Your gym sessions can become quite boring and monotonous. This is especially if you constantly do the same routines and exercises. There are only so many kinds of exercises you can do per muscle group, right? Slight adjustments – like the way you grip the bar – are all ways to completely change a common exercise. By doing this you can effectively target different areas of the muscle and work areas that are weak. In this way you can increase your bicep strength.
Bicep Curl variations
First Step to Increasing Bicep Strength: Know Your Anatomy
The bicep consists of two heads:
- The short head on the inside of your arm, and
- The long head on the outside of the arm.
Different bicep curl grips target either the short or long head or both heads of the bicep.
The Bicep Curl: the Go-To Exercise for Increasing Bicep Strength
The bicep curl is probably one of the most common, most performed exercises worldwide. There is a good reason for this! This exercise is great for targeting the biceps brachii so increasing its strength and size. Big strong bicep muscles are many avid gym-goers and bodybuilders’ most focused on muscle to build as it symbolises hard work and consistent effort in the gym, strength and power.
Bicep Strength Myth: There Is Only One Way to Do Bicep Curls
There are different ways to change the exercise and target different areas of the bicep muscle. By altering the angle of your grip, you almost completely change the entire move. This leads to more isolated targeting in certain areas of the muscle. The most popular grip for the bicep – the standard grip curl – targets both the long and short heads of the bicep. If you are looking for overall bicep strength and size development, a simple standard grip bicep curl will do the trick.
The close grip supinated (palms facing up) curl targets the long head of the bicep muscle more than the short head. This helps with building that bicep bump.
The wide grip supinated curl targets the short head (inside) of the bicep, which adds to the thickness of your bicep.
Reverse (pronated – palms facing down) grip curls focus heavily on improving your grip and targets your forearm muscle more than any other kind of bicep curl.
The Kind of Equipment You Use Vastly Changes The Exercise and Your Bicep Strength
Barbell curls target the bicep intensely. These are one of the most effective exercises to do if you want to increase your bicep strength, size and even your grip strength. Dumbbells are also great at targeting the biceps. They enable you to isolate the biceps. Different grips of the dumbbell bicep curls include neutral grip hammer curls and offset grip dumbbell curls, as well as concentration curls:
- Neutral grip hammer curls are done with your palms facing each other. These target the long and short head of the bicep, as well as other muscles within the upper arm like the brachioradialis and brachialis.
- Offset grip dumbbell curls (supinated grip – palms facing upward) target both the long and short head of the biceps, as well as the forearm.
- One-arm concentration curls with supinated grip allow you to target one arm at a time and concentrate on the movement by placing your elbow on your knee.
The bicep curl is one exercise with many variations, all targeting the long or short head of the bicep, or both simultaneously, as well as other smaller muscles within the arm. It enables you to build strength and size of the bicep, as well as increase your overall grip strength. There is no doubt as to why it is one of the most popular and effective exercises!
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