The Best Bicep Exercises for Great Looking Arms

If you lift weights, odds are that sculpting stronger, more defined arms are at least somewhere on your fitness wish list. After all, even if you don’t want to stretch the limits of your shirtsleeves, biceps workouts can pay dividends far beyond the gym, giving you the kind of functional, real world strength that’s so important in everyday life.

But targeting this upper arm muscle effectively requires more than just endless curls. You’ll need a variety of exercises that challenge it in multiple ways from multiple angles.

That’s where this comprehensive guide comes in. Not only will you discover some of the best biceps exercises there are, but you’ll also learn how to perform them like a pro to maximize their effectiveness and optimize your results.

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Why Strong Biceps Are Important

Before we jump into the bicep exercises, it’s important to understand the muscle you’re targeting. 

Officially known as the biceps brachii, the biceps is one of the chief muscles of the upper arm. It has two heads (referred to as “long” and “short”) that attach to your scapula separately before converging into a single “muscle belly” and attaching to your upper forearm.

The biceps play a key role in many upper-body movements, especially those involving pulling and lifting (think: moving furniture, hauling luggage, picking up groceries, hoisting toddlers, etc.). Specifically, they’re responsible for flexing and rotating the forearm. That means that whenever you bend your elbow or turn your lower arm, you’re engaging your biceps.

Any exercise that requires you to flex your elbow will target not only your biceps, but also the other major muscle on the front of your upper arm, the brachialis. Located underneath your biceps, this muscle is actually more important to elbow flexion, but it’s not involved in rotation. Together, your biceps and brachialis help give your upper arm size, strength, and definition.

Best Biceps Exercises

1. EZ Bar Curl

Why it’s effective: Even if you’ve never heard of an EZ bar, you’ve likely seen one–instead of being perfectly straight, it has a “W” shape in the middle. Using this bar allows you to work both arms simultaneously, helping you lift heavier weights. It will also put less stress on your elbows than a straight bar.

• Stand with your feet hip to shoulder-width apart grasping the innermost grips of an EZ bar with the bar resting on your upper thighs.
• Keeping your back flat, chest up, and elbows tucked at your sides, raise the bar as high as you can toward your shoulders. 
• Pause, and then lower the bar back to the starting position.

2. Dumbbell Curl

Why it’s effective: The dumbbell curl works each arm independently, helping to eliminate muscle imbalances.

• Stand with your feet hip to shoulder-width apart holding a pair of dumbbells at arm’s length by your sides, palms facing forward.
• Keeping your back flat, chest up, and elbows tucked at your sides, curl the dumbbells as close as you can toward your shoulders.
• Pause, and then lower the weights back to the starting position.

3. Hammer Curl

Why it’s effective: The hammer curl not only targets not only the biceps and brachialis, but also the brachioradialis, another key arm muscle.

• Stand with your feet hip to shoulder-width apart holding a pair of dumbbells at arm’s length by your sides, palms facing inward.
• Keeping your back flat, chest up, elbows tucked at your sides, and palms facing each other, curl the dumbbells as close as you can toward your shoulders.
• Pause, and then slowly lower the weights back to the starting position. 

4. Chin-Up

Why it’s effective: The chin-up is traditionally considered a back exercise, but you wouldn’t be able to perform it without the help of your upper arms–particularly your biceps. That makes the chin-up one of the best all-around upper body moves there is. 

• Grab a pull-up bar with an underhand grip that’s slightly wider than shoulder-width and hang at arm’s length (a position known as a dead hang).
• Pull yourself up until at least your chin clears the bar, keeping your back flat and core tight.
• Pause, and then lower yourself back to a dead hang.

5. Concentration Curl

Why it’s effective: Concentration curls are a classic isolation exercise that forces you to focus on each arm individually, ensuring maximum muscle engagement.

• Grab a dumbbell in your right hand and sit on a flat bench with your legs spread apart.
• Rest your right upper arm on your right leg just behind your knee so that the weight hangs down between your legs. Keep your back flat and stabilize yourself by placing your left hand on your left knee. 
• Curl the weight as far as you can toward your shoulder. 
• Pause, and then lower the weight back to the starting position. 
• Do all of your reps, switch sides, and repeat. 

6. Single Arm Preacher Curl

Why it’s effective: Not only will you target each arm individually, but you’ll also be able to lift more weight thanks to the stabilizing effect of the bench. If you don’t have a bench you can easily perform the exercise in a standing position using an incline bench.

• Grab a weight in your right hand and sit at a preacher bench with your right upper arm on the pad. Extend your arm so that it’s straight with your palm facing up.
• Without moving your upper arm, curl the weight as far as you can toward your shoulder.
• Pause, and then lower the weight back to the starting position.
• Do all of your reps, switch sides, and repeat.

7. Incline Dumbbell Curl

Why it’s effective: Because you start with your arms behind your torso, this exercise forces you to work from a position where you have less leverage. The result: More emphasis on the long head of your biceps and a greater challenge overall.

• Grab a pair of dumbbells and sit with your back against an incline bench set to 45-degrees. Allow your arms to hang straight toward the floor with your palms facing forward.
• Without moving your upper arms, curl the dumbbells as far as you can toward your shoulders.
• Pause, and then slowly lower the weights back to the starting position.