Overview
Effective biceps training involves targeting the two heads to some capacity.
These are the short and long heads, in descending order of size.
The biceps is involved in elbow flexion and to a lesser extent forearm supination and shoulder flexion.
Because of this biceps training should generally be thought of as one primary motor pattern – elbow flexion. However it can be further divided into mid-range biased, lengthened biased and shortened biased exercises.
Biceps are also tied together with forearm training; in many scenarios these can be grouped together and potentially considered one and the same.
Prescription
Minimalist
An absolute minimalist approach means 1 movement ‘slot’.
In this case if we can only 1 motor pattern, there’s a clear winner:
- Arm-supported curl
Moderate
If we have more resources to expend on the muscle group, it is of course the preferred approach.
In this case the movement slots would look like this:
- Arm-supported curl
- Elbow behind torso curl
Maximalist
This is the approach if we are throwing everything at the kitchen sink. Use sparingly either if you are in a plateau or looking for a specialisation phase.
Here the movement slots might look like this:
- Arm-supported curl
- Elbow behind torso curl
- Elbow by torso curl
Standout exercises
Arm-supported movement
EZ Bar Preacher Curl
- There’s little doubt if you’re going for a singular exercise this is the way. We get the stability of the pad, most of the free motion benefits of a free weight as opposed to a machine, the biceps are taken through a near full ROM, and it is perfect for overloading and progression.
1-arm DB Preacher Curl
- A worthy alternative if the EZ bar is taken or just looking for variation.
Elbow behind torso curl movement
1-arm DB Incline Curl or variations
- This can be done standing with your back against the bench at the steepest incline, then curling one arm at a time. Or seated at a more moderate incline, and curling both arms at the same time. Both are great and should be alternated throughout the months and years, though if pressed I’d start with the first option.
1-arm Cable Curl
- Specifically facing away from the cable, with your elbows behind your torso. Also known as a Bayesian Curl, this can be done with one or both arms.
Elbow forward curl movement
Cable Squat Curl
- In a squat position, use a dual cable stack to curl, focusing on the contraction in the shortened position.
1-arm Cable Concentration Curl
- In a bent knee staggered stance standing position, curl diagonally up.
Elbow by torso curl movement
Traps are generally a beefy muscle group that needs to be hit with a lot of force or a lot of load, or both.
Standing Barbell Curl
- A great option in general, and the wrist position makes this more biceps than brachialis. Remember that we generally want to pepper in lots of small differences in angles and stress with our exercise selection. So if you’ve got an EZ Bar Preacher and a DB Incline, this may automatically be your best option at that time for that cycle.
Standing EZ Bar Curl
- Functionally very similar to the barbell but with less wrist strain, trading some bicep involvement for brachialis.
Standing 1-arm DB Curl
- A solid alternative and some form of unilateral work should definitely be in your arsenal.
Execution
It’s hard to go terribly wrong with biceps, to be honest. Perhaps the only thing to be mindful of is elbow position.
Make sure some of your work has your triceps and elbow resting on a preacher pad or incline bench. Brace with the entire body, press down hard onto the pad, and just curl. Your elbows are in front of your torso here.
With lengthened-biased work, uni-lateral versions is particularly effective. Your elbows are behind your torso here.
With the free standing movements, use a bit of momentum here to get that balance of enough load to provide an overloaded eccentric while not entirely losing the mind muscle connection. Your elbows start to the side of your torso here. Whether you arc up a bit or keep it tucked to your side is pretty irrelevant, both are good.
Programming
Reps, tempo, sets, rest times
Biceps, like triceps, are fairly straightforward.
Intensifiers and volume
Arm-supported curls. Generally keep these as straight sets with partial reps at the end. A mechanical drop set can also be done by picking up the same bar and continuing with free standing curls.
Elbow behind torso curls. Keep these as straight sets perhaps with an occasional iso hold.
Elbows by torso curls. These are ripe for mechanical drop sets. Start with full ROM curls with elbows arcing up, then elbows glued to the side, then drag curls (elbows behind torso), then cheat half reps with a hip hinge.
Sequence
As always the standard rule with a muscle group with multiple exercises in a session is shortened-biased first, midrange-biased second, lengthened-biased third.
This pretty much applies dead on for biceps, with the addition that if you’re training forearms always sequence that right before biceps to fully warm-up the joints.