Of all the muscles in the body, few look more impressive than big biceps. Composed of a short head and a long head, the biceps are primarily responsible for arm flexion and contribute to any upper body movement that involves pulling. In order to fully train your biceps, all aspects of the muscle must be addressed.
Chinups
Overall, the single best exercise for training your biceps is the chinup. It involves using your biceps to pull your entire bodyweight over a bar and can sometimes exceed your own bodyweight if you add external resistance. According to EMG studies carried out by elite strength coach Bret Contreras, variations of the chinup and pullup were superior at activating the biceps even compared to traditional bicep exercises such as the barbell curl. For the vast majority of trainees, the chinup is the only exercise needed to sufficiently fatigue the biceps. It should make up the bulk of your bicep training regimen.
Wide-Grip Barbell Curls
For very advanced trainees who require more stimulation of their biceps than the chinup can provide, isolating the biceps through the use of single-joint exercises may be necessary. According to professional bodybuilder Peter Van Mol, in order to emphasize the short head of the biceps, the best exercise is the wide-grip barbell curl. The barbell curl will not fatigue the biceps as much as the chinup, but because it can emphasize the short head more effectively, it may be necessary for very advanced trainees who have one head of the bicep lagging.
Hammer Curls
In order to emphasize the long head of the biceps, Peter Van Mol recommends using the hammer curl. The hammer curl, which is done using dumbbells, is similar to a typical bicep curl except that the hands are facing each other using the same grip that would be used when lifting or lowering a hammer. These curls require more use of the outer portion of the biceps and can be beneficial for those who are lagging in that area.
Reverse Curls
Another exercise that may give an illusion of having bigger biceps is the reverse curl, which is effective for training the brachialis muscle. Although the brachialis is technically not one of the bicep heads, it also aids arm flexion and runs beneath the biceps, which means increasing its size will push the biceps up and make them appear bigger. To perform the reverse curl, lift the barbell in a similar fashion as you would during a barbell curl, but place your hands pointing downwards instead of upwards. This way, when you bring the barbell towards your chest, your hands will be facing away from your body instead of towards it.
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