The bicep muscles are the muscle flexed most often to demonstrate your strength and progress you have made in the gym. The biceps brachii muscle consists of two heads: the long head and the short head. The long head is located on the outer portion of the upper arm, and the short head on the inner portion of the upper arm. Include exercises in your bicep workout targeting both the long and short heads to build a great bicep muscle.
Barbell Curls
Barbell curls are a staple of bicep workouts. They allow you to curl a lot of weight to help build overall mass throughout the biceps brachii and brachialis muscles. However, it is essential not to use too heavy of a weight so that you are unable to curl the weight throughout its entire range of motion without using your back or momentum to curl the bar. Using an underhand grip, place your hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart on the barbell. Keeping your elbows close to your side throughout the movement, curl the bar up to your chest, then slowly, with control, lower the bar back down to starting position and repeat for three sets of 6 to 10 repetitions.
Hand Placement
Altering your hand placement on the barbell can focus the muscle emphasis more the long or short head. Using a wider hand placement works the short head, and a narrower hand placement works the long head, notes Frederic Delavier, author of "Strength Training Anatomy." Changing your hand placement every other workout, or within each workout, is one way to help create balance in your biceps. An example for barbell curls might be performing one set of each hand placement -- standard, narrow, wide -- for two sets each of 10 repetitions.
Long Head Exercises
Although many bicep exercises will hit both heads of your bicep muscle, you might wish to focus your training on one particular head to correct a weakness, or to isolated a particular area. Perform your isolation exercises after completing your heavier exercises that target the entire muscle, such as barbell or dumbbell curls. Dumbbell preacher curls and hammer curls -- using either a dumbbell or low-pulley cable machine with a rope attachment -- will place extra muscle emphasis on the biceps brachii long head. Perform three sets of 10 to 12 repetitions for one or both exercises.
Short Head Exercises
Targeting the short head of the inner portion of your biceps requires that your hands be placed greater than shoulder width apart. Exercises include barbells or cable curls, using a wide hand placement and keeping your elbows tucked into your sides when executing the movement. Furthermore, performing a dumbbell preacher curl with your upper arm resting on top of a stability ball will stress more of the biceps brachii short head, notes Amanda Vogel of "Oxygen" magazine. Complete two or three sets of 10 to 12 repetitions.
References
- ExRx.net: Biceps Brachii
- "Strength Training Anatomy"; Frederic Delavier; 2001
- ExRx.net: Dumbbell Preacher Curl
- "Oxygen" magazine; "Three Weeks To Your Ultimate Arms"; Amanda Vogel, MA; March 2011
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