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[bgptbull81]

The Many Bicep Workouts To Choose From

In choosing among the various bicep workouts recommended by trainers and bodybuilders, it's helpful to know a little about the anatomy of the muscle itself. The biceps are among the rock stars of bodybuilding muscles, and as such, are symbols of strength, power, and masculinity. The anatomical term for the biceps (biceps is both singular and plural) is the biceps brachii, and this muscle is located on the front of the upper arm. The biceps brachii originates in the shoulder blade, and is attached by a tendon to a bone in the forearm. As such, its primary function is to bend the forearm towards the upper arm. Besides providing us with a lifting and pulling capability, the muscle also enables us to turn the palm of the hand upward and forward, technically referred to as supination of the forearm. It is the combination of these two functions, the bending of the forearm and the turning the palm upward, that results in the powerful pulling capability we have. Because of its origin in the shoulder blade, or scapula, the biceps also functions to stabilize the shoulder when a heavy weight is being carried by the arm.

Even if your goal is one of "bulging biceps”, there are other muscles which deserve attention as well, as a part of any bicep workouts. The brachialis muscle, which lies beneath the biceps, is actually the more powerful of the two, plus when developing one muscle or set of muscles, it is always a good idea to work on the complementary muscles as well. In the case of the biceps, the complimentary muscle is the triceps, located opposite the biceps, on the lower side of the upper arm.

Not Every Exercise Is The Same - There are a number of exercises you can put to use in bicep workouts, and we'll look at a few of the more well known of these. On the surface, many of them seem to be doing the same thing, just exercising the biceps. Looked at more closely, you'll notice first that the position of the hands and wrists, in holding dumbbells, a barbell, or a cable handle, may change from exercise to exercise. This brings different muscles into play, and in addition each exercise works the biceps slightly differently. You can work on a muscle, and with a slight adjustment in grip or body position, work that muscle completely differently, which is what you want to do to receive the greatest benefit from your workout. At times, simple changes in the way you position your hands and wrists, whether you are sitting, lying flat, lying on an incline bench, or standing, will bring other muscles or muscle groups into play. In bicep workouts, you don't want to just isolate the biceps. You do some of that to build and sculpt the muscle, but you want to work muscles that work with the biceps as well. This includes not only the very important triceps, but muscles in the back.

Let's look at a few bicep workouts with dumbbells, with a barbell, using a cable or strap, and for good measure, throw in some chin ups. Some of these are no doubt better than others, but they will all work for you. A professional body builder or personal trainer may well have half-a-dozen "best" exercises, and there's nothing wrong with that. You probably don't need to do each and every variation. Just pick some designed to give you a total workout.

Bicep Workouts With Dumbbells -There are a dozen or more bicep workouts using dumbbells which, on the surface, may appear not to be too different from one another. In each of these, the exercise is started with the arms hanging down from the shoulders and then the dumbbells, alternating or together, are curled up towards the shoulder. Your muscles will be worked slightly differently depending upon your body position, be it standing, on an incline, etc. Your muscles will also be worked differently depending upon the action of your wrists. In most dumbbell curl exercises, you start with the palms hanging at your sides and facing inward, and as you curl the dumbbell towards the shoulder you twist the wrist so that your palm faces outward. This is called "supinating". This is typically done when doing alternating curls (while standing), concentration curls (while sitting), and dumbbell curls when lying flat or on an incline. Another method, hammer curls, are so named because instead of supinating the wrists during the curl, the wrists are kept locked. Hammer dumbbell curls are done either by curling both arms simultaneously, or alternating the arm movements. A third type is known as the Zoltman dumbbell curl. In the Zoltman curl, as you raise the dumbbells up, you rotate your wrists palms up as if you were lifting something with an underhanded wrist position. As you reach the top of the curl, your wrists rotate so that your palms face outwards as you lower the dumbbells back to your side.



Bodybuilders will tell you that a dumbbell exercise is the best way to build your biceps. You just need to be aware of which one that person is thinking of. A note of caution: If you are just starting out, don't use dumbbells heavier than you can easily manage. Your biceps will get larger in good time. Using lesser weights decreases your chance of injuring yourself, always a possibility with free weights when you are using too much weight. You might consider starting out using a barbell rather than dumbbells, as the barbell gives you more stability and tends to constrain your arm movements to those intended.

Bicep Workouts With A Barbell - As is the case with dumbbells, exercises with barbells all involve curls, that is, curling the forearm up towards the shoulder. Unlike dumbbell curls, the wrist will not be supinated during the curl, nor can you alternate arms, but by using a reverse grip, holding the barbell palms down, you can exercise the biceps differently. In addition, your muscles are exercised differently with a wide grip on the barbell than when using a narrow grip. Another variation is to use the EZ bar (the bar has bends) or, using a palms-down reverse grip, lift and curl a barbell weight rather than the barbell itself.

Bicep Workouts Using A Cable Or Strap - If you are doing curls using a cable, in several of the exercises you will work your muscles with a greater range of motion and with a greater degrees of freedom than you can with dumbbells or a barbell. In a two arm cable curl for example, you will be curling your biceps with your arms first extended outwards to your sides, giving your muscles a completely different type of motion. This could be done with dumbbells, though standing and using a cable gives you much more stability, and this particular exercise could not be done with a barbell. In fact, all of your cable-based biceps exercises tend to work back and sometimes abdominal muscles as well, giving you a more complete workout. An alternative to several of the cable exercises is to use a rubber strap, standing on the strap (which has handles) and curling your arm up towards your shoulders.

Last, But By No Means The Easiest - One of the best bicep workouts you can include in your regimen is the good old-fashioned chin-up. Here your body weight is what is being lifted, and chin-ups can be a bit frustrating if you are unable to do a single one at first. That simply means you have some work to do. As you progress you'll be able to measure your progress, at least in terms of muscle strength, by how many chin-ups you can do in a single set. The chin-up is an exercise we are sometimes reluctant to do when others are looking on. No matter how many you can do, you get the feeling that everyone else can do more.

It's Only The Biceps, But Don’t Forget To Breathe - No matter which muscle group you are exercising, you will gain much more from your workouts if you breathe properly, and bicep workouts are not exception. There isn't too much to remember here, but you will need to remind yourself to breathe properly at times. Always inhale through the nose. You can exhale through either the nose or mouth, the latter tending to be easier and more natural during a strenuous workout. Also breathe deeply, from your stomach and not from your upper chest. For all of the biceps exercises, take an initial inhale breath, then exhale when you curl your arm towards your shoulder, and inhale when you return the arm and the weight to the starting position. That's all there is to it, but it's important to do.