Top 10 Biceps Exercises

By Dana Laurier

After their butts and their legs, most women want to have a pair of tight, firm arms. Building and shaping your biceps with the right biceps exercises is one of the many ways you can transform your arms and create a nice overall silhouette.

In order to see definition in your biceps, as with any other body part, you need to work it out at least once a week and perform each set to failure without using momentum.

Keep in mind that the biceps brachii (proper name for the muscle) are a small muscle group and if you overtrain them, your arms will feel shot and performing everyday tasks may become more difficult.

So while this is a top 10 list, you need not perform all 10 exercises in one workout. But because your muscles adapt to an exercise quickly, you may want to try some different biceps exercises every 6 weeks in order to keep making gains.

Here, now, are the top 10 biceps exercises.

Biceps exercises #10
EZ bar curls
An EZ Curl bar looks like a barbell but is designed with curvature at the hand grips to provide for different wrist positioning.

Stand with feet shoulder width apart and knees slightly bent. Place your hands on the innermost part of the curve and lift the bar toward your chest, keeping your elbows at your sides and your wrists locked throughout the rep.

Sets: 3
Repetitions: 8 to 12

Biceps exercises #9
Concentration dumbbell curls
Sit on the edge of a flat bench with your legs more than shoulder width apart. Grab a dumbbell with your right arm and place your elbow on the inside of your right knee, and keep your abs tight.

Start with your arm straight down, palm facing out. Lift the weight toward your shoulder slowly, hold for a second when you get to the top, squeeze your biceps and lower the weight back to the starting position.

Sets: 3 (Completing both arms counts as one)
Repetitions: 8 to 12

Biceps exercises #8
Lying cable curls
Place a straight bar on the bottom cable of the cable machine. Facing the cable machine, lie down flat and place your feet against the outer steel edges of the cable machine. With your palms facing up, curl the bar towards your chest.

Sets: 3
Repetitions: 10 to 12

Biceps exercises #7
Preacher curls
Sit on a preacher bench and place your arms shoulder width apart, ensuring that your arms are firmly pressed against the pad to your elbows. Your shoulders should be in a neutral position and not elevated. If they are, you need to adjust the height of the seat or the pad.

With palms facing up, grab the barbell and slowly lift it toward your shoulders, keeping your upper arm against the bench throughout the entire repetition.

Sets: 3
Repetitions: 10

Biceps exercises #6
Cable hammer curls
Place a rope on the lower part of the cable machine. With palms facing each other, grab the rope and pull the rope up toward your chest, ensuring that your elbows stay at your side throughout the repetition.

Try to keep your grip high up on the rope and your palms facing each other throughout the motion.

Sets: 3
Repetitions: 8 to 12

Biceps exercises #5
21s
Place your legs shoulder-width apart, keeping your knees soft. Keep your elbows firmly by your sides and with, palms facing up, pick up a barbell and lift it only until your arm is at a 90º angle. Lower it to the starting position and complete seven reps.

Immediately after you’ve done the first seven reps, your starting position will become the 90º angle and you will lift the barbell up to your chest. Repeat seven times.

Finally, your last seven repetitions will be the full range of motion, that is, you begin by holding the barbell at your thighs and lift it up toward your chest. Repeat seven times.

You’ve just completed 21 repetitions.

Sets: 2
Repetitions: 21

Biceps exercises #4
Angled dumbbell curls
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, knees soft, and hold a dumbbell in each hand. Lift one dumbbell up at a time and when you do, keep the palm of your hand as far away from your shoulder as you can as you lift, ensuring that your elbow remains at your side. Alternate arms with each rep.

Sets: 3
Repetitions: 10 (For each arm)

Biceps exercises #3
Reverse grips plate curls
Holding a plate with the tips of your fingers, both palms facing down, keep your elbows by your side and lift the plate toward your chest.

Sets: 3
Repetitions: 10 to 12

Biceps exercises #2
Cross body hammer curls
Holding a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing each other, lift one dumbbell at a time keeping your palm facing inward and lift toward your opposite shoulder doing your best to keep your elbows by your sides (if it’s impossible, use a lighter weight).

Sets: 3
Repetitions: 8 to 10

Biceps exercises #1
Chin ups
One of the most difficult exercises to do, lifting your own body weight is a goal you want to achieve. Not only is it important to be able to lift your own body weight, but it’s incredibly sexy when a girl can!

Grab the chin up (you may have to jump to reach it) with palms shoulder-width apart and facing you. Keeping your body as straight as you can, lift yourself up, bending your elbows until your head or chest touches the bar. Lower yourself slowly to the starting position and repeat.

If you’re unable to lift yourself at all, begin by placing a box under you so that you can jump up and start at the top (with your chest at the bar), and lower yourself down. When that becomes easy, try to do one rep, then two, and so on until you can complete an entire set.

Sets: 3
Repetitions: 8

Awesome biceps exercises

Remember that if an exercise is way too easy, you’re either using too light a weight or using momentum to complete the repetitions.

Keep blasting those biceps.