5 Must-Do Exercises To Get Bulging Biceps

Every guy wants big guns. To be able to walk around in a sleeveless or short-sleeved shirt and catch an attractive woman glancing at your arms is quite the silent compliment. And while there is no magic training scheme that will improve the size of your biceps, mix and matching the basic movements will help get you there.

Because the biceps are a small muscle, don’t overwork them with a ton of sets. Keep it to hitting them once or twice per week (with at least 48 hours in between) and do 12-to-15 sets total each time.

Rep counts can vary but it is always best to use a weight that will allow you to do no less than 10 reps each set. If you implement drop down sets, then you can work until exhaustion and not have to count reps.

1. HIGH CABLE CURLS

These can be done together or one arm at a time and is a great movement to use as a warm-up or finisher. Squeeze it tight at the top of each rep to concentrate on the biceps peak. What makes these so effective is that you are working your biceps from a totally different angle that they are used to.

2. STANDING BARBELL CURLS

Probably the first exercise the majority of us ever did for bis and it still works. The key here is to keep your back straight, not swing the bar up and control it on the negative (way down). Some people choose to bend their elbows to lengthen the range of motion and this also gives you more time under tension by not resting the bar on your upper thighs in between reps. One mistake made by many with these is to load up the bar and swing the shit out of it just to say what your max lift is. That’s not going to help your arms grow and will probably result in an annoying lower back injury.

3. SEATED ALTERNATE DUMBBELL CURLS

These can also be performed standing and together instead of alternating each arm, but it is always a good idea to not repeat a similar exercise if you plan on doing standing barbell curls that day. Use the ‘pinkie-to-ear’ motion and keep the reps strict and not use your momentum.

4. PREACHER BENCH CURLS WITH AN E-Z BAR

Also know as Scott Curls from the man who invented them, the first-ever Mr. Olympia (1965, 1966), the late, great Larry Scott. Switch grips from close to wide on the E-Z (or Scott) bar and these really isolate the biceps by taking the shoulders totally out of the picture. Tuck your armpits at the top edge of the bench and keep your elbows dug into it.

5. CONCENTRATION CURLS

The most important aspect of this exercise is to NOT lean your elbow on your leg while performing a set, which most people do. Let your arm hang right in front of your leg/knee and control the weight without needing support from your body. All arm means all work on the biceps and more time under tension.