By: Chris Gates

If you’re interested in learning about the best exercises to build your biceps, you’ve come to the right place!

In this article I’m going to tell you absolutely everything you need to know about how to train your biceps and develop stronger, more defined arms.

Because let’s be honest… I think everyone would like to have a bit more muscle on their arms. Who doesn’t want to look stronger and more chiseled?

But it can be a bit confusing to figure out the right way to build your biceps.

• How many exercises should you do?
• Are certain exercises better than others?
• How many times a week should you train biceps?
• How little is too little?
• And how much is too much?

As with most muscle groups, there are a ton of different exercise variations you can choose from. But I’m here to take all of the guesswork away!

Let’s first talk about how your biceps are formed and function. Then we can dive into the principles of muscle growth, and what exercises will be best for you to build bigger, more muscular arms!

I’ll even map out an example workout plan that you can get started with today. Let’s go!

The Best Exercises to Build Your Biceps: Need-To-Know Info About Your Biceps

Before we dive into the best exercises to build your biceps (coming below!), let’s do a quick overview of how these muscles work.

Because if you know how your biceps are put together, it will make it a lot simpler to figure out how to train them effectively.

Your biceps serve three primary purposes:

1. Curling your arm up from your elbow.
2. Rotating your hand.
3. Lifting your arm straight up towards your shoulders.

There are two different muscles that make up your biceps, and they’re categorized as the two “heads” of the muscle.

• The long head is found on the outer side of your biceps.
• The short head is found on the inside part of your biceps.

You also have a brachialis muscle that runs through this area of your arm. And while it’s not visible when you flex, it will contribute to the size and strength of your arms.

When you put all of this information together, the most effective way to train your biceps will be to do different types of curling exercises. You want to be lifting weight by bending your elbows and bringing your hands up towards you shoulders.

The Best Exercises to Build Your Biceps: How to Build Muscle

Along with understanding how your biceps work, and what the best exercises are, it’s also important for you to know the fundamental principles of how to build muscle.

Here are a few pieces of information that will help:

• You need to train legitimately hard to build muscle. That means lifting within 1-3 reps of failure on each and every set.
• Your diet needs to support your goals as well. To build muscle, you should probably eat in a slight calorie surplus with adequate protein.
• And sleep is where the majority of your gains actually happen. Try to get between 7-9 hours of sleep on a regular basis to see consistent progress.

Building muscle is a process. You have to stack consistent days on top of each other. The more you’re able to be consistent with doing those three things I just listed, the more success you’ll have.

And if you can pair those with the following three exercises, you’ll be on your way to building bigger, more defined biceps!

Exercise No. 1: Barbell Curls

The first exercise is the barbell curl.

You can do this with a traditional barbell, or an EZ curl bar (pictured above). Choose whatever feels best on your elbows and wrists, and whatever helps you feel your biceps working the most.

The barbell curl presents the best opportunity to implement progressive overload. You’ll be able to curl more weight with a barbell than any other type of exercise, and you should be able to add weight to this exercise more easily over time.

And research shows that the heavier you lift, the more your biceps will be activated. So a barbell curl is a no-brainer.

Form and technique:

• Grip the bar right around shoulder width.
• Think about swooping it out and up to start each rep.
• Squeeze your biceps at the top of each rep.
• Lower the weight back down under control.

If building your biceps is your priority, then do this at the beginning of one of your workouts when you’re fresh and have a ton of energy. Lift in the 6-10 rep range.

Exercise No. 2: Incline Curls

Incline curls are up next, and this exercise will help you focus on two really important and impactful aspects of curling.

The first is supination, which means rotation your hand and wrist when you curl. Think about curling the weight up and leading with your pinky, almost trying to touch your pinky finger to the front of your shoulder with each rep.

Curling with dumbbells allows you to lift a bit more freely, and you can focus more intentionally on how your biceps assist with rotating your hand.

Additionally, incline curls will bring your arms back behind your torso slightly at the bottom of each rep, which will increase the amount of tension on your biceps throughout each rep.

And the more tension you’re able to apply to any muscle, the better chance you have of stimulating muscle growth.

Form and technique:

• Set the bench at a relatively high incline. Typically the first or second notch on the adjustable bench will work perfectly.
• Focus on curling the weight forward and up, finishing each rep up near your shoulders.
• Control the weight on the way back down, and feel a stretch in your biceps at the bottom before starting your next rep.

This exercise can be done in a slightly higher rep range than the barbell curls. Anywhere in the 8-15 rep range is great.

Exercise No. 3: Hammer Curls

The last of the best exercises for building your biceps is the dumbbell hammer curl.

This exercise typically allows you to lift a bit heavier than you would with a traditional dumbbell curl. Taking a neutral grip tends to be a stronger position for most people.

Hammer curls have been shown to have high biceps activation, and also high engagement of the brachialis muscle. This muscle runs underneath your biceps muscles, and it is the strongest elbow flexor.

So the stronger you can make this muscle, the more weight you’ll be able to curl, and in turn the more you’ll be able to stimulate the biceps and build muscle.

Form and technique:

• Stand with the dumbbells at your side with a neutral grip.
• Think about swooping your arm out and up to start each rep.
• Squeeze your biceps muscles at the top of each rep.
• Lower the dumbbells back down under control.

This can once again be done in a slightly higher rep range. Anywhere from 8-15 reps per set is perfect.

The Best Exercises to Build Your Biceps: Avoid Common Mistakes

Curling weight seems like such a simple concept, and it is. But surprisingly, biceps training involves some of the most common training mistakes.

I want you to avoid those mistakes so that you can maximize your muscle growth, so let’s break down a few things you need to avoid.

Mistake No. 1: Ego Lifting

When you read the words “ego lifting,” you can probably picture what I’m about to describe. You’re seeing that dude in a tank top at your gym who does a full-body squat + back raise to do barbell curls.

He’s probably screaming while he does it, too.

And it’s nonsense.

It’s common to try and use momentum when you’re attempting to curl heavy weight. And while a little bit of momentum is fine, you need to avoid throwing your entire body into the movement.

Because when you have to heave your entire upper body up and down to curl, you’re taking a ton of tension off your biceps. And that’s obviously not going to help you build bigger arms.

Try to practice proper form and technique and limit momentum as much as possible. Research actually shows that the more mindful you are about the feel of the exercise, the more muscle you can build.

Mistake No. 2: Curling Straight Up, Instead of In An Arc

You may have noticed I said to “swoop it up” and “curl forward and up” a number of times in the exercise descriptions above.

That’s because your biceps assists in raising your arm up. So if you bring your arm forward slightly, you can work the muscle more effectively.

Try to avoid just bending your elbow up and down. You’ll see a lot of people curling dumbbells, looking almost like they’re running. Just pumping their arms up and down.

That’s not going to help you build your biceps. You’ll be leaving a lot of growth on the table.

A helpful cue can be to bend your elbow and flex your biceps without moving your upper arm. Do this without any weight.

You’ll notice you can feel a slight squeeze on your biceps muscles.

Then slightly bring your arm forward while continuing to squeeze the muscle. You’ll notice that the contraction gets stronger, and this is a great example of why you should curl in a slight arc.

Mistake No. 3: Dropping the Weight After Curling It Up

For this third and final mistake, I’d like you to cue up Tom Petty’s “Free Falling.”

Because this is maybe the most common. You put tons of effort into curling the weight up, and then you completely abandon the second half of the movement.

When you drop the weight, you’re only doing half the work. Your biceps are not only involved in curling up, but they are involved in lowering the weight back down.

Think about resisting the weight on the way back down. This will actually lead to an increased potential for muscle growth.

The Best Exercises to Build Your Biceps: How Often Should You Train?

We’ve covered a lot of ground to this point. Now you know:

• How your biceps work.
• How to build muscle.
• The top three exercises to build your biceps.
• Three major mistakes you should try to avoid.

Now let’s talk about how much you should train, because that’s what will really bring all of this information together.

For most people, doing somewhere between 10-20 hard sets per week for each muscle group. “Hard sets” means you’re legitimately pushing yourself. You should be lifting within 1-3 reps of failure on each and every set.

Admittedly, 10-20 sets is a wide range. So here’s how to figure out how much you should lift, based on your experience level.

1. If you’re a beginner, start near the bottom end of that range (10 sets).
2. If you’re an intermediate, you can start in the middle of that range (~15 sets).
3. More advanced lifters can push it towards the top end of that range (as many as 20 sets).

And also take into account that some exercises will train your biceps without you even thinking about it.

For instance, a lot of rowing and pulling exercises will engage your biceps, even though your back muscles are considered the primary movers.

Several studies have found chin ups, pull ups, seated rows, and inverted rows (among others) to engage the biceps.

Some of your biceps work can, and probably will, include exercises that don’t directly target that muscle.

Figuring this type of stuff out is where hiring a coach can be really beneficial.

Example Workout Plan to Build Your Biceps

So now you know EVERYTHING.

Literally EVERYTHING you need to build your biceps.

So let’s map out an example workout plan!

To be clear, I’m not a big fan of templates. There’s really not one plan that works great for everybody.

So please, view this as more of a concept, as opposed to an exact training plan. This is one way you could structure things.

It’s not THE ONLY way for you to structure things.

The majority of my clients train around four days a week, so we’ll go with a four-day training program specialized for building your biceps.

Sample Workout Plan
Day 1: Upper Body, Biceps Focus. This day will be full of upper body exercises, but we’re focusing specifically on your biceps. It’s the first workout of the week, so you’re fresh. Let’s put all of that energy into the best biceps workout possible! • Barbell curls: 3 sets of 6-10. • Incline curls: 4 sets of 12-15. • Additional upper body exercises. • Finish the workout with hammer curls: 4 sets of 8-10.
Day 2: Lower Body Day. No biceps training. Allow your arms to recover while training your lower body.
Day 3: Upper Body. This is a more comprehensive upper body day, with exercises added in for the biceps. • Start with exercises for the chest, shoulders, triceps, and back. • Add incline curls at the end: 3 sets of 8-12.
Day 4: Lower Body Day. Once again, we’re primarily letting the upper body recover. Between biceps specific exercises and other pulling and rowing movements, you’ve trained those arms enough! Time to recover.

I Hope This Helped!

Thanks for reading this article! Hopefully it helped you get a better idea of how to effectively train your biceps and what exercises are going to get you the most bang for your buck.

If you’re interested in coaching to get customized help with exercises for every muscle group, head over to my coaching page to learn more.

I work with people all over the world to build muscle, burn fat, and get healthy with fitness and nutrition.

~ Chris