Your bicep is, essentially, the large muscle group that sits on the front section of your upper arm. You know the one we’re talking about. You stare at it often enough when flexing. In Latin, it’s known as the biceps brachii, which means two-headed muscle of the arm. And why’s that, well, your biceps are split into two sections: the long head and the short head. Both heads stem from the scapula – shoulder blade – and come together in the middle of the arm to form the muscle we’ve all come to love and know.

Here is my current bicep workout:

Standing Dumbell Curl

We can’t start any bicep exercise list without including this classic; it’s one of my favourites for a reason. Nothing targets your biceps more than the curl. But it’s important to manage your weights accordingly. Wildly swinging and arching your back in order to lift the dumbbell is a waste of time, and could cause injury. Keep is slow, keep it controlled and focus on squeezing your bicep as you lift.

Stand holding a dumbbell in each hand with your arms hanging by your sides.

Ensure your elbows are close to your torso and your palms facing forward.

Keeping your arms stationary, exhale as you curl the weights up to shoulder level while contracting your biceps.

 

Hammer Dumbell Curl

The difference is in the detail, specifically the way you hold the dumbbell. By flipping the dumbbell on its side helps transfer more of the work from your biceps brachii to your brachialis – that’s the muscle that makes your arms look thicker.

Let a pair of dumbbells hang at arm’s length next to your sides with your palms facing your thighs.

Don’t move your arms. Instead, bend your elbows and curl the dumbbells as close to your shoulders as possible.

Pause at the top – remember to squeeze – before slowly lowering the weight back to the starting position.

 

Concentration Curl

The concentration curl isolates the arm flexors and hits the lateral head of the biceps for peak performance.

Sit on a bench and rest your right arm against your right leg, letting the weight hang down.

Curl the weight up, pause, then lower. Repeat with other arm.