The biceps are a critical muscle in bodybuilding. They are the one part of your body that can really stand out to judges in a competition, and having big, well-defined biceps can give you a better chance of success. Train your biceps once every five to seven days, either on their own, or after another muscle group, such as your back or chest. Your biceps routine should be based around five muscle-building exercises.
Preacher Curls
There are two main parts of your biceps -- the long and short heads. According to Tim Henriques, Director of the National Personal Training Institute of Virginia, building the long head is vital if you wish to increase the size of your biceps peak. One of the best exercises to hit the long head is the preacher curl. To perform preacher curls, sit on a preacher bench with your arms over the pad. Start with straight arms and curl them all the way up to your shoulders. You can switch between dumbbells, barbells and cables for your preacher curls; make sure you use strict form on all your repetitions.
Incline Dumbbell Curls
Set a bench at an incline, hold a dumbbell in either hand and curl them up to your shoulders, while keeping your elbows tucked into your sides. Doing your curls on an incline bench helps you avoid the temptation to use body momentum to lift the weight and therefore places more focus on your biceps. Charles Poliquin, owner of the Poliquin Performance Center for elite athletes, advises changing the angle of the bench every six workouts, so your muscles don't adapt to the movement.
Concentration Curls
Concentration curls were a staple exercise of Arnold Schwarzenegger during his bodybuilding career. Sit on a bench and rest your elbow against the inside of your knee. Curl a dumbbell up using a slow tempo and hold for a count of two at the top, then lower it under control. Make sure you perform the same number of reps on each arm and focus on squeezing your biceps hard throughout the movement.
Chin-Ups
While often thought of as a back exercise, chin-ups also target your biceps. Use a narrow neutral or supinated grip, ensure that you start every rep from a dead hang and finish with your chin level with your hands. The main advantage chin-ups have for your biceps is that they allow you to handle much more weight than you could just doing biceps curls, so they provide further stimulus for muscle growth.
Thick-Grip Curls
Thick-grip training can be an extremely effective way to achieve new biceps growth. A thick-grip curl is any variation of a bicep curl done using a thick-handled bar. Most commercial gyms don't have thick-handled barbells or dumbbells, so you may have to improvise by wrapping a towel around the bar or purchasing a pair of thick grips. Strength coach Nick Tumminello advises changing all your barbell curls to thick-grip ones to help grow your biceps and forearms. You also can use thick-grip training on other exercises such as pullups and dumbbell rows, which will further challenge your biceps.
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