Typically, when we talk about “the biceps,” we’re referring to the upper arm muscle responsible for flexing your elbow. In technical terms, this is the two-headed arm muscle known as the biceps brachii. (An additional hamstring muscle we have is the biceps femoris. Brachii denotes the arm, while femoris denotes the thigh.) In this essay, I’ll merely refer to your biceps as long as you realize that I mean the ones on your arm. Although this one muscle is officially referred to as “the biceps,” every gym-goer utilizes the singular form “bicep.”
The fact that the bicep originates from two distinct attachment sites on the shoulder makes it a two-headed muscle. The scapula’s coracoid process is the origin of the short head, while the supraglenoid tubercle is the source of the long head. Yes, the muscle begins at your shoulder blade in both areas. Strange, eh?
Wherever along your arm, the two pieces come together. (In some individuals, the space between the two heads is visible; for the majority of us, it appears as a single mass of muscle.) There is just one place on the forearm where this muscle may attach: the radius, one of your two forearm bones.
This implies that by tugging on one of your forearm bones but not the other, the bicep not only causes you to bend your elbow but also supinates your hand, or turn it palm up. Although there are other shoulder muscles that are more effective at doing so, it may also assist us in raising our arm to the shoulder. One may argue that the bicep serves as a stabilizing force in the shoulder as well as being primarily a forearm supinator and secondary elbow flexor.
Exercises for the biceps do more than activate the muscles. Additionally, the brachialis muscle beneath the bicep helps elbow flexion. Actually, it’s the largest elbow flexor we have. Nevertheless, since the brachialis and biceps muscles are layered on top of one another, brachialis exercise nevertheless increases upper arm size. This implies that all you need to do to obtain larger firearms is bend your elbow rather than really keeping note of the difference.
Curls are the ideal bicep workout to begin with.
There’s a reason curls are classic. Regardless of the kind of curl, you must hold a weight in one hand, bend the elbow, and raise the hand toward your shoulder. That’s a curl, that’s all.
Of course, there are several kinds of curls throughout the globe. You may curl using a variety of weights or resistance—such as bands or cables—and you can arrange the curl in various configurations. I’ll cover the most common varieties in this section, but feel free to ask around—everyone has a favorite curl.
Curls with dumbbells: Place a dumbbell in each hand with the palms facing forward. To curl the dumbbells up toward you, bend your elbows. You may exercise both arms at once or just one at a time. You may do cross-body curls, hammer curls, or even reverse grip curls by pointing your hands downward while maintaining a neutral grip. However, the most typical will be a supinated or hammer curl.
Barbell curls: Take a barbell and curl it upward with both hands. Try experimenting with both broad and narrow hand placement to discover what feels best for you since this might strain the wrists. EZ-curl bars are for use in situations when you are unable to make that work. It’s they that have the floppy handles.
For cable curls, use a cable machine close to the floor with the pulley set low. For a hammer curl grip, you may use nearly any attachment, but my personal preference is the rope. Another excellent option is the EZ-bar adapter, which is often available.
The “ideal” way to work your biceps is with Bayesian curls.
As I’ve said before, being optimum is optional; you won’t always get greater outcomes by obsessing over every little element of a training regimen. However, there are instances when it’s enjoyable to determine which workout is optimal, at least conceptually, and then do it.
If you find this interesting, I suggest Bayesian curls. This particular kind of cable curl works the shoulder bicep muscle. At the bottom of the action, you should feel a tiny strain at your shoulder from setting up with the cable machine behind you. Lean your body forward as you reach the peak of the curl to demonstrate your commitment to the exercise. Curl the cable handle upwards. Menno Henselmans demonstrates the action and provides an explanation in this video:
This configuration provides the maximum stress to the muscle, which stimulates development, and allows you to exercise the bicep at a long muscular length, or when it’s extended. Now, will this have much of an impact later on? Perhaps, but perhaps not. However, it looks good and offers you an alternative to the standard dumbbell and barbell curls.
Chinups are the ideal bicep workout for those who lack the time to do bicep workouts.
As biceps are tiny muscles, isolations will make up the majority of the specific exercise we do on them. However, they also engage in complex pulling motions. You may accomplish a lot by just include rowing and pulling actions in your regimen, since they will work your biceps to some extent.
Chinups are my preferred compound for building biceps. (There are many debates on the internet about chin-ups vs pull-ups in all of its forms; in actuality, the distinctions are not that great.) However, you’ll see that your biceps are becoming stronger from the chinups, which is what we usually aim for so that we can feel like we completed a decent arm exercise before leaving the gym.
The workout known as a “chinup” involves grasping a bar with your arms extended so that you hang from it, then pulling yourself up until your chin touches the bar. Gripping distance should be shoulder-width or slightly less. It’s OK to utilize a band or a box to support some of your weight if you are unable to do chinups using only your body weight. If you’re good at chinups, try using a dip belt to add some weight! Hold each rep for a few seconds at the peak to get additional points.
