Sports Scientist Reveals On How To Get The Most Out Of Your “Bicep Curls, Forearms And Shoulders”

The bicep curl exercise is your simplest lift and an essential ingredient in your quest for titanic arms. For most, the dumbbell curl is where it all begins, and where the passion grows – we’ve all been there as a child, standing in front of our parent’s mirror, curling a bag from the weekly big shop. We’ve all flexed our arms pretending to be Rocky Balboa.

But our love for bigger biceps, built from bicep curls, is only half the story. What you really need to ask yourself is this: are you really making the most out of your dumbbell curls? We’ve got our doubts, “which is why we’ve enlisted the help of top sports scientist Ross Edgley and our fitness editor Andrew Tracey to help you make the most of your bicep’s best friend”.

With three variations on the classic exercise that’ll hit your arms like never before, we also advise on tempo and the importance of time under tension, all important factors that will get your arms bursting through your t-shirts in no time.

Time to start prepping the gun show.

Your Bicep Muscles

Before we get to the good stuff, it’s worth understanding a bit more about your arms and the muscles that make them up. The more you know, the easier it will be to work them, as the purpose will be much clearer.

Located on the upper arm, your biceps are made up of a “short head” and a “long head”, which work as a single muscle. The bicep heads begin at different places around your shoulder/scapula region, but they have a common insertion point on the elbow tendon, and together allow you to bend your arm at the elbow joint (crucial for flexing), as well as helping you to curl and pull weight.

How To Do A Classic Bicep Curl, Effectively

First and foremost let’s learn how to do a simple bicep curl. Because there’s more to it – if you are serious about building bigger biceps – than you think.

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Use a thumbless grip, advises Edgley. “Placing your thumb on the same side of the bar as your fingers increase peak contraction in the biceps at the top point of the movement,” he says. “Hold the weight at shoulder height for a brief pause, then inhale as you slowly lower back to the start position.”

3 Top Tips To Get More From Your Bicep Curls

Breathe: Make sure you breathe out as you curl all the way to the top. Squeeze your biceps, then inhale as you lower over a count of three. This will help control speed, ensure you are fully working the bicep, and improve focus.

Twist: One of the biceps’ primary functions is to supinate, or rotate, the forearm. To bring maximum muscle into play, embrace the twist. Start with the dumbbells at your sides, then turn your wrist to face the ceiling as you curl up.

Precision: Using lighter weights and isolating your biceps are smart ways to get extra work in without damaging your body. A bench prevents swinging. Kneeling in front of it, grab a light bar on the opposite side. Rest your upper arms on the bench and isolate your biceps, slowly curling towards your forehead. Squeeze, lower and repeat to failure.

Keep your shoulders away: Lots of people use their shoulders and rock their elbows. Keep your arms perpendicular to the ground and you force all the movement to occur at the elbow joint – one of the main functions of the bicep is to flex at the elbow.

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3 Most Common Bicep Curl Mistakes

Avoid these common pitfalls to ensure you’re gunning to grow and not just putting on a show.

Swinging: Using momentum might allow more weight to be lifted, but takes the focus away from the biceps. Keep your torso upright, braced, and still.

Dropping: Never drop the weight quickly from the top of the rep. If you don’t control the eccentric phase, you won’t get the most out of the move. Maintain tension throughout.

Dragging: Many will push their elbows back and drag the barbell up the body. It’s a movement that isn’t without merit, but it’s better to screw your elbows to your torso and picture them as hinges, following a controlled arc.

When To Do A Bicep Curl

Ideally, your bicep curls should be done at the end of a workout to specifically target the biceps after you have worked them through several compounds ‘pulling’ exercises (such as close-grip chin-ups). Alternatively, you could superset them with tricep dips to work your entire arm musculature.

Sets, Reps, And Rest

Whether you’re a gym noob or you’ve been pounding the weights for years we have a workout for you. Choose your difficulty.

Beginner

2 sets of 12 reps.
Suggested load: 70-75% of your one-repetition max.
90 seconds rest between sets.

Intermediate

3 sets of 8-10 reps.
Suggested load: 75-80% of your one-repetition max.
90 seconds rest between sets.

Advanced

4 sets of 8-10 reps.
Suggested load: 75-80% of your one-repetition max.
60 seconds rest between sets.

How To Emphasize Your Outer Bicep

Target your biceps brachii with the hammer curls. Hold the dumbbells with your palms facing your torso. “This targets both the outer biceps and the muscles in your forearms used to flex it at the elbow,” says Edgley.

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How To Supersize Your Shoulders

Simply perform your bicep curls lying down on a flat bench or on the floor next to a cable machine. “This will work your biceps brachii in a position they are unfamiliar with, while also taxing your front deltoids,” says Tracey.

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How To Work Your Forearms

Target your pronator muscles with Zottman curls. Perform a regular curl. Then, at the top of the movement, rotate the weights until your palms are facing forwards. Now slowly lower the dumbbells toward your thighs, stopping just short of fully extending your arms. Pause. Then turn your palms back to the starting position. And repeat.

“The rotation in the Zottman curl will train both the muscles of the biceps and of the forearms,” says Edgley.

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