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Exercises

Bicep exercises for men: heavy curls, stretched curls and hammer curls

Published October 29, 2026

The best bicep exercises for men are a heavy barbell or EZ-bar curl, an incline dumbbell curl that works the biceps at full stretch, a preacher or spider curl that is hardest at the top, and a hammer or reverse curl for the brachialis, the muscle under the biceps that pushes them up and makes the arm look thicker. Chin-ups add load if you have a bar. Do 8 to 16 hard sets a week over two sessions, 6 to 15 reps, ending each set 1 to 2 reps short of failure, and add weight when every set reaches the top of the range.

  1. Barbell Curl Biceps
  2. Incline Dumbbell Curl Biceps
  3. Preacher Curl Biceps
  4. Hammer Curl Biceps, Forearms
  5. Chin-Up Lats
  6. Cable Curl Biceps
  7. Reverse Curl Biceps, Forearms

Heavy curls and chin-ups

These move the most weight and build the base of arm size. Use them first in your arm work, for 6 to 10 reps with strict form, and push the weight up over months.

Biceps, heavy two-arm curl

Barbell Curl

Biceps

The curl you can load heaviest, and the easiest to track week to week. Strict reps for 6 to 10 build the base that every other curl on this page adds to.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall, barbell in your hands palms up at shoulder-width, arms straight against your thighs.
  2. Set your elbows just in front of your hips.
  3. Curl the bar up in an arc until your forearms are nearly vertical.
  4. Lower it back to straight arms over two to three seconds.

Cues

  • Elbows stay just in front of the hips
  • No hip thrust
  • Straight arms between reps

Common mistakes

  • Swinging the bar up with your lower back: if you need the swing, drop 10 pounds.
  • Stopping halfway down to keep tension: lowering to straight arms is part of the work.

Swap for: EZ-Bar Curl, Cable Curl, Dumbbell Curl

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Biceps, angled-grip curl

EZ-Bar Curl

Biceps

The angled grip takes strain off the wrists and elbows that a straight bar can irritate, while still letting you go heavy. Use it in place of the barbell curl if your forearms complain.

How to do it

  1. Grip the angled parts of the bar with palms slightly turned in.
  2. Curl the bar toward your chest while the upper arms stay still.
  3. Lower until your arms are straight.

Cues

  • Upper arms still
  • Finish with straight arms

Common mistakes

  • Cutting the bottom short: every rep starts with straight elbows.

Swap for: Barbell Curl, Preacher Curl, Cable Curl

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Biceps and lats, bodyweight pull

Chin-Up

Lats

Pulling your whole body up with palms facing you loads the biceps heavier than most curls can. If you can do 8 strict reps, it is a biceps exercise and a back exercise at once.

How to do it

  1. Hang from the bar with your palms toward you and hands shoulder-width.
  2. Pull your elbows down and back until your chin is over the bar.
  3. Lower to a full hang with straight arms.
  4. Keep your legs quiet and your body still between reps.

Cues

  • Palms toward you
  • Chin over the bar
  • Dead hang at the bottom

Common mistakes

  • Kipping or kicking to finish: stop the set when you cannot pull cleanly.
  • Half reps at the top: straighten your arms fully every time.

Swap for: Close-Grip Chin-Up, Assisted Pull-Up

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Biceps, alternating dumbbell curl

Dumbbell Curl

Biceps

The standard palms-up curl, one arm at a time or both together. It needs only a pair of dumbbells, which makes it the default curl at home.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall with one or two dumbbells, palms facing forward.
  2. Curl the weight toward your shoulder, keeping your upper arm still.
  3. Squeeze the biceps hard when your forearm is upright.
  4. Lower until your elbow is straight.

Cues

  • Upper arm still
  • Squeeze at the top
  • Straight elbow at the bottom

Common mistakes

  • Rocking your body: brace against a wall.
  • Stopping short at the bottom: lower all the way.

Swap for: Kettlebell Curl, EZ-Bar Curl

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Curls at full stretch

With your arm behind your body or a cable pulling from below, the biceps work hardest when they are longest. They load the bottom of the curl that barbell and preacher curls leave light, so keep one of these every week.

Biceps long head, stretched curl

Incline Dumbbell Curl

Biceps

Lying back on an incline bench puts your arms behind your body, so the long head starts each rep fully stretched. Expect to use lighter dumbbells than standing, and let the stretch do the work.

How to do it

  1. Tilt an adjustable bench back to about 45 to 60 degrees and sit back holding a pair of dumbbells.
  2. Let your arms hang straight down behind your torso with your palms forward.
  3. Curl both dumbbells up without letting your elbows travel forward.
  4. Lower all the way until your arms hang fully stretched again.

Cues

  • Head and shoulders on the pad
  • Elbows point at the floor
  • Full stretch at the bottom

Common mistakes

  • Bringing the elbows forward to make the curl easier: that removes the stretch that makes this exercise worth doing.
  • Choosing your usual curl weight: this angle is harder, so start a little lighter.

Swap for: Spider Curl, Cable Curl, Dumbbell Curl

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Biceps, constant-tension curl

Cable Curl

Biceps

The cable pulls the whole way up and the whole way down, so there is no rest at the bottom or top. It also lets you add weight in smaller steps than dumbbells.

How to do it

  1. Attach a bar to a low pulley and grip it palms up.
  2. Stand close and curl the bar toward your chest.
  3. Lower until your arms are straight, keeping tension on the cable.

Cues

  • Elbows pinned
  • Straight arms at the bottom

Common mistakes

  • Stepping too far from the stack: stand close so the cable pulls straight up.

Swap for: EZ-Bar Curl, Dumbbell Curl, Band Hammer Curl

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Preacher and strict isolation curls

Bracing the upper arm against a pad or your thigh stops any swing and keeps tension high near the top. These are the curls to take closest to failure.

Biceps, supported curl

Preacher Curl

Biceps

The pad locks your upper arm in place, so you cannot swing the weight up. Lower under control to a near-straight arm; that bottom range is where it builds the most.

How to do it

  1. Sit down at the preacher station, armpits snug against the top of the pad.
  2. Hold an EZ bar on its angled grips, palms up, with your arms almost straight down the pad.
  3. Curl the bar up until your forearms are close to vertical.
  4. Lower slowly until your elbows are almost straight, then curl again.

Cues

  • Armpits on the pad
  • Three-second lowering
  • Stop just short of locking out

Common mistakes

  • Letting the bar drop fast at the bottom: that is where elbows get hurt. Control every inch.
  • Lifting your elbows off the pad at the top: keep the upper arms down and stop the curl earlier.

Swap for: Machine Preacher Curl, Spider Curl, Kettlebell Preacher Curl

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Biceps, machine preacher curl

Machine Preacher Curl

Biceps

The same braced position with a cable or machine path, so the bottom of the rep stays loaded and you can go close to failure with no spotter.

How to do it

  1. Set a preacher bench in front of a low pulley and clip a straight bar on.
  2. Sit with the back of your upper arms flat on the pad and take the bar palms up.
  3. Curl the bar toward your chin, keeping your arms on the pad.
  4. Let it return until your arms are nearly straight and repeat.

Cues

  • Arms flat on the pad
  • Squeeze at the top
  • Slow return

Common mistakes

  • Sitting so far from the pulley that the cable pulls you forward: move the bench close enough that you stay seated.
  • Rounding your shoulders to help the curl: keep your chest up against the pad.

Swap for: Preacher Curl, Cable Curl, Concentration Curl

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Biceps short head, peak contraction

Spider Curl

Biceps

Lying chest-down on an incline bench lets the arms hang straight, and the curl is hardest at the top. Use it as a last set when you want a strong squeeze with light weight.

How to do it

  1. Set an incline bench to about 45 degrees and lie face down on it with your chest on the top of the pad and your feet planted on the floor behind.
  2. Hold one dumbbell per hand with your palms facing forward and let both arms drop vertically toward the floor.
  3. Curl both dumbbells toward your shoulders by bending only at the elbows, with your upper arms pointing at the floor.
  4. Squeeze hard at the top for a moment, with your pinkies turned slightly up toward your shoulders.
  5. Lower slowly until your arms are straight again, and start the next rep without letting the dumbbells swing.

Cues

  • Upper arms stay pointing at the floor
  • Chest glued to the pad
  • Squeeze, then lower slowly

Common mistakes

  • Pulling the elbows back as you curl: that turns it into a row and takes load off the biceps; keep your elbows directly under your shoulders and use lighter dumbbells.
  • Cutting the bottom short: let your arms go fully straight on every rep, or you lose half of the range.
  • Lifting your chest off the pad to get the last rep: once your chest moves, the set is over; record the rep you got cleanly.

Swap for: Preacher Curl, Machine Preacher Curl, Concentration Curl

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Biceps, single-arm isolation

Concentration Curl

Biceps

Bracing your elbow on your thigh makes it a strict one-arm curl with nothing to cheat with. Good for a weaker arm and for finishing a home session.

How to do it

  1. Sit on the end of a bench with your feet wider than your hips and flat on the floor.
  2. Pick up a dumbbell, lean forward slightly from the hips and set the back of your working upper arm against the inside of the same-side thigh, just above the knee.
  3. Let the arm hang straight with the dumbbell near the floor, palm facing the other leg, and rest your free hand on your other knee.
  4. Curl the dumbbell up toward your shoulder while your upper arm stays pressed against your leg, and squeeze for a second at the top.
  5. Lower slowly until your arm is straight again, finish the set, then switch sides.

Cues

  • Arm stays on the thigh
  • Pinky turns up at the top
  • Slow on the way down

Common mistakes

  • Lifting the elbow off the thigh: once the arm leaves your leg the shoulder starts to help. Keep the contact for the whole set.
  • Rocking the torso up to finish the rep: if you have to sit up to complete it, stop the set there or use a lighter dumbbell.
  • Stopping short of a straight arm: the bottom of the rep counts, so let the elbow open fully before each curl.

Swap for: Spider Curl, Kettlebell Concentration Curl, Preacher Curl

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Hammer, reverse and Zottman curls for the brachialis

A neutral or palms-down grip shifts the work to the brachialis and brachioradialis. They add width to the arm from the front and build the grip that heavy pulls need.

Brachialis and forearms, neutral-grip curl

Hammer Curl

Biceps, Forearms

Thumbs-up hammer curls hit the brachialis and the forearm hard and usually let you lift more than a regular curl. Add them for thicker-looking arms from the front.

How to do it

  1. Hold the dumbbells at your sides with your palms facing your thighs.
  2. Bend one elbow to bring that dumbbell up, thumb leading.
  3. Keep the dumbbell vertical the whole way, then lower it slowly to the start.
  4. Curl the other arm, and keep alternating until the set is done.

Cues

  • Thumbs lead
  • Dumbbells vertical
  • Elbows by your sides

Common mistakes

  • Swinging heavier weight with your back: keep your torso still.
  • Curling across your body: keep each dumbbell in line with its shoulder.

Swap for: Band Hammer Curl, Alternating Hammer Curl

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Brachioradialis and biceps, overhand curl

Reverse Curl

Biceps, Forearms

The palms-down grip moves the load to the top of the forearm and the brachialis. Use a light bar and strict reps; it builds grip for rows and deadlifts too.

How to do it

  1. Take the barbell palms down at shoulder-width, bar hanging against your thighs.
  2. Tuck your elbows in and hold your wrists straight.
  3. Curl the bar up toward your shoulders with your knuckles leading.
  4. Lower it under control to straight arms.

Cues

  • Knuckles up all the way
  • Wrists flat
  • Light bar, strict reps

Common mistakes

  • Letting your wrists bend back under the load: lower the weight until they stay straight.
  • Swinging the bar up: overhand curls are easy to cheat, so keep the tempo slow.

Swap for: Zottman Curl, Hammer Curl, EZ-Bar Curl

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Biceps and forearms, rotating curl

Zottman Curl

Biceps, Forearms

Up with palms up, down with palms down: one rep trains the biceps on the way up and the forearm on the slower way down. Efficient when you have limited time or only dumbbells.

How to do it

  1. Stand with your palms facing forward and the dumbbells at your sides.
  2. Curl them up to shoulder height.
  3. Rotate your palms to face down at the top.
  4. Lower slowly, palms down, and rotate back at the bottom.

Cues

  • Turn at the top
  • Slow lowering
  • Elbows stay at your sides

Common mistakes

  • Turning the palms on the way down: finish the rotation first.
  • Going too heavy: the palms-down lowering sets the weight.

Swap for: Hammer Curl, Reverse Curl

Build a session with Zottman Curl
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Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in.

Session 1

New to lifting and adding curls to your program

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets10 a week
  • Per workout~10 min
  • EquipmentEZ Bar, Dumbbells

You have been lifting a few months, your back days include rows or pulldowns, and you want to add direct biceps work without overdoing it.

Your back work already hits the biceps, so 5 direct sets per session, 10 a week, is plenty while you learn the movements and build the habit of strict reps.

Biceps
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
EZ-Bar Curl1 warm-up set first 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Hammer Curl 2 × 10–12 2 75 s
How to run it
Run it twice a week at the end of a back or upper-body session, with at least two days between.
How to progress
Add a rep per set each session until you reach 12 on every set at 2 reps in reserve, then add the smallest weight jump and go back to 8. On dumbbells, move up one size.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Your arms lag behind the rest of you

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets16 a week
  • Per workout~20 min
  • EquipmentBarbells, Dumbbells, Incline Bench, EZ Bar +2

You have trained a year or more in a gym, your chest and back have grown, and your arms have not kept up.

Lagging muscles need more hard sets and more angles, so this plan trains biceps twice a week with 8 sets each day: one heavy curl, one stretched curl, one preacher curl and brachialis work. That is 16 sets a week, near the top of what most men grow from.

Day 1: Heavy and stretched
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Barbell Curl1 warm-up set first 3 × 6–10 1 2 min
Incline Dumbbell Curl 3 × 8–12 1 90 s
Reverse Curl 2 × 10–15 1 75 s

Open Day 1: Heavy and stretched in the session builder

Day 2: Preacher and cable
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Preacher Curl 3 × 8–12 1 90 s
Cable Curl 2 × 10–15 0 1 min
Hammer Curl 3 × 8–12 1 75 s

Open Day 2: Preacher and cable in the session builder

How to run it
Add Day 1 to your first pull or upper session and Day 2 to the second. If your back day already has chin-ups, do the arm work after them.
How to progress
Double progression: once every set reaches the top of the rep range at the target reps in reserve, add 5 lb to the barbell or the next dumbbell size, and start again at the bottom of the range.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Curling at home with a pull-up bar and dumbbells

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets20 a week
  • Per workout~25 min
  • EquipmentPull-Up Bar, Dumbbells

You train at home with a pull-up bar and a pair of dumbbells, and no curl bar, preacher bench or cables.

Chin-ups provide the heavy load your dumbbells cannot, and the curls cover the stretch, the peak and the forearm. 10 sets per session, twice a week, gives 20 sets counting the chin-ups that are also back work.

Biceps: Home
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Chin-Up 3 × 5–10 2 2 min
Dumbbell Curl 3 × 8–12 1 90 s
Concentration CurlPer arm. 2 × 10–15 1 1 min
Zottman Curl 2 × 8–12 1 75 s
How to run it
Do it twice a week, ideally on days you do not train back. Leave two days between sessions.
How to progress
Add reps until you reach the top of each range, then go up one dumbbell size. For chin-ups, once you reach 10 strict reps, hold a dumbbell between your feet.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What three bicep exercises should I do?

A heavy barbell or EZ-bar curl, an incline dumbbell curl for the stretched position, and a hammer curl for the brachialis. Those three cover the biceps' full range and the muscle underneath them.

What is the 7-7-7 bicep exercise?

Also called 21s: 7 reps through the bottom half of a curl, 7 through the top half, then 7 full reps, with no rest. It is a hard finisher, but it does not beat regular sets taken close to failure. Use it as the last set of a session if you like it.

Is it okay to work out biceps every day?

It is not useful. Biceps grow while they recover, which takes about 48 hours after hard sets. Two or three sessions a week build more than daily light work.

What will 100 bicep curls a day do?

With a light weight, it mostly builds endurance in the arm, and once 100 reps are easy there is nothing left pushing the muscle to grow. With a weight that makes the last reps hard, it adds up to more volume than you can recover from every day. A few hard sets, twice a week, with the weight going up over time, builds more muscle.

How long does it take to see bigger biceps?

Most men notice a change in 8 to 12 weeks of consistent training, and measurable size over several months. Logging each set is how you can tell the weights are moving even when the mirror is not.