The biceps are the muscles on the front of your upper arm that mainly are responsible for flexing, or bending, the elbow. For this reason, the curl, in all its variations, is the fundamental biceps exercise; however, the biceps muscles assist with other movements that involve the back muscles, such as rows and pullups.
Biceps Curls
The biceps curl has many variations and modifications. Use a barbell, cable machine, exercise bands or dumbbells to do the biceps curl exercise. With free weights, do the curl in a seated or standing position; with a cable or exercise band, do the exercise in a seated, standing or lying position. For the basic curl, keep your upper arms next to your sides. A preacher bench is an angled pad that supports your upper arms as you curl.
Supination Curls
During a basic biceps curl, your palms face up throughout the entire range of motion, but the biceps muscles also are involved in forearm supination -- rotating your forearm and moving your palm from a down to an up position. Start with your palm facing behind you and twist your forearm so that your palm faces up at the top of the curl. You also can do a partial supination. Start with your palm facing your body instead of facing behind you.
Back Exercises
Most back exercises work your biceps. When you perform a row, pullup or pulldown, you flex your elbow joint, which involves the biceps. The chinup exercise, which is a pullup using an underhand grip instead of an overhand grip, recruits your biceps more than a standard pullup. You also can use an underhand grip on the pulldown exercise to emphasize the biceps muscles. Incorporate back and biceps exercises together for a full biceps workout.
Considerations
The American Council on Exercise notes that if you pull your elbows forward slightly at the end of a curl, you will recruit the biceps more. This is because the biceps are involved in shoulder flexion, which is lifting your upper arm to the front of your body. Do not lift your elbows too far forward or you will emphasize your shoulders more than your biceps.
Do not rock your hips or flex your lower back when you do biceps curls. This minimizes the work of your biceps and reduces the effectiveness of the exercise.
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