideline is:

• Pick a weight you can lift 10 times with good form
• The last 3 reps should feel challenging, but you should still control your speed
• When 10 or 12 reps start to feel easy, increase the load a little or add more reps

Progressive overload is the quiet driver of growth. You can add more weight, more reps, more sets, or improve your technique and range of motion over time. All count as progress.

Form debates and what really matters

If you search for bicep curl technique, you will see conflicting advice. Some sources insist your elbows must stay pinned to your sides and you should stop the curl early to avoid shoulder involvement. Others, including some trainers and demonstrations on sites like exrx.net, show slight elbow or shoulder movement during curls.

Community discussions, like a 2023 Reddit thread on bicep curl form, often land on a middle ground. Both styles, elbow fixed and elbows moving a bit, can be effective for building biceps. What changes is which muscles help and how much tension you keep through the movement.

A few simple rules cut through the noise:

• Avoid wild swinging. Controlled, small elbow movement is fine. Using your lower back and hips to heave the weight is not.
• Use a range of motion that feels strong and pain free. Full stretch and full squeeze are helpful, but not if your joints complain.
• If a variation irritates your elbows or wrists, switch grip, tool, or angle instead of forcing it.

The best bicep exercises for you are the ones you can perform safely, progress over time, and feel working your target muscles.

Stay safe and keep your gains

Bicep training is simple, but it is still possible to get hurt if you rush the process. Keep these safety points in mind:

• Do not start too heavy. Increase weight or reps slowly from week to week instead of chasing big personal records every session.
• Stop if you feel sharp pain in your elbow or wrist. Muscle burn and fatigue are normal. Joint pain is not.
• Maintain control throughout the movement. Faster is not better if it means you use momentum or lose your line of pull.
• Warm up before you train and cool down afterward with gentle stretching for your biceps, forearms, and shoulders.

If you respect load, form, and recovery, your biceps will grow with far less risk of strain.

Putting it all together

You do not need a huge catalog of movements to build impressive arms. A short list of the best bicep exercises, done well and done often, will carry you far:

1. Standing barbell or curl bar curls for mass and strength
2. Seated dumbbell curls for strict isolation and range of motion
3. Single arm preacher curls for short head focus and balance
4. Hammer curls for thick arms and strong forearms
5. Concentration curls for isolation and control
6. EZ bar curls for joint friendly loading
7. High cable curls for constant tension
8. Chin ups for real world pulling strength
9. Bodyweight and home variations like biceps push ups, door frame curls, negatives, and inverted rows

Pick three or four that fit your equipment and joints, run them consistently for a few months, and track your progress. The combination of smart exercise choice, steady progression, and honest form is what turns “arm day” into visible results.

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