In this article we discuss the best bicep workouts / routines that work for us that only require dumbbells, exercise resistance bands or no weights at all. If you do not own exercise bands (cheapest) or dumbbells we recommend you get some. You can read our adjustable dumbbells reviews and also purchase resistance bands here. If you want bigger biceps then we recommend you do all these routines, but only two varities in a given day and only every other day to give your body recovery time. Your total number of sets should be 10-12 with 8-10 repetitions each where the last 3 repetitions burn and near exhaustion! We highly recommend you spend some time on our site and read other exercise reviews, best shoulder exercises, best ab exercises, best trap exercises, and kettlebell workouts.
1. Curls (Weightless, Dumbbell or Exercise Band)What is so amazing about so many different exercise packages is that the old exercises are always the ones that stand the test of time. This can be seen with so many different areas and it is perhaps most apparent with biceps because the basic curl is still the most popular and arguably most effective exercise that you can do in order to work your bicep.
The basic bicep curl involves starting with your hands at your sides into a fist with the palms facing in the same direction as the front of your body. From that rest position, slowly bring both arms up by bending at the elbow until your forearms are as close to your biceps as you can bring them, squeezing the muscles in the process. Hold momentarily and then release back to the rest position before repeating for 5-10 repetitions per set in total.
One of the best things about the bicep curl is that you can do them in a number of different environments and with a number of different resistance schemes. They are universally adaptable, allowing you to do them freehand with fists as mentioned above or alternatively with those fists grasping dumbbells or the handles of exercise bands. No matter how you decide to add resistance to your strength training, the bicep curl will allow you to do it easily.
2. Hammer Curls (Dumbbell or Exercise Band)The hammer curl is the second most effective exercise around for your biceps. Hammer curls involve the same basic movement as bicep curls, except the focus of the exercise is different. Instead of the palms facing forward in the rest position, you would instead leave the side of your fists facing outward. This means that the sides of your forearms would come up to meet your biceps instead of the wrist part of the forearm and that in turn changes the movement enough that different muscle groups are worked.
A lot of exercising is driven by convention and the convention with hammer curls is not to do them without some sort of resistance. You can probably still go ahead and do hammer curls freehand just as you would bicep curls, but it seems as though most of the professionals that do them get more out of the exercise technique if they are using some sort of resistance. For this reason, adding dumbbell or exercise band resistance is a good idea if you already incorporate one of those two ideas into your exercise routines.
Hammer curls are great for beginners that are looking to branch out and maybe get far more specialized in their bicep exercises. The reason for this is somewhat obvious, but it is basically the fact that hammer curls are enough like conventional curls that the technique can be learned relatively easy and relatively quickly, but different enough to work a different part of the bicep with the motion. In essence, this makes them the perfect secondary bicep exercise for anyone of any exercise level, but it is particularly helpful with beginners.
3. Inclined Curls (Dumbbell or Exercise Band)The inclined curl is not an exercise for the beginner, which is why it did not place higher up in the list. It occupies the number 3 space because of the fact that it is far more powerful than either the conventional curls or the hammer curls, but that same power comes with a difficulty level that makes it inaccessible to most beginners to bicep exercises.
The inclined curl requires the use of a medicine ball or some other form of inclination. You need to lean against the ball with your back such that the top of your body is inclined. Keep your feet planted firmly on the floor, but make sure that your buttocks is off the ground (this is where the use of a medicine ball comes in very handy for purposes of inclination). Once you are in this position, you can do conventional curls or hammer curls with resistance of some kind. Remember however that this is an advanced exercise and for that reason if you want to do it you should already be proficient at resistance training with one of the two exercises mentioned previously. If you cannot comfortably do bicep curls or hammer curls with dumbbells or exercises bands, do not attempt this exercise at all.
4. Single Leg Curls (Dumbbell or Exercise Band)Another variation of conventional and hammer curls is the single leg variation. This is another way that you can add a bit more challenge into the exercises. By balancing on one leg you are making the concentration aspect a lot harder and that in turn tends to focus both the mind and then by extension the movements. If you can pull off the exercises on a single leg, you should find that your technique elsewhere improves a great deal. Just as with inclined exercises however, do not attempt these unless you are already fully proficient at doing the number 1 and 2 exercises with either dumbbell or exercise band resistance.
5. Concentration Curls (Weightless, Dumbbell or Exercise Band)Another routine on our list of the best bicep exercises is the concentration curl. This is an exercise that is designed to be a wholly different movement from the traditional curl movements and by virtue of that it is both an intermediate exercise as well as one that targets specific bicep areas with a high level of intensity.
In order to do this exercise, what you need to do is sit down and then orientate your body such that your legs are apart and your bicep curl motion can be done in between your legs. Then, place one arm down in front of your body, leaning over slightly and facing the palm of that arm towards the opposite leg. Do the same curl motion from this position, either weightlessly or alternatively with dumbbells or exercise bands. This exercise forces you to do the curl motion from a more challenging angular position and that in turn will give you the more intense results discussed above.
6. Strip Set Bicep Curls (Dumbbell or Resistance Band)This is one killer bicep routine and we recommend this as a finisher to your biceps workout and we also recommend using adjustable dumbbells for this one. Following the instructions listed in workout #1Curls, start off with a near max weight or resistance that you burn bad by repetition 8. You will do 8 repetitions at this weight or resistance, immediately reduce the weight five pounds or resistance (more band available so not as taught) and do eight more repetitions. Repeat this for a total of four sets. I like to do this with 30 pounds, then 25, 20, and ending exhausted with 8 reps at only 15 pounds. It's an awesome workout and I highly recommend it!
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