The 20 Best Biceps Workouts and Exercises

Many people love to see bodybuilders in the gym with sculpted biceps and often dream about having defined muscles and strength like them, but it seems like too much work. However, the truth is that it’s easier than it looks to get them.

The secret is in doing well combined biceps exercises and finding workouts that fit your physical abilities and goals. In this blog, we will present the 20 best biceps exercises. Some of them you can do at home with a set of weights, or in a gym, on professional machines, guided by personal trainers.

Dumbbell Bicep Curl

The dumbbell bicep curl is the most common isolation exercise for biceps. It is done while standing and lifting dumbbells, one in each hand. This exercise allows you to balance strength and gives freedom to move and stand in the most natural position. It can easily be done in the gym or at home if you have a dumbbell set, and the results are visible even if you choose to do just that.

Hammer Curls

The main difference between hammer curls and dumbbell curls is in the position of the wrist, which is more natural when doing hammer curls. This rotation helps to accentuate the bicep length, and it’s a great way to make training more fun and diverse.

Barbell Curl

Barbell curls are great for people who feel a lack of stability when using separate dumbbells. Barbell gives you an opportunity to focus on performance and exertion, and not to worry about stabilizing movements.

Seated Dumbbell Curl

This bicep exercise is similar to a regular dumbbell curl, but with one important difference. Sitting while performing it allows you to compensate for strength differences between sides, and to remain balanced while maximally focusing on the arm movement precision.

Machine Bicep Curl

This exercise is really similar to other curls, but the bicep curl machine gives extra stability, even more than when you’re sitting while lifting weights. Grip the machine handles with both hands while resting your upper arms on the machine pad, and with your back straight, start lifting. You can fully focus on your movements and give your maximum effort for the best results.

Cable Bicep Curl

Cable bicep curl is, for many exercisers, more practical than the machine, because you can easily adjust the angle, but it still gives more stability than working out with free weights.

Cross Body Hammer Curl

The main difference between a regular hammer curl and this one is in the fact that the weight, while doing this exercise, moves across the upper body, instead of just being pulled up and down. Some find it easier to do it precisely and feel like they have more balance and stamina, or just that their wrists feel better when doing this variation of hammer curl.

Incline Hammer Curl

Incline hammer curl introduces us to the incline bench. This bench is often used as part of professional bodybuilders’ training, but personal trainers also advise their clients to use it when they lack stability or swing too much with weights while doing ab exercises, risking injuries.

Reverse Barbell Curl

This is another isolation exercise for biceps, but a bit more challenging than the regular barbell curl because of the reverse grip, which demands more strength. At the same time, it’s considered to be better for exercisers struggling with stability, so it’s often recommended instead of dumbbells bicep exercises.

Barbell Bicep Drag Curl

Here’s another barbell curl variation, but slightly different. The goal is to drag the barbells up in a straight line, instead of making an arc. The secret is in standing with feet apart and keeping the barbell as close as possible to your body.

Single Arm Cable Bicep Curl

In this biceps exercise, you will pull the cable instead of the dumbbell. Required equipment for it is the Hi-Lo Pulley Cable, so logically, this is one of the exercises meant to be done at the gym. Not only will you develop your biceps, but also make your forearm muscles stronger.

Dumbbell Pause Curl

Remember the classic dumbbell curl? This one is really similar, but you need to create a pause while your arm holding the dumbbell is up in the air. Hold the position for at least one second and focus on squeezing your biceps.

Single Arm Preacher Curl

For this exercise, you will be using a preacher curl bench. Sitting on it while lifting a dumbbell will help you to maintain strength and be fully focused on lifting and the movement of your every muscle. Simply sit upright and press one hand at a time against the pad. Extend the arm holding the weight over it and then slowly lift it without stopping the upper arm contact with the pad.

Cable Rope Hammer Curls

This exercise with the rope cable focuses on the outer biceps, and it is especially useful for gaining grip strength, which is important for any gym activity.

Loop Band Hammer Curl

Here’s one practical exercise for when you don’t have cable machines in your gym or want to do a quick strength training at home. Its main focus is the long head of the biceps, and all you’re gonna need is a loop band. Simply stand on it with your legs separated at shoulder-width, hold the top part of the band with your palms facing in, and start lifting it, the same way you would do with the dumbbell curl.

Behind-the-Back Cable Bicep Curl

Biceps exercises that involve cables are great for beginners who need a full range of motion and stability while pulling the cable. To perform it, stand facing away from the cable machine and curl the handle forward while keeping your elbow pinned slightly behind your torso to maximize the stretch on the long head of the bicep. This angle is great for faster bicep growth.

Biceps Curl To Shoulder Press

Most of our exercises here are focused on the biceps as a main goal; however, there are some that target triceps and shoulders as well. This is one of them. It’s a bit more challenging exercise where you’re supposed to lift dumbbells in the air, so don’t lose hope if you try it at the beginning of your training and feel that it is too hard for you.

Try it again a few weeks later when you gain strength or with lighter weights. It will help you not only to gain muscles but also to improve shoulder stability.

See also the 30 best exercises for triceps.

Machine Preacher Curl

The machine preacher curl is an ideal exercise for isolating the biceps while ensuring maximum safety and stability. By resting your arms on the angled pad, you eliminate the ability to use body momentum, forcing the biceps to handle the entire load.

This machine-based variation is excellent for beginners because it enforces a strict range of motion and provides a consistent resistance curve throughout the entire lift.

Zottman Preacher Curl

The Zottman preacher curl is a unique hybrid movement that targets both the biceps and the muscles of the forearm (brachioradialis). You perform the upward phase (concentric) with a standard palms-up grip, but at the top of the movement, you rotate your wrists 180 degrees and lower the weight with palms facing down. This is a superior “finisher” exercise because it builds massive grip strength and you can develop your whole arm in a single move.

Spider Curls

Spider curls are performed by lying chest-down on an incline bench with your arms hanging vertically toward the floor. This specific positioning puts the biceps in a mechanical disadvantage, meaning they have to work significantly harder at the start of each rep. This exercise is famous for creating an intense “pump” and peak contraction because the floor-facing starting position prevents the shoulders from assisting in the lift.

Biceps Workout In The Gym

A big advantage of gym biceps workout is an opportunity to use machines and have the support of professional personal coaches.

Biceps Workout At Home

Here’s an example of a biceps workout you can easily do at home.

FAQ about biceps exercises

Can I train my biceps every day?

Yes, but for the optimal results, we recommend 3 to 4 times a week, and use the rest of your workout time for other muscle groups. For example, you can periodically do leg day, abs day, and biceps day.

Can you overuse the bicep machine?

Machines are a practical way to learn proper form, but trainers usually don’t recommend them as a primary workout equipment because it’s harder to progress when using them.

How to choose the right weight?

Always start with lighter weights, and then, if you feel like lifting is too easy, slowly add more. For complete beginners, 2-5 kg is usually right. Remember that the technique is always more important than overloading, and that your muscles can also be under stress, so focus on the mind muscle control, and not on adding as much weight as you can.