Now, let’s be straight growing a muscle is not an easy task, and there is no doubt why biceps is one of the most popular muscles, and why every guy thinks bigger is better. That said, it is great to focus on bicep Afterall biceps are the muscle that is most visible when you wear a t-shirt or not. So, to make it short and your work easy today we discuss how you can grow your bicep muscles by including best bicep exercises with dumbbells and barbells in your routine.
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How to target all bicep muscles?
Before jumping into exercises first, you should know about biceps. Our bicep is made of two muscles i.e Brachialis and coracobrachialis, that is why it’s called bi- ceps(bi=2).
In order to grow your biceps, you have to target both the muscles equally. Your biceps routine should include both dumbbells and barbells in it. Because dumbbells let you perform a full range of motion but you can’t go heavy with dumbells, on the other hand, barbells limit the full range motion but you can go as heavy as you want. So, including both (dumbells and barbells) is a great way to build bicep mass(with barbell), definition, and detail(with dumbells).
Also, if you are intermediate and your growth puts break then changing the exercises and serial no. proved to be Beneficial.
Although if your goal is to get over-all big arm then it is important to train your triceps more because the arm is made of 40% bicep muscles and 60% triceps muscles. Where biceps-only contain 2 muscles, your triceps are made of three muscles. And if you don’t know how to target all three muscles in your workout then consider this article - Best triceps exercises to build mass.
Bicep exercises with dumbbells and barbells
These dumbbell exercises for biceps is divided into two parts. The first part contains the bicep dumbbell and barbell exercises that target the short head (Brachialis muscle) of your biceps. And the second part covers the exercises, that target the long head (coracobrachialis muscle) of your bicep.
Biceps exercises with dumbbells (targets short head).
Concentration curls
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One of the best exercises to target the short head of your bicep. This exercise will put all tension on your biceps, and you also get great muscle memory mind connection when you perform the movement.
How to perform
● Take the dumbbell with a weight that suits you.
● Put your hand on the middle side of your knee.
● Perform the movement by completely stretching your arm and then bringing back up and squeeze it.
● Do 6-8 reps for building mass. And if you want detail or want to target slow-twitch muscle then go with 15 to 18 rep range.
● Perform 4 set for this exercise. By increasing weight in every set.
Extended arm dumbbell
Now it’s very rare you see guys do this exercise in the gym. You can perform this exercise on an incline bench or by standing. To put more tension on the inner head bench is a more preferable option.
How to perform
● Get the bench at a 45-degree angle (incline bench).
● Take sufficient weight dumbbells on both hands. Now push the arms outside away from your shoulders. Make sure your wrist is facing the ceiling, which means wrists should be parallel to the ceiling, it should be straight.
● Perform the movement by bringing the dumbbells up and feel the tension by squeezing hard. Squeezing is a great way to activate and to put more tension on the inner head of your bicep.
● Now bring back down by following the slow movement.
Barbell exercise for biceps short head
Bicep curl
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The best exercise to build mass, as you can heavy with this if you know the right form. Bicep curl can be used to train both the long head and short head of biceps. But first, we know how to target the short head of bicep with a bicep curl.
How to Perform
● Grasp a medium-size barbell or you can use EZ barbell (Comfortable for wrist if your wrist flexibility is weak). Add sufficient weight plates.
● Stand straight and hold the barbell with a wide grip so that when you perform the movement the tension will be on the short head of the bicep.
● Perform the exercise by bringing up the barbell and hold it for squeeze, then slowly bring it down.
● Throughout the movement make sure your shoulders are straight and your elbows don’t fall forward or backward too much.
Preacher curl
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The only exercise where you can not perform cheat sets. Besides that this exercise is a great way to build strong inner bicep muscle.
How to perform
● To perform this exercise take a straight bar or EZ bar. But I suggest you use a straight bar for full stretch and movement.
● Add the less weight so that you can pull up without using the support of your legs. All tension should be on bicep.
● Now, start the movement by pulling the bar up. Make sure you squeeze tightly and then when you release the tension down make it a full movement by stretching the arm full, without any bend. Because stretch is as important as squeezing the muscle.
Bicep exercise for long head
Incline dumbbell curls
How to perform
● This almost the same as you do for the short head, the only difference is the position of the hand and arms. In this exercise, arms should be more close to the body, where when you do this exercise to target short head arms are farther from the body.
● To perform this exercise get an incline bench at 45 degrees. Start with less weight and add extra weight to every set, as this exercise is hard than any other exercise because you don’t get any support from other body parts.
● When you start to perform the movement make sure your shoulders are extended back. Now, pull the weight up without shifting your body.
● Squeeze at the top and then release the weight down to complete stretch.
Dumbbell curls
This is a popular exercise that mainly targets the outer head or long head of the bicep. Besides that, it also targets the short head but more tension is created on the long head of the bicep.
How to perform
● It’s all about hand position and movement. To get the right position stand straight in your natural stand with the thumb facing forward.
● Perform the movement by bringing the weight up. The main thing to keep in mind when the weight is up that, you should rotate your wrist outward away from the arm.
● Now bring the weight down to full, to get the full stretch.
● You can go heavy with this exercise as it involves help from your body especially push from legs which makes the weight easy to lift.
● For mass go with 8 reps and heavy weight, increase weight in every set. And if you want detail and definition 18 reps with light or medium weight are recommended.
Close grip Bicep curls
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Now you can target both short head long head with this, but the only key is the position of your hands. If you want to target the long head of the bicep, holding a close grip is proved to be effective.
How to perform
● Grasp a medium-size barbell or EZ barbell with sufficient weight.
● Now, hold the bar close, maintaining a minimum distance between your hands.
● Bring the barbell up and hold it for 1 or 2 sec maximum and then release the weight down.
● Keep in mind don’t fall forward or back to get the push from your body. Lift the weight that allows you the perfect movement with your shoulders locked straight.
Drag curls
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Few people know about this exercise. This looks the same as curls but the only difference is the position of elbows.
How to perform
● Simply get in the position to perform bicep curls.
● Now, extend the elbows behind the body to create more tension on the long head.
● Now, perform the movement by bringing the weight up, just like you do in a bicep curl.
The only thing to keep in mind while bringing the bar up is to maintain the minimum distance as possible between the bar and your body, in simple words keep the bar close to your body.
