More Bicep Exercises

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.