Beginners' guide to a complete bicep workout

Everyone wants amazing biceps, but it’s easy to get confused about the right weight and right exercises to build them up. Building biceps is a science. You need to hit the right muscle, gain strength and keep at it.

First things first. To find the right muscle, try this: place a finger on the front part of your upper arm, and bend your elbow. Feel the muscle shifting? That’s your bicep.

Biceps are one of the major muscles in our arms. We use them for a variety of tasks, from lifting objects to kneading dough in the kitchen and even while driving. Strengthening them naturally helps us accomplish heftier tasks and look good, too.

Before we launch into bicep exercises you can try with very basic equipment, a quick set of things to keep in mind. Please do these exercises in the presence of a trainer who can correct your posture and guide you on how to increase the weights gradually so that you challenge your muscles just enough. Remember to do mobility exercises such as rotating your shoulders, making big circles in the air with your hips, stretching your arms — biceps and triceps — and legs, for five minutes before every workout. Follow this with a 1-minute warm-up. You could jog on the spot, squat, do lunges or jumping jacks, whatever you prefer.

Now, let’s begin:

1. Straight Bar Bicep Curl: This will warm-up your muscles and give you a headstart to begin your biceps workout. In this exercise, you will be training both arms simultaneously and evenly.

Equipment required: 1 straight barbell

Sets & reps: 3 sets of 15 reps each

How to do it:

• Select a weight that you’re comfortable with. It’s perfectly okay to start with just the rod and incrementally add small weights as you get stronger. Remember, it’s better to work out a little bit every couple of days than to work out too much on one day and then take the rest of the week off.
• Stand right in front of a barbell. Bend from the knees. Grip the barbell firmly with both hands (palms facing away from the body), but leave your thumbs loose.
• Your grip should be according to the muscles you want to focus on. For example, if you want to target the inner part of your biceps, hold the barbell wider (about hip-width apart). To target the external muscles of your biceps, hold the barbell with a gap of six inches between both hands.
• As you stand up straight, let the barbell come up to hip level - don’t raise your arms yet; this should happen naturally as you stand up.
• Now, tighten your core as you bend your arms at the elbows to bring the barbell up towards your chin. Make sure your elbows remain close to your side waist throughout. Squeeze your bicep muscles and hold for 2 to 3 seconds, then slowly bring the barbell down to hip level. This is one rep.

2. Alternate Dumbbell Curls: Alternate dumbbell curls directly target your biceps. Whether your fitness goal is to achieve bulkiness in your muscles or to lose weight by toning up, this exercise is for you. You can do this exercise standing up or sitting down—although experts suggest doing it in standing position because it will also strengthen your core.

Equipment required: A pair of dumbbells

Sets & reps: 3 sets of 15 reps each

How to do it:

• Take dumbbells in each hand and stand straight with your feet slightly apart. Keep your core tight by sucking in your belly button. Your elbows should be fully extended and close to your body.  
• Now starting with your right hand, slowly pull the dumbbell upwards while squeezing your bicep and hold for 2-3 seconds at shoulder level.
• Now slowly bring the dumbbell down to the starting position. Make sure you don’t just drop the arm but bring it down in a controlled movement.
• Repeat the steps with your left arm. This is one rep.

Tip: Lift a lighter weight if you are just starting your fitness journey, or if you are working out after a long break. For example, start with 3 or 5 kg, and gradually work your way up to heavier weights.

3. Concentration Curls: An old-school move, concentration curls can give you great results. Unlike standing curls and chin-ups, which focus on two or three different parts of your body, this exercise concentrates exclusively on your biceps.

Equipment required: 1 dumbbell (2.5kg to 7.5kg)

Sets & reps: 3 sets of 15 reps each

How to do it:

• Sit on the bench, with your feet more than hip-width apart. Use your right hand to pick the dumbbell up. Your arm should be straight, between your legs and not touching the ground. Put your other arm behind your back.
• Bend your right elbow to curl the weight upward while contracting the biceps—only your forearm should move. Squeeze your biceps till the dumbbell reaches shoulder level.
• Complete the repetitions on this side, before doing the exercise on the other arm. This is one rep.

Tip: Do not swing your arms at any point.

4. Biceps Curls with Resistance Band: If you don’t want to spend a bomb on gym equipment, a resistance band is perfect for doing exercises such as reverse biceps curls, preacher curls and standing hammer, etc. Here’s one way to use the band for your biceps.

Equipment required: 1 resistance band

Sets & reps: 3 sets of 15 reps each

How to do it:

• Stand on the band, with your feet hip-width apart
• Now, take the grip of each handle in your hand. Bend your elbows and squeeze your biceps to pull the ends upward.  
• Hold for 2-3 seconds, then slowly come back to the starting position.  
• This is one rep.

Tip: Keep your back straight, chest up and core tight.

5. Close-Grip Chin-ups: Close-grip chin-ups are almost like wide-grip pull-ups or chin-ups, but this exercise targets your biceps instead of the lats in your middle and lower back. For this exercise, you will only need a place where you can hang just above the ground level, like on an overhead hanging bar or a monkey bar in the playground.

This is an advanced workout. It’s advisable to stop at step 1 if you’re a beginner. As you get more comfortable with the hold, you can try a   reverse pull-up   before moving on to a full chin-up.  

Equipment required: Hanging bar

Sets & reps: First set 15 reps

Second set 12 reps

Third set 10 reps

How to do it:

• Stand on a bench. Get an underhand close grip (six to eight inches apart) on the bar. Let your arms extended fully, making sure your toes don’t touch the ground—this will warm up your body by stretching your muscles.  
• Now, pull yourself upwards until your chin goes above the bar. Pause here for 2-3 seconds before slowly coming down—do not relax your grip.

Tip: Instead of focusing on your lat muscles, try to squeeze your biceps while going up.

To properly breathe during strength-training, inhale while lifting the weight and exhale while coming back to the starting phase.

Health articles in Firstpost are written by myUpchar.com, India’s first and biggest resource for verified medical information. At myUpchar, researchers and journalists work with doctors to bring you information on all things health. For more information, please read our article on   How to Tone Your Arms, Fast _._