These Exercises Will Help You Build Bodaciously Big Biceps

For big arms, you need big biceps. There’s no getting around it. You’re going to need to grow those guns to achieve that goal.

To get your biceps to the place you want, you need to attack the muscles with a particular focus. Sure, the biceps assist in plenty of movements, like pulling, that center other muscle groups, but you’ll get the most mileage out of isolation exercises that put all of your effort into one spot.

Your biceps are composed of two parts (remember your common prefixes—”bi” means “two”), a long and short head. But that’s not all you need to train. You should also aim to hit the brachialis, which lies beneath the biceps and helps to elevate the muscles, along with your forearms, which you’ll hit when you grip the weights.

Check out this video showcasing some detailed breakdowns of our top biceps exercises. All of these moves use dumbbells, which are the best tools to use when training the muscles thanks to the extended range of motion and control they provide compared to long, fixed weights like barbells, and the distribution of the weight on either side of the handle that kettlebells don’t offer.

For further training, here are 22 great moves that will also target your biceps.

The Big Biceps Building Exercises

Biceps Curls
3 sets of 10 to 12 reps

“If you want big biceps, the key to that is still the old school biceps curl,” says Men’s Health fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S.

Squeeze your shoulder blades, glutes and abs. Don’t flare out your ribcage and keep everything tight. Keep your upper arm as close to perpendicular to the ground as possible. Lock in your lats as you pull up. Try not to involve your shoulder and think of your arm as a lever. Also, don’t rock back and forth using your hips. To modify, get on your knees. As you curl up, squeeze your biceps and turn the dumbbells quickly towards the sky, getting it parallel to the ground. The more rotation, the more you’re torqueing and squeezing your bicep, leading to more growth. Lower with control, finding that parallel position with your dumbbells at the bottom. (Take your biceps curl to the next level with this MVP Level Up video.)

Spider Curls
3 sets of 10 to 12 reps

Spider curls are great because they minimize momentum.

Grab your weight bench and put it at a 45-degree angle. Your legs should be wide with your toes on the ground. Your chest should be high on the bench, almost off the bench. Squeeze your glutes and make sure you have tension in your back from your shoulder blades squeezed. As you curl up, rotate your pinky up. At the top of each rep, squeeze your biceps with a bit of forward rotation.

Hammer Curls
3 sets of 15 to 20 reps

The hammer curl is one of the best ways to train your brachialis, the muscle that lies between your biceps and triceps. Doing this helps push your biceps up and give them a nice 3-D look.

Fort his, only try to move at the elbow. Lock in the rest of your body. Starting with your feet, keep them shoulder width apart. Bend your knees and squeeze your glutes. Don’t rock at your hips. Tighten up your abs to prevent any momentum. Focus on keeping your upper arms perpendicular to the ground. Squeeze your biceps and brachialis as you lower back down with control. To modify, get on your knees.

Concentration Curls
3 sets of 8 to 12 reps

Concentration curls work to hit the peak of your bicep.

Don’t dig your elbow into your thigh. Instead, drop your upper arm and think of getting your tricep wedged against your thigh, keeping the upper arm fully perpendicular to the ground the entire time. Tighten up your core and shoulder blades to minimize momentum. Make a fist with your other hand as you curl up with control, focusing on working your bicep. At the top of the curl, squeeze your bicep.

Dumbbell Preacher Curl
3 sets of 8 to 12 reps

The dumbbell preacher curl changes the angle that hits your bicep.

To do it, anchor your armpit into the bench. With your legs, squat low and contract your glutes and core to prevent your from rocking during the curl. Squeeze your shoulder blades to protect your shoulder position. Keep your wrist in a nice neutral position. As you rep, keep your forearm off the bench. As your curl up, stop before your arm is perpendicular tot he ground, which will keep you working your biceps the entire time. Pause at the top of the curl for 1 second before lowering slowly.

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