8 Triceps Exercises To Build Strong Arms, According to Trainers Nike.com

If you’re in the market, check out our full list of the best adjustable dumbbells. The biceps are an antagonistic muscle to the triceps, whose function is to extend and straighten the elbow. We recommend performing three sets, resting for 1 minute between sets for recovery. Keep reading to find out more about each of these exercises and how to perform each one correctly. Big biceps – they look good, they show strength, and pretty much every gym bro wants them.

• So consider combining both types of bicep curls in order to maximize your muscle growth over the long term.
• In this guide, we’ll explore the benefits of using dumbbells for bicep training, offering insights into how these versatile weights can help you achieve impressive results.
• Now that you’ve seen the best bicep workouts for each kind of goal and person, it’s down to you.
• Choosing the right exercises is the foundation for building stronger, more impressive biceps.
• This ensures maximum tension on the biceps throughout the entire range of motion, particularly during the stretched position.
• It’s a small movement, but it makes a huge difference in what muscle is doing the work.

Best Biceps Exercises for Massive Arms [Expert Guide]

Dumbbell concentration curls are a powerful isolation exercise specifically designed to target the biceps, helping to build size and strength in this muscle group. This exercise emphasizes the peak of the biceps, providing a focused contraction that enhances muscle definition. This exercise not only enhances the size and strength of the biceps but also improves overall arm definition.

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This exercise uses a neutral grip (palms facing each other), which significantly changes https://resident.com/resource-guide/2025/03/18/mad-muscles-review-transparent-pricing-real-fitness-results-in-20255 the leverage and muscle recruitment compared to a supinated grip. When she’s not writing about the topic of health, she’s in the gym learning new compound exercises. Follow the below five steps in order to perform chin-ups safely and with good form.

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This increased mind-muscle connection during the concentration curls could be part of the reason why it has been rated as the best bicep exercise in several studies [3, 4]. Well, that and the fact that concentration curls isolate the biceps more than any other movement, making them one of the best short head bicep exercises. Rather than recruiting multiple muscle groups to help out in executing the movement, concentration curls place full emphasis on the biceps, increasing hypertrophy. Because of this, you’ll likely want to go a little lighter on the weight and do this exercise after your compound exercises in your workout. The incline dumbbell curl is one of the very few exercises where you move your arms behind your body during the movement. That twist puts constant tension and stretch on your biceps muscle and makes it particularly effective for targeting the long head of the biceps.

Not all exercises are created equal, and the order in which you perform them can significantly impact your results. This guide offers insights into strategic exercise selection and ordering, helping you design workouts that maximize efficiency and effectiveness. Good form is integral to successful lifting, but that doesn’t mean you must color within the lines during every single biceps workout.

Dumbbell Preacher Curls

Incorporating exercises that target both heads of the biceps, like hammer curls and incline curls, ensures balanced development. Pair that with techniques like controlled negatives and progressive overload, and you’ll be on your way to better gains in no time. I think the barbell curl is one of the most overrated bicep exercises out there. Sure, it’s a classic, and I get that it has a strong “old-school” appeal, but its limitations outweigh its benefits. The tension is uneven throughout the movement, and once your elbows pass 90 degrees, the load shifts away from the biceps.

Best Bicep Workouts: Exercises, Training, Safety, and Variations

Your arms individually won’t be strong enough https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1267698 to lift it because of that instability. Unfortunately, we often run into a problem with our at home arm workouts when we try to convert a barbell strength exercise into a dumbbell exercise. When trying to build stronger biceps, some of our best exercise options for biceps brachii are barbell exercises. The incline curl is a great option for those looking to target the long head of the bicep. Since your arms are slightly behind your torso during an incline curl, the long head of the biceps is the most recruited. Performing alternate biceps curls allows you to focus on each individual arm to maximize the mind-body connection.

Because of the synergistic relationship between the back and biceps, some back exercises, like the bent-over row and lat pulldown, will provide activation in the biceps brachii too. If you’re able to do 10 chin-ups at the end of this workout, you didn’t lift heavy enough. Your biceps should feel roasted by the time you grab onto that pull-up bar. Now that you know what exercises to include in your biceps workout, it’s time to take those guns to the firing range.

These are your moneymakers, movements that maximize tension, range, and growth potential. They allow for clean execution, a deep stretch, a strong peak contraction, and easy progressive overload. Resistance bands provide what’s called accommodating resistance, which means that the tension increases as you stretch them. This means you get maximum resistance at the top of the movement, precisely where your bicep is at its point of peak contraction.

STANDING BARBELL CURL

With resistance training in general proven to decrease your risk of all-cause mortality, upper body sessions are a no-brainer. Traditionally, it was popular to train each major muscle group once a week—e.g., chest day on Monday, legs on Tuesday, back and biceps on Wednesday, and so on. This was thought to be the best split for muscle growth as it gave each muscle group a full seven days to recover before working it again. In this article, we’ve suggested sticking to a rep range of 8-12 reps for 3-4 sets.

Reverse-Grip Barbell Curl

When it comes to building strong and defined biceps, it’s crucial to incorporate a variety of movements that target different parts of the muscle. Considering everything we’ve already covered, it should be fairly easy to identify some major benefits that come from training your biceps. Firstly, you’ll grow the muscle, which is in line with what most people consider to be ideal physique goals. But it’s more than just about looks—healthy elbow flexion will allow you to do more than you might expect, from hauling grocery bags to picking up your kids. And when you train your biceps, you can’t neglect the brachialis, the muscle the sits beneath the biceps and generates even more flex power.

Beijan Curl: A Modern Exercise for Stretch and Resistance

You know the first thing you’d do if you ever got access to an EMG machine would be to hook it up to your guns. Even if you’re working with a lower weight and not burning out the muscles, we don’t recommend working the biceps every day. Removing momentum from the arms, so the biceps have to act solely on strength and form. Keeping consistent tension on the biceps to promote more muscle mass while protecting the joints in the elbow from strain or injury. In order to build the sleeve-busting biceps you’re working towards, there’s one muscle that needs to be activated that often goes unnoticed in other workouts. The best bicep exercises can be done in the gym, at home, and some even without much equipment or space.

Shoulder tap biceps curl

Below are six of the best dumbbell curl variations that help keep your bicep workouts varied and effective. The best dumbbell exercise for training the brachialis is a dumbbell hammer curl variation called the Crossbody Hammer Curl done with a pronated forearm. The concentration curl better isolates the short head of bicep than the typical curl due to the arm’s position and the movement’s grip. As a strength and conditioning coach, I ask athletes to use different bicep exercises with various grips. This helps to change muscular recruitment and target specific bicep muscle fibers.

By using a wide grip, this exercise not only emphasizes the biceps but also engages the forearms and shoulders, contributing to overall upper body strength. It’s a simple yet effective movement that can be incorporated into any arm workout routine, making it a favorite among fitness enthusiasts looking to sculpt their arms. Choosing the right exercises is the foundation for building stronger, more impressive biceps.

Most nearby parks will have madmuscles scam free access to monkey bars, making this an effective and convenient exercise. “This exercise requires you to really focus on engaging the backs of the arm,” Mansour explains. Each day uses different primary movements to avoid overlap and manage fatigue while still working the whole body every session. The Turkish get-up looks like a circus act to the uninitiated, but it is one of the best full body exercises for keeping you mobile, stable, and strong enough to get off the floor without groaning. Incorporating a variety of grips and angles can enhance muscle engagement, leading to better overall development. We’ve carefully reviewed and fact-checked the information with insights from experts, including an exercise scientist with over 20 years of experience in the gym.