Bicep Exercises

Below you will find gifs of the most popular and effective bicep exercises.

Barbell Exercises

Barbell Curl

  • Use a wider grip to hit the Short Head of the bicep and a narrow grip to hit the Long Head.
  • Don’t use a weight so heavy you have to rock your body backwards to lift it up.
  • Make sure you fully extend the arms at the bottom of the movement.
  • Don’t rush! Try two seconds to come up and three seconds to lower it.
standing barbell curl

E-Z Bar Curls

  • The wider grip hits the Short Head and the narrow grip hits the Long Head.
  • As always, don’t move your body too much.
  • Make sure you fully extend the arms at the bottom of the movement.
  • This is a good exercise for heavy low-rep work to stimulate growth.
e-z bar curls

Dumbbell Exercises

Concentration Curls

  • This hits the Long Head of the bicep.
  • Really focus on feeling the contraction of the muscle.
  • Don’t move your shoulder to accommodate a weight that’s too heavy.
  • Make sure you fully extend the arms at the bottom of the movement.
  • You can use this as a finisher.
  • You can squeeze extra reps out by using the free hand to help the concentric (up) phase, then lower without it.
concentration curl

Prone Incline Barbell Curl

  • This hits the Long Head of the bicep.
  • If the barbell is too awkward, you can use Dumbbells here.
  • If you use dumbbells, come across the body to hit your biceps peak.
  • Make sure you fully extend the arms at the bottom of the movement.
prone barbell curl

Reverse Barbell Curl

  • This hits the Long Head of the bicep and the Brachialis.
  • Use a shoulder width grip.
  • Don’t use a weight so heavy you have to rock your body backwards to lift it up.
  • If it stresses your wrists, switch to an E-Z Curl Bar.
  • Make sure you fully extend the arms at the bottom of the movement.
  • Don’t rush! Try two seconds to come up and three seconds to lower it.
reverse barbell curl

Dumbbell Hammer Curl

  • This hits the Brachialis.
  • The Brachialis responds best to a slow movement.
  • Keep your wrists facing each other through the whole movement.
  • Don’t use a weight so heavy you have to rock your body backwards to lift it up.
  • To increase the focus, you can do alternate curls (one arm at a time).
  • Make sure you fully extend the arms at the bottom of the movement.
dumbbell hammer curl

Incline Dumbbell Curl

  • This hits the Long Head of the bicep.
  • To increase the focus, you can do alternate curls (one arm at a time).
  • Make sure you fully extend the arms at the bottom of the movement.
  • This is a good finisher exercise for high rep work.
incline dummbell curl

Single Arm Preacher Curl

  • The Preacher Curl hits the Short Head of the bicep, as the arm is supported by the bench at full extension.
  • You can do this over the back of a bench, or use a preacher curl station.
  • Really focus on slowly lowering the weight for 3-4 seconds each rep.
  • If you want to hit the Long Head, stick with a concentration curl.
single arm preacher curl

Standing Dumbbell Curl

  • This hits the Long Head of the bicep.
  • Make sure your wrists are pointed away from you as early as possible when you raise the weight.
  • Don’t use a weight so heavy you have to rock your body backwards to lift it up.
  • To increase the focus, you can do alternate curls (one arm at a time).
  • Make sure you fully extend the arms at the bottom of the movement.
  • Don’t rush! Try two seconds to come up and three seconds to lower it.
standing dumbbell curl

Zottman Curl

  • The Zottman Curl hits the Long Head of the bicep and the Brachialis.
  • Bring the weight up with a normal grip, rotate at the top, and slowly lower facing away.
  • Don’t use a weight so heavy you have to rock your body backwards to lift it up.
  • Make sure you fully extend the arms at the bottom of the movement.
  • Really focus on slowly lowering the weight for 3-4 seconds each rep.
zottman curl

Body-weight / Other Exercises

High Cable Curls

  • This hits the Long Head of the bicep.
  • Stand slightly ahead of the pulleys, with one foot slightly in front of the other.
  • Tilt the wrists back as you come in.
  • Make sure you fully extend the arms at the bottom of the movement.
  • You can use this as a finisher.
high cable curls

Standing Cable Curl (Rope)

  • This hits the Brachialis.
  • Have your palms facing each other. Keep the elbows in.
  • Make sure you fully extend the arms at the bottom of the movement.
  • Try to limit the movement of your body, as well as your upper arms.
  • Squeeze for one second at the top of the movement.
standing cable curl with rope

Thanks for reading!