If you want greater biceps, you must hit the muscles from different angles. Your brachii and brachioradialis must work hard in order for you to achieve attention-grabbing guns. You can accomplish this by varying your exercises, altering rep speed, weights lifted, sets completed, wrist rotation etc.
For strength, make sure you do 10 to 12 reps because that helps with muscle maintenance to keep your tendons strong. Alternate between faster and slower reps. Faster reps will help you do your workout quicker, if you're in a rush, while boosting your heart rate up and burning more calories. Slower reps rely on momentum less and allow you to use more muscle fibers.
Barbell Curl
This strength, isolation exercise will hit your biceps. Make sure you keep your body still and allow only your biceps to move the weight. Control the movement throughout the exercise.
- Stand upright and hold a barbell with a shoulder-width grip, with the palms facing forward, and your elbows close to your upper body.
- Curl the weight forward while contracting your biceps. Keep your entire body fixed and only allow your forearms to move.
- Continue moving the weight until your biceps are fully contracted and barbell reaches shoulder level.
- Hold at the top and squeeze your biceps.
- Do a controlled negative and repeat!
Concentration Curl
This curl targets your biceps and brachialis, but it also engages your traps, obliques, erector spinae and wrist flexors into the movement.
- Sit on a bench and grasp a dumbbell.
- Place the back of your upper arm on your inner thigh and lean into the leg to slightly raise your elbow.
- Raise the dumbbell to the front of your shoulder.
- Lower the weight until your arms is fully extended.
- Repeat with the other arm!
Preacher Curl
This isolated exercise will help you grow greater biceps and brachialis. Make sure that the back of your upper arm remains on the pad throughout this exercise for greater stability and better results.
- Sit on a preacher bench and place the back of your arms on the pad.
- Grasp a curl bar with a shoulder width underhand grip.
- Raise the bar until your forearms are vertical.
- Lower the bar until your arms are fully extended.
- Repeat!
Zottman Curl
This movement hits all your elbow flexors simultaneously and your biceps take the hit as you lift the weights. Rotate the wrist as you come up to help load up the function.
- Stand with your torso upright and hold a dumbbell in each hand. Make sure that your palms are facing each other.
- Hold your upper arms stationary as you curl the weights by contracting your biceps. Only your forearms should be moving. Rotate your wrist for a supinated grip. Continue the movement until the dumbbells are at shoulder level.
- Hold at the top of the movement and squeeze your muscles. Rotate your wrist during the squeeze so that you have a pronated grip with the thumb higher than the pinky.
- Slowly lower the weights back with the pronated grip.
- Rotate your wrist before you reach your thighs so that you return with a neutral grip.
- Repeat!
Cable Hammer Curl
This is another isolated strength exercises that hits your biceps by targeting your forearms and recruiting your delts, traps, and other muscles in the movement.
- Stand upright, grasp a cable rope with your palms facing inward, and place your arms straight down to the sides.
- Keeping your elbows to the sides, raise the rope forward and upwards until both of your forearms are vertical.
- Lower your arms until they are fully extended.
- Repeat!
Variations as simple as a wrist rotation or a change in resistance will allow you to target your muscles from new angles. Over time, this will result in more strength and hypertrophy. Use lighter weights for faster reps and aim for 10-12 reps. Use heavier weights for slower reps and aim to hold the contraction at the top of movement.
Incorporate these variations into your training routine and you'll see some great results, especially if you haven't tried some of them before. Being new to some of these variations will force your body to acclimate, and in order for it to do that, it will recruit your muscles and challenge them to get bigger to stand the pressure. So, challenge yourself to do new curls and you’ll have bigger guns sooner than you expect!