What to Workout With to Get Bigger Biceps

Get tips on the best exercises to work your biceps, along with the necessary equipment needed to get the optimal results.

Warm-up

A warm-up is an essential part of any workout routine and is especially important when trying to build bigger biceps. It is important to warm up your muscles before beginning any workout as it helps increase flexibility, reduce the risk of injury and prepare your body for the workout. A good warm-up will also help to increase blood flow to your muscles, allowing for a more efficient and effective workout. In this section, we’ll explore the best exercises to use for warming up your biceps and how to get the most out of them.

Foam roll

Foam rolling is an effective warm-up technique to increase mobility and decrease the risk of injury prior to any physical activity. The foam roll can be used for self-massage, as well as corrective exercises to activate small muscles and move joints through their natural range of motion. Biceps in particular can benefit from foam rolling as it helps reduce tension on the muscles, improves range of motion and increases circulation prior to a workout.
    
When using a foam roll for the biceps, start at the shoulder joint and work along the entire length of the arm in order to target all underlying soft tissue. To correctly perform this exercise, place the foam roller at one half inch above your shoulder and slowly transport it down your arm with moderate pressure until you reach just below your elbow. As you move down your arm, you can take pauses as needed and/or arch over onto one side or another to engage different angles. Perform 5 repetitions at each interval along your bicep before continuing onto the next area. Add more time if needed if you still feel tightness in certain areas or movement limitations when reaching full extension of the elbow joint. Performing this exercise regularly will help increase mobility in your biceps, enabling them to perform better during weight training exercises or other resisted movements like cable curls or chin-ups — helping you achieve bigger biceps!

Dynamic stretching

Dynamic stretching is often used as part of a warm-up routine because it can help to increase flexibility and improve range of motion. It involves moving the body in an active way through a full range of motion. This type of stretching is important to incorporate before performing any type of workout, as it helps to prepare the muscles and joints for activity, while also reducing the risk of injury. It’s important to start with lower level activities, such as moving the arms in circles or through swinging motions. For increasing muscle size in the bicep area specifically, exercises such as reverse arm swings from side to side, crossed arm swings, bicep circles (using both arms together), and alternating elbow high fives (for higher intensity) are good options for dynamic stretches that can help increase strength and muscle size.

Compound Exercises

Compound exercises are a great way to build bigger biceps as they involve using multiple joints and muscles at the same time. They also improve your overall strength and athletic performance, plus they allow you to get more work done in less time. Let’s look at some of the benefits of doing compound exercises for bicep growth.

Barbell curl

Barbell curls are a great exercise for building bigger biceps and overall arm strength. This compound exercise is an effective way to target the biceps and build total-body muscle. To perform the barbell curl, stand with your feet shoulder width apart and grasp the barbell with both hands using an underhand grip, slightly outside shoulder width. Keeping your back straight and low, slowly curl your arms upwards as far as possible without bending your wrists or elbows outwards. Pause at the top of the motion and slowly lower to the starting position, ensuring that you keep full tension on the biceps throughout. For added intensity, grab a narrow grip for more intensity or perform this exercise in an alternating fashion (one arm at a time). Barbell curls can be done anywhere with little support needed; they are a great way to challenge yourself at home or in the gym!

Dumbbell curl

Dumbbell curl is a compound exercise that targets the biceps. It can be performed with one or two arms, or with alternate arms. When performing this exercise with two arms, the goal is to curl the dumbbells up in a controlled manner towards the shoulders, focusing on keeping the elbows close to your body as you perform each repetition.

The dumbbell curl can also be done with one arm at a time. This variation requires more balance and core strength than the two-arm version of the curls. Performing alternate arm curls (one arm curls up while one arm lowers) is another way to increase the challenge of this exercise.

In addition to targeting your biceps, dumbbell curls also engage other muscles in your arms and shoulders such as your forearms, triceps and trapezius muscles. To get even more out of this compound exercise, vary your grip (wide/narrow/hammer) and mixing up different styles (constant tension/superset). By building up strength in relevant muscle groups from different angles and using a variety of muscles together, you will get stronger faster when compared to just using basic isolated exercises for biceps alone.

Chin-ups

Chin-ups are a popular exercise for increasing muscle size and strength in the back and biceps. The motion of chin-ups consists of gripping a bar with an underhand grip, and then using your upper body to pull yourself up until your chin is just above the bar. This exercise can be easily modified by adjusting your hands to different positions on the bar, or by adding extra weight. Chin-ups target both the biceps and your lats (the large muscles in the back that connect to your arms) making them a great compound movement for developing muscular size and strength. Additionally, they can help improve overall athleticism and core stability as long as they are performed correctly with proper form.

Isolation Exercises

Isolation exercises are a great way to target and build bigger biceps. Isolation exercises focus on one muscle group at a time, meaning that more of the tension is isolated on the muscle that you are working. This form of exercise can also help to increase muscle activation and improve the shape of your biceps. Let’s have a look at what isolation exercises can be done in order to get bigger biceps.

Hammer curl

The hammer curl is an isolation exercise that targets the biceps, which are located on the front of the upper arm. This exercise can be done with a barbell, dumbbells, or resistance bands. The weight should be light enough to complete 10-15 repetitions while maintaining good form.

To begin, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold the barbell in both hands or a single dumbbell in each hand at arms’ length. Your palms should be facing your sides and elbows close to your sides. This is the starting position.

From this position, curl up simultaneously lifting both weights or bar towards your shoulders while keeping your elbows close to your sides and palms facing in. As you curl up squeeze your biceps at the top of the movement to get maximum benefit from this exercise. Hold for a second then lower them back down slowly to starting point and repeat for desired reps.

It is important to keep full control of the weight when curling up as well as when lowering them back down and keep proper form throughout the motion so that maximum benefit from this exercise can be obtained.

Reverse curl

One popular isolation exercise for developing bigger biceps is the reverse curl. It involves flexing the elbow to bring the hand up towards the shoulder while holding a weighted barbell or other type of grip. This exercise works both the brachialis and brachioradialis muscles in the forearm and should be done slowly, with a controlled motion, in order to maximize its effectiveness. Reverse curls are generally done with medium weights and you should aim for 8-10 repetitions. If you’re new to weight lifting, use a light barbell to practice keeping your elbows tucked in while curling until you become familiar with correct form before moving onto heavier weights. Make sure to warm up your arms properly before attempting this exercise by doing some light cardio or dynamic stretching (for example, arm circles). Proper form is key for avoiding injury and getting maximum results from your workouts!

Preacher curl

The preacher curl is an isolation exercise for the biceps. This type of exercise isolates the biceps muscle in order to maximize its growth potential. It can be performed with a barbell, an EZ bar, or a pair of dumbbells. The key to this exercise is to keep your elbows locked into position and to keep your back flat against the bench. To maximize results try and hold the position at the top of each rep; this will increase the time under tension on your biceps.

When performing preacher curls it is important to use proper form in order to see maximum results and prevent injury. Set up your bench with either a barbell or dumbbells making sure that it adjusts with you as you perform reps – this will ensure optimal range of motion throughout each repetition. Position yourself on the bench so that your elbows are firmly on the padding, make sure that you keep your shoulder blades pressed into the padding throughout each movement (do not let them lift off). Grip your weights either overhand or underhand and pull up, making sure that as soon as your forearms make contact with what they are curling, you pause and squeeze at top for a second before slowly controlling back down. Make sure you don’t lower all the way down too quickly; many repetitions should be counted by controlling both directions of motion on each rep. Repeat for desired number of sets/reps doing 3-5 sets for 8-12 repetitions if looking for hypertrophy (size gains).

Cool-down

After you’ve finished an intense workout, your body needs to cool down. This important part of your workout is critical for maintaining and improving muscle strength, restoring your body to a proper resting state and preventing injury. Cool-down exercises can involve stretching, light cardio, or even foam rolling. We’ll take a look at some of the best exercises for your biceps to cool down after a muscle-building session.

Static stretching

Static stretching is a type of stretching that is done without any significant movement. This type of stretching uses your body weight and gravity to stretch the muscles and improve flexibility. To perform a static stretch, position yourself in a comfortable stance and then with one hand pull the muscle being stretched until you feel a mild tension. Hold this position for at least 15 seconds and repeat 3-4 times on each side. Static stretching can be used to cool down after an exercise session or as part of an independent stretching program. It is important to avoid bouncing during this type of stretch, as it can reduce the effectiveness and even make you more prone to injury. Always listen to your body and take regular breaks when performing static stretches for optimum results.

Foam rolling

Foam rolling is an effective and simple way to cool down after a workout. It helps to break up tightness, relieves tension in the muscle fibers, eases stress on joints and it even increases blood flow which can aid the body’s natural healing process. Foam rolling works by pressing into the soft tissues around your muscles, ligaments and tendons with a foam roller or other similar physical therapy tool. This allows your body to ease tension and perform at its peak during and after exercise. For example when used as a cool down, foam rolling can help relax tight biceps that you’ve worked during your workout leading to improved range of motion and flexibility in the biceps muscle group. Make sure to gently roll over each area for 30-60 seconds at a time to maximize its effects before you move onto another area. Besides foam rollers, there are also tennis balls, lacrosse balls & yoga blocks that you can use as part of a cool down routine. This can lead to bigger, stronger biceps when combined with the right exercises based on your goals.

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