The Best Biceps Exercises

The biceps are a muscle that assist in elbow flexion and are one of the most sought-after muscles, aesthetically. Many people wish they had massive biceps with great peaks, but few know how to do it or even what exercises work best aside from the standard bicep curls. I'll list some of my favorite exercises for working the biceps brachii, brachialis, and brachioradialis, which are the main elbow flexors.

Incline Curl: The incline curl is a good exercise because your biceps start in a slightly stretched state, offering a greater range of motion than you would be able to achieve with standing curls. This position also makes it significantly harder to cheat, since you can't really move your upper body at all. This is my favorite biceps exercise because it builds mass the most quickly and is one of the most reliable ones. I recommend working in the medium rep range 6-10 when doing this lift.

Hammer Curl: The hammer curl works all three elbow flexors, including the biceps, brachialis, and brachioradialis. Most of the stress, however, is placed on the biceps and brachialis. I enjoy doing this lift in the incline position so I can get the benefits from both worlds. When doing this exercise make sure you maintain a mid-grip between supination and pronation and that you follow strict form if you're standing up. You should also work in the medium rep range for this exercise.

Preacher curl: I like preacher curls because they're difficult, but highly rewarding. This exercise will build mass around the bottom of the biceps because that's where the brachialis really shows, which is what the preacher curls work the hardest. This is because the elbow is forced to remain static, putting significantly more stress on the brachialis. After you've done preacher curls for a while, you'll probably begin to be able to do more weight with them than with normal curls. I like working in the 8-10 rep range when doing preacher curls.

When working your biceps, make sure that you don't overtrain. If you're not seeing results it could be because you're training too much or that your volume isn't high enough. Experiment and see what works best for you. It's hard to overtrain your entire body by just working your arms, so you'll probably only affect them. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time for recovery and that you go to the gym consistently. Mixing up your workouts can have great results, but remember that consistency is key - go to the gym at least two times a week, although three is generally preferable. Any more could result in over training. You should, however, only work your biceps once or twice a week.