The best workout for biceps, matched to your setup
Published October 11, 2026
The best workout for biceps pairs one heavier curl or chin-up with a curl that loads the biceps in a stretched position, like the Incline Dumbbell Curl, plus a hammer or reverse curl for the brachialis and forearm. Do 10 to 20 hard sets a week, mostly in the 6 to 20 rep range, and stop each set 0 to 2 reps short of failure. Then add reps or weight every week.
EquipmentPull-Up Bar, EZ Bar, Dumbbells, Incline Bench
You train in a commercial gym, already run a split, and want one biceps session that covers every angle.
With bars, cables and benches available, you can start heavy with chin-ups and EZ-bar curls, then use the incline curl for the stretch the heavy lifts miss, and finish with hammer curls for thickness. Once a week is enough at this volume: when weekly sets are equal, training a muscle more often adds little to its growth.
Biceps Day
Exercise
Sets × reps
RIR
Rest
Chin-Up1 warm-up set firstFull hang at the bottom of every rep
3 × 6–10
2
2:30 min
EZ-Bar Curl1 warm-up set firstElbows at your sides, no hip swing
Run it once a week, ideally two to three days away from your back day so your arms are fresh. It replaces any curls you already do elsewhere.
How to progress
Use double progression: when every set of an exercise reaches the top of its rep range at the target RIR, add the smallest weight jump next week and build the reps back up.
You train at home with a set of dumbbells and a chair, and your heaviest pair is light enough that curls get easy fast.
When the weight is capped, reps carry the load: light sets grow muscle about as well as heavy ones as long as you finish close to failure. So this plan uses higher rep ranges, shorter rest and lower RIR, split over two short sessions so you get about 14 hard sets a week without one long grind.
Day A
Exercise
Sets × reps
RIR
Rest
Dumbbell Curl1 warm-up set firstTurn the palms up as you curl
Do Day A and Day B on separate days, at least 48 hours apart, either on their own or at the end of your other home workouts.
How to progress
Add reps until you hit the top of the range on every set at the target RIR. When you outgrow a dumbbell, slow the lowering to three seconds before you move up a pair.
EquipmentDumbbells, Incline Bench, EZ Bar, Preacher Bench +2
You have trained for a year or more, your back has grown from heavy pulling, and your arms have not followed.
Rows and pulldowns train the biceps, but less than you think: in one study of untrained men, the arm that did curls grew about twice as much as the arm that did rows. This plan puts curls first, biases the stretched position with incline and preacher curls, and runs about 18 direct sets a week at 0 to 1 RIR.
Do Arms A and Arms B once each per week, at least two days apart, either at the start of your pull days or on separate days. If your back sessions already run long, drop two row sets per session to make room.
How to progress
Double progression on every exercise. On the last set of the incline and preacher curls, keep going with half reps in the bottom half until you fail. After six to eight weeks, deload with half the sets for a week.
Your biceps lift your whole bodyweight from a full stretch, so it is the heaviest elbow-flexion work you will do. Use it to start the session while you are fresh.
How to do it
Grab the bar with palms facing you, hands about shoulder-width apart.
Hang with your arms straight and your shoulders pulled slightly down, not shrugged.
Pull your chest toward the bar until your chin clears it, keeping your elbows in front of you.
Lower yourself for about two seconds until your arms are straight again before the next rep.
Cues
Elbows down to your ribs
Chest to the bar, not chin poking forward
Full hang every rep
Common mistakes
Stopping halfway down. The stretched bottom is the part that grows the biceps, so finish every rep at a straight arm.
Kicking to get the last rep. When you start kipping, the set is done; add a belt with weight only once you can do 10 clean reps.
The bar lets you load both arms heavier than dumbbells, and the angled grip is easier on wrists than a straight bar. It is the curl to progress hardest on.
How to do it
Stand tall and hold the bar on the inner or outer bends, palms angled up, arms straight.
Pin your upper arms to your sides and brace your stomach.
Curl until your forearms are just short of vertical, without letting your elbows drift forward.
Lower for two seconds all the way to straight arms.
Cues
Elbows stay at your sides
Ribs down, no lean back
Straight arms at the bottom
Common mistakes
Swinging the hips to start the rep. Drop the weight 10 to 15 percent and own the first inch.
Shortening the bottom as you tire. Count a rep only if the arms straighten.
Swap for: Barbell Curl, Cable Curl, Preacher Curl
Long head, stretched position
Incline Dumbbell Curl
Biceps
Leaning back puts your arms behind your body, which stretches the long head before every rep. Curls trained in the stretched part of the range have built more muscle in the lower biceps than curls trained near the top.
How to do it
Set a bench to about 45 to 60 degrees and sit back with your shoulders against the pad.
Let the dumbbells hang straight down from your shoulders, palms facing forward.
Curl without letting your elbows swing forward off the line of your body.
Lower slowly until your arms are fully straight and you feel the stretch in the front of the shoulder.
Cues
Shoulders stay on the pad
Arms hang straight down, not forward
Pause in the stretch
Common mistakes
Bringing the elbows forward to make it easier. That removes the stretch; go lighter instead.
Setting the bench too upright. If you feel nothing at the bottom, lower the incline one notch.
The pad locks your upper arm in place, so you cannot cheat, and the load is heaviest near straight arms. The study that found more biceps growth from training the bottom half of the curl used the preacher curl.
How to do it
Set the seat so your armpits sit snug on the top of the pad.
Hold the EZ bar with palms up, the backs of your arms flat on the pad.
Curl until your forearms are close to vertical, then stop before the bar stalls over your elbows.
Lower under control to just short of locked out, keeping the tension on.
Cues
Armpits glued to the pad
Slow on the way down
Don't bounce out of the bottom
Common mistakes
Dropping fast into the bottom. That is where the elbow is most exposed; take two to three seconds to lower.
Lifting your backside off the seat to finish reps. Lower the weight.
The cable keeps tension on the biceps through the whole rep and the stack moves in small jumps, which makes it the easiest curl to progress by single reps.
How to do it
Set the pulley at the lowest position with a straight or EZ handle.
Stand a short step back so the cable pulls slightly forward at the bottom.
Curl with your elbows at your sides until your hands reach chest height.
Return until your arms are straight and the plates almost touch.
Cues
Step back to load the bottom
Elbows still
Squeeze, then lower slowly
Common mistakes
Standing too close so the bottom goes slack. Step back until you feel the pull at straight arms.
Rocking the torso to start. Brace and keep the hips still.
Turning the palm up as you curl uses both jobs of the biceps: bending the elbow and rotating the forearm. With dumbbells only, it is your main biceps builder.
How to do it
Stand with a dumbbell in each hand, arms straight, palms facing your thighs.
Curl both dumbbells, turning your palms up as they pass your hips.
Stop when the dumbbells reach shoulder height and your pinkies face slightly up.
Lower for two seconds, turning the palms back in at the bottom.
Cues
Turn the palm up early
Upper arm stays still
Lower slower than you lift
Common mistakes
Curling the dumbbells into your shoulders and resting there. Stop just before the top so the biceps never unload.
Using momentum on the last reps. Leave one rep in the tank instead.
With palms facing each other you can lift more weight, and more of the work shifts to the brachialis and brachioradialis that sit under and beside the biceps. Those muscles make the arm look thick from the front.
How to do it
Stand with dumbbells at your sides, palms facing your thighs.
Keep the thumbs up and curl the dumbbells toward the front of your shoulders.
Stop when your forearms are a little past horizontal.
Lower to straight arms without letting the dumbbells swing behind you.
Cues
Thumbs to the ceiling
Wrists straight
Both arms at once, no twisting
Common mistakes
Letting the wrists bend back under a heavy weight. Grip harder or go lighter.
Shrugging the shoulders up to finish. Stop the rep where the elbow stops.
Bracing your elbow against your thigh takes every bit of momentum out, so it is the best way to push one arm hard at the end of a session, and you only need one dumbbell.
How to do it
Sit on a chair or bench with your feet wide.
Rest the back of your upper arm against the inside of the same-side thigh, the dumbbell hanging straight down.
Curl the dumbbell up toward your chest without lifting the elbow off the thigh.
Lower until the arm is straight, then repeat; finish one arm before switching.
Cues
Elbow pinned to the thigh
Pinky turns up at the top
Straight arm at the bottom
Common mistakes
Leaning back to help the weight up. Keep your chest over the dumbbell the whole set.
Starting with your stronger arm and doing extra reps. Start with the weaker arm and match its reps.
You curl with palms up and lower with palms down, so one set trains the biceps on the way up and the brachioradialis and forearm on the slow way down. It is the dumbbell-only answer to a reverse curl.
How to do it
Stand with a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing forward.
Curl both dumbbells to shoulder height.
At the top, rotate your palms to face down.
Lower slowly with palms down, then rotate back to palms up at the bottom.
Cues
Up palms up, down palms down
Three-second lowering
Elbows stay at your sides
Common mistakes
Lowering fast. The slow palms-down lowering is the point; pick a weight you can lower for three seconds.
Rotating halfway down. Finish the turn at the top before you lower.
With palms down the biceps can do less of the work, so the brachioradialis and brachialis take over. If your biceps are already trained hard, this is how you add arm thickness without more of the same.
How to do it
Hold a barbell or EZ bar with palms down, hands about shoulder-width apart.
Let the bar hang against your thighs, arms straight.
Curl the bar up with your wrists straight, knuckles leading.
Lower slowly to straight arms.
Cues
Knuckles up, wrists flat
Elbows tight
Slow down
Common mistakes
Letting the wrists drop so the bar hangs off your fingers. Use a lighter weight than you would for a normal curl.
Going straight-bar heavy when your wrists complain. Switch to the EZ bar's angled grip.
Swap for: Zottman Curl, Hammer Curl, Band Hammer Curl
Make it fit you
New to lifting? Halve the sets
If you have trained for less than six months, your rows and pulldowns already grow your arms. Do one set fewer of each exercise and stop every set two reps short of failure. Add the sets back once your weights stop climbing.
Elbows hurt? Change the grip, not the plan
If straight or EZ-bar curls bother your elbows, swap them for cable curls or hammer curls and keep the same sets and reps. Slow the lowering to three seconds and stop a rep further from failure until it settles.
Count your rows as half a set
Each hard set of rows, pulldowns or chin-ups trains your biceps, but less than a curl does. Count them as half a set to get a realistic weekly total. If that total runs past 20 and your arms are the priority, cut row sets before curl sets.
Log reps in reserve, not just weight
Write down how many reps you had left on each set. If you hit the top of the range at 2 RIR when the plan says 0 to 1, the weight is too light. In RIRLift you log RIR with each set and see your weekly hard sets for biceps add up as you train.
Use lengthened partials as a finisher
On the last set of incline or preacher curls, keep going past full reps with half reps in the bottom half of the range until you cannot move the weight. It adds hard work in the stretched position without adding another set.
Questions
Is 3 exercises enough for biceps?
Yes. Two to four exercises cover the biceps if together they give you 10 to 20 hard sets a week, include one curl that loads the stretched position, and include a neutral or palms-down grip. Weekly hard sets matter more than the number of exercises.
Can I workout my biceps every day?
You can, but you gain nothing over two or three sessions with the same total sets, and sore elbows come faster. Spread 10 to 20 hard sets over one to three sessions a week and keep 48 hours between hard biceps work.
How do you perform concentration curls?
Sit with your feet wide, brace the back of your upper arm against the inside of your thigh, and let the dumbbell hang straight. Curl toward your chest without lifting the elbow, then lower until the arm is fully straight. Do all reps on your weaker arm first and match them on the other side.
Is 20 kg bicep curl good?
It depends on whether that is a barbell or each dumbbell, and for how many reps. For growth, the number that matters is whether the weight you use for 8 to 12 controlled reps keeps rising over months. Log it and beat it.
What is the best exercise for the biceps long head?
The Incline Dumbbell Curl. Sitting back puts your arm behind your body and stretches the long head, and curls trained in the stretched part of the range have built more muscle in the lower biceps than curls trained near the top.
Do I need curls if I do heavy rows and chin-ups?
Early on, maybe not: in beginners, adding curls to pulldowns gave no extra arm growth in one study. But in another, the arm doing curls grew about twice as much as the arm doing rows. If your back has grown and your arms have not, add curls.
