Having big biceps indicates that you work hard at the gym. These muscles are smaller than others, but you can grow them with knowledge, time, and dedication with the help of biceps exercises. The bicep muscle flexes your elbow, which means that it plays a significant role in your hands’ movement. Increasing bicep size helps to carry heavy items with relative ease.
Developing stronger and bulkier biceps requires plenty of time and effort. You may think that all you need to do is curl, but there is a lot more to it than that. The biceps curl is not enough to develop beautiful and strong muscles. You need to perform certain biceps exercises to develop perfect muscle shape and strength. There is a myriad of exercises such as cable curl, chin-ups, and the bent-over row. All of these exercises have a different purpose but the same goal, which is to increase muscle size.
Top Biceps Exercises to Increase Muscle Size
Below, you will find some effective bicep exercises to increase muscle strength and size. You can choose exercises from this list and include them in your routine workout sessions:
1. Barbell Curl
The barbell curl is a popular and effective biceps-builder. This is one of the most beneficial bicep exercises for serious strength and size. If performed correctly, you can instantly notice an increase in size. Also, performing this exercise is simple and straightforward. Simply, add weights on a barbell, hold it in your hands, and lift it towards your chin. This will create tension in your biceps muscles.
2. Chin-Up
The chip-up is a serious muscle growth exercise. You can perform this exercise anywhere, in the gym or at the home. You can install a door-mounted bar in your home for the pull-up. The exercise also builds your back muscles. Since you lift your entire body with your biceps, this exercise has great results compared to other weight lifting exercises. Many lifters perform this exercise incorrectly by engaging their grip and shoulder muscles, which results in pain in their shoulders and wrists.
3. EZ-Bar Preacher Curl
This exercise creates tension in the biceps muscles. Unlike other exercises, the tension stays for a longer period, which results in excellent muscle growth. You need a preacher bench and an EZ-bar to perform an EZ-Bar preacher curl. The EZ-bar allows you to turn the hands inward, which makes the movement more comfortable. As a result, you will experience less tension on your wrist. What’s more, the exercise offers a different angle and targets a wide range of muscle fibers in the bicep.
4. Hammer Curl
The hammer curl develops thicker muscles and gives shape to the outer biceps and forearm muscles. You will just need regular dumbbells to perform this exercise. In this exercise, both the palms have to face each other. This type of position is comfortable and allows you to lift more weights. A palm-facing position or neutral wrist position offers a smooth range of motion.
5. Incline Dumbbell Curl
You have to lay down on an incline bench to perform this exercise. Incline dumbbell curls restrict body movement, ensuring other parts of the body don’t have to be involved. Since you are on your back, you have to exert pressure from your biceps to lift the weights. Furthermore, you get more range of motion as an incline dumbbell curl keeps your arms in the extended position. This exercise is highly effective because of extended muscle movement.
6. Facing-Away Cable Curl
You will need a cable tower to perform this exercise. While performing this exercise you have to stand between the cables while facing away from the tower. The movement and benefit of this curl are similar to the incline dumbbell curl. The extended stretch gives a longer range of motion. Furthermore, the cable’s resistance creates additional muscle tension throughout the movement.
7. Reverse-Grip Bent-Over Row
This exercise has a similar movement as a chin-up and stretches your back muscles as well, especially if you choose a supinated grip. You can increase weights on the barbell according to your strength. Since this exercise affects the biceps as well as back muscles, it improves overall muscularity.
8. Cable Curl
When people lift a barbell or dumbbell for curling, they often struggle to maintain balance. Since your movement is far from the body, you will need to be extra careful when it comes to your balance. It is a major reason why many people consider cable curls as an excellent alternative. The cables will pull you in the opposite direction shifting your midpoint. As a result, you can easily handle the weights. Furthermore, you can add different handles with the pulley to add variety to your exercise.
9. Concentration Curl
The greater the tension the better the results. That’s what concentration curls are all about. To perform this exercise you have to sit on the bench, place your elbow on the thigh, and curl the dumbbell. When you lift one arm at a time, your overall concentration will be at the same point. As a result, you can improve muscle strength and increase size. You can improve your curl movement through an isolated curling position. If you struggle to lift the weight, you can start with light weights and increase the weights eventually.
10. Cable Concentration Curl
You can replace free weights with cables to improve your muscle movement. Performing concentration curls with cables instead of free weights will help you add size and strength to your biceps.
Conclusion
If you want to increase muscle size, you should start with the exercises discussed in this piece. Initially, you should choose light weights for bicep exercises, but as you get used to them, you can add more. Keep in mind that you have to create solid contraction and tension in the biceps for effective results. If you don’t feel pressure in the biceps, you might be doing something wrong.
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