The bicep muscles, located on the front portion of your upper arm, control elbow and shoulder flexion and wrist rotation. The biceps are perhaps the most visible indicator of strength on your body and should be worked once or twice a week for maximum muscle growth. Work your biceps harder each week by adding weight or reps, and rotate your workout every 4 weeks to keep adequate stress on the muscle.
Standing Barbell Curl
The standing barbell curl is the most basic, and perhaps most effective bicep exercise out there, says David Robson, personal trainer and owner of Elite Physique Training Studio. To perform this exercise, stand and hold a barbell with your hands shoulder-width apart. Extend your arms down with your palms facing forward, and tighten your core muscles for stability. Exhale while you contract your biceps, and curl the barbell up towards your chest. Squeeze the muscle at the top, and slowly bring the bar back down to the starting position.
Standing Hammer Curl
Hammer curls add size to the biceps by working the brachialis elbow flexor. Stand with a dumbbell in each hand, and let your arms hang with your palms facing your body. Bend at the elbow to bring the dumbbell up without rotating your wrist, as if hammering a nail. Exhale as you raise the dumbbell, and inhale as you lower it to the starting position. Perform the motion with both arms at once or alternate between arms.
Incline Dumbbell Curls
Robson believes that incline dumbbell curls are runner-up in terms of mass-building potential. Sit on an incline bench with a dumbbell in each hand. Let your arms hang at your sides. Exhale and curl the dumbbells up and out, rotating your wrist towards your body, and bring the weights to your shoulders. Slowly lower the dumbbells to the starting position.
Dumbbell Preacher Curls
Preacher curls home in on the lower portion of the bicep muscle and elbow flexors to add fullness to the lower portion of the area. Sit at a preacher bench with a single dumbbell in one hand. Lean forward against the pad at your waist, and rest the arm with the dumbbell, palm up, on the slanted arm pad. Brace your body by placing your other hand at the top of the pad. Exhale while curling your arm up toward your shoulder. Inhale and extend the arm all the way out against the pad. Preacher curls can also be performed with a preacher bench placed in front of a cable tower.
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