Biceps strengthening exercise: Health Benefits, Types, How to do?

Biceps strengthening is a most important exercise to make your arm more powerful and stronger. It is most popular mass exercise in the gym.

What is a Biceps strengthening exercise?

When strengthening the upper body, it is important to perform exercises targeting specific muscles, such as the triceps, the shoulders, and everybody’s favorite: biceps. To keep your workouts interesting and challenging, find different ways to work on the biceps.

The biceps muscles run from the anterior to the shoulders to the elbow. This muscle has two different parts: a long head and a short head. Both are contracted during bicep exercises but respond differently to various movements. The biceps muscles action is elbow flexion (curling the arm up and down), forearm supination (turning the arm in and out), and, to a lesser extent, shoulder flexion. This muscle is more important for pulling ad pushing and lifting. This will help you to fulfill your daily routine. so you have to strengthen this muscle for a better life.

Health benefits by doing a biceps strengthening exercise?

• Helps to Activates biceps muscle
• Great for building biceps peak
• Helps to Strengthens the arms
• Helps to Improves forearm grip and strength
• Helps to fulfill daily tasks.
• Helps to improve muscle mass.

There have different types of exercises to strengthen the biceps muscle.

Biceps Curls Exercise

How to do it?

• This is the most traditional exercise which targets your biceps muscle. For this, you need a pair of dumbbells.

• For this exercise you have to Stand with hip-feet width apart, abdominals engaged as you grab medium or heavy dumbbells in front of your thighs.
• Your Palms should be faced forward. Contract the biceps and flexed the elbows, curling the weights up towards your shoulders.
• Your elbows should be stationary and only bring the weight as much as you can lift without moving the elbows.
• Slowly lower down the dumbbell, keeping a slight flexion in the elbows at the bottom.
• Repeat for 2 to 3 sets of 10-15 repetitions.

Barbell Bicep Curls

How to do it?

• The barbell bicep curl is a good way to work both heads of the biceps with more weight than we can typically handle with dumbbells.

• For this exercise you have to stand with hip feet apart, abdominals engaged as you hold the barbell in front of the thighs, the palm should be facing up.
• Contract the biceps and flex the elbows, curling the barbell up towards the shoulder.
• Your elbows should be stationary and only bring the barbell as much as you can lift without moving the elbows.
• Slowly lower the barbell, keep a slight flexion in the elbows at the bottom.
• Repeat for 2-3 sets of 10-15 repetitions.

Incline Bicep Curls on the Ball

How to do it?

• There have not many ways to change a bicep curl, but one way to make the exercise a bit more challenging is to do them on an incline.
• You can do this on an incline bench or exercise ball.
• Because you are at an incline, you will have to work a bit harder against gravity, so you may want to use a low weight.

• For this exercise, you have to Sit on the ball with the barbell resting on your thighs.
• Slowly move your feet forward until you are at an incline with the ball supporting your back, weights hanging down with palms facing outward.
• Flex the elbows and bring the barbell towards the shoulder without swinging the arms.
• Now Lower the weight down, keeping a slight flexion in the elbow at the bottom of the movement.
• Repeat for 2-3 sets of 10-15 repetitions.

Bicep Curls With Alternating Arms

How to do it?

• If you are looking for a simple way to change your bicep exercises, try alternating Bicep Curls.
• By alternating the arms, you change the exercise just a bit and may be able to use heavier weights than you use in a regular curl.
• Because a single-arm gets a bit of a rest while the other one works, you may find heavier weights a better choice.

• For this exercise you have to Stand with hip-feet width apart, abdominals engaged as you grab medium or heavy dumbbells in front of your thighs.
• Your Palms should be facing forward. Contract the biceps and flexed the left elbow, curl the dumbbells up towards the shoulders, your elbow should be stationary.
• Lower the dumbbell, keep slight flexion in the elbow o keep tension in the muscle.
• Repeat this movement with your right arm, continue curl for alternating arm for 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 repetitions.

Preacher Curls on the Ball

How to do it?

• The preacher curl is just one variation of the basic bicep curl.
• By placing your arms at an angle, you challenge both heads of the biceps muscles so you may need to use low weight with this move.
• In this variation, a ball is used to create the angle but you can also do this movement on a preacher bench.
• If you have any elbow issues, you may want to skip this exercise.

• For this exercise, you have to hold the dumbbells and kneel in front of the ball and drape yourself on the ball and both arms are parallel to one another.
• Slowly lower the weight until your arms are fully extended.
• Engage the biceps muscles to raise the weights until the forearms are vertical to the back of the upper arm. Repeat for 1 to 2 sets of 10 to 20 repetitions.

Hammer Curl

How to do it?

• Like the all curl variation, the hammer curl also targets the biceps muscles. But in this your hands are rotated, the forearms also get a bit more attention in this exercise.
• Changing the hand position it can also make this exercise challenging differently, so you can do these in combination with regular curls or barbell curls to target the full range of the biceps and the forearms.

• For this exercise, you have to stand with feet hip-width apart, abdominals engaged as you hold a medium to heavyweight in front of the thighs. both palms face each other. Contract the biceps to curl the dumbbells towards the shoulder.
• Your elbows should be stationary and only bring the weight as much as you can lift without moving the elbows.
• Slowly lower down the weight, keep slight flexion in the elbows at the bottom.
• Repeat for 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 16 repetitions.

Concentration Curls

How to do it?

• Its name implies the movement. you have to concentrate on your form.
• This is a great workout for the biceps to increase blood flow to the muscle.

• For this exercise, you have to take a sitting or kneeling position and grab the dumbbell in your left hand.
• Bend forward, your abdominals should be engaged, and prop the left elbow against the left thigh.
• Contract the biceps muscle curl the hands towards the shoulder without moving the elbows.
• You do not have to touch your shoulder.
• Lower the weight down and repeat for 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15 repetitions on both sides.

Barbell Concentration Curl

How to do it?

• In this, you are in a bent-over position, which shortens the range of motion and requires the abdominals and back to work harder to keep you stable.
• Because the range of motion is short, you will feel this exercise, so start with a lighter weight if you are new to this exercise.

• For this exercise, you have to sit n a chair or on a bench and hold a medium-size barbell with hands about shoulder-width apart.
• Now bend over, back should be flat and abdominals engaged, and prop the elbows on the inside of the thighs. start the movement with arms extended, barbell hang down to mid-shin.
• Contract the biceps to curl the weight up as high as you can (in this shorter range of motion is used) now lower the weight down, keep slight flexion in the elbows on the inside of the thighs.
• Repeat for 2 to3 sets of 10 to 20 repetitions. The back should be straight throughout the movement.

One-Arm Preacher Curl on the Ball

How to do it?

• The preacher curl is the best exercise for isolating the biceps muscles.
• By resting your arm on a preacher bench or exercise ball, you take the momentum out of the movement, allowing the biceps to do all the work.
• If use a ball for this exercise, then practice with your positioning until you feel supported and able to do exercise in good form throughout the exercise then only use it.

• Place a medium to heavyweight on the ground in front of you and roll forward on the ball so that the trunk is supported.
• Extend the left arm over the ball and hold the dumbbell, keeping the back of the arm resting against the ball.
• Take care not to hyper extend the elbow here.
• Make sure you are forward enough on the ball that you can safely reach the dumbbell. Contract the biceps to curl the dumbbell up toward the shoulder, your wrist should be straight.
• Lower back down, without locking the elbow joint, and repeat for 2-3 sets of 10-16 repetitions on each side.

Cable Curl

How to do it?

• For this exercise you need a cable curl machine for the exercise instead of dumbbells and kettle bells.
• In this variation there has many different hand positions to build your biceps strong .
• When cable handles are used, you adjust standard underhand grip, overhand grip, or hammer grip.
• There all are also straight bar and EZ bar cable attachments in this machine.
• The angle of the curl will be adjustable in this. A high cable curl position will work your front deltoids and upper pectorals as the upper arm will be hold parallel to the floor with an external rotation of shoulder joint to contract biceps brachii muscle during elbow flexion.
• On another side, a low cable curl grip need for slight pinch in your upper back to retract shoulder blades and keep chest open during curl.

Zottman Curl

How to do it?

• This variation of curl is mostly done with dumbbells, kettle bells, or bands.this variation is requires rotation from wrist.
• you have to Start this with a standard curl like palms up.
• when you bend elbow, and bringing the weight toward the shoulder, your palms rotate away, contract forearm muscles.
• when arm straight,you have to rotate wrists back to the supinated position for next repetitions.
• For this variation i will suggest a lighter weight to protect the lower arm muscles.

When did you not do this exercise?

• If your physician advised you to take a rest.
• If you are recently injured.
• If you feel pain during this exercise.
• If your arm bone is fractured.