Development of the upper front of your arm is primarily comprised of three somewhat smaller muscles: The biceps brachii, the brachialis and the brachioradialis. All three have their roles any time you’re cranking out curls in the gym.
When most people envision a nice peaking pair of biceps when flexing their upper arm, they’re mostly fantasizing about a well-developed long head of the biceps brachii.
While all three of the initially mentioned muscle groups that make up the front portion of the upper arm are important to develop, this article will focus on how you can isolate the long head of the biceps to optimize whatever genetic peak you’re capable of.
We’ll begin by discussing the top 5 exercises that best isolate this portion of the biceps, how to perform the exercise, and how to best incorporate them into your workout routine.
In layman’s terms, we’re going to cover the best curls you can do in the gym to build beautiful peaking biceps.
1. Incline Dumbbell Curls
About the exercise: Incline dumbbell curls provide a greater range of motion during the curl. By utilizing a degree of incline, you increase the amount of stretch placed on the long head of the biceps.
Most consider this exercise a staple for bodybuilders as the exercise is crucial for building bicep peaks in the mandatory front double biceps pose. For other lifters, this exercise can help improve shoulder health by improving the strength of the lateral portion of the biceps. However, it is important to perform the exercise correctly as too much of a stretch with limited shoulder flexibility may put strain on the humerus.
How to:
- Step one is to grab an available adjustable bench and set it to an incline. You may want to consider setting it on the first adjustment and lower the incline as you build flexibility in the shoulder. 60 to 45 degree inclines are mostly used for this exercise.
- Set up on the incline bench holding two pairs of dumbbells. Your back should remain on the back support throughout the exercise.
- Start with your arms fully extended with a supinated grip on the dumbbells.
- Inhale as you flex your biceps to bring the weight towards the shoulder. Keep your elbows behind the body throughout the rep.
- Exhale as you slowly lower the weight back down to the starting position.
- Repeat for the number of repetitions in your set.
Sets and reps: The number of sets and reps you perform will depend on your overall workout program’s protocol. A good starting point would be to perform 3-4 sets of 10-15 reps as your final movement on pull or upper body days. If you perform a body part split or train arms on their own day, incorporating these as your primary or secondary movement would be best.
2. Narrow Grip Barbell Curls
About the exercise: The barbell curl has been a biceps building powerhouse for decades. That said, the width you take when performing the exercise plays a huge factor in which of the heads you’ll ultimately isolate more. For those looking to build the long head of the biceps, you’ll want to take a narrower width underhand grip.
How to:
- Grab a barbell with a slightly narrower than shoulder width underhand grip and stand tall with a straight back.
- Keep the core muscles of the glutes, lower back, upper spine, and abdominals tight and you inhale and flex the biceps to bend the elbow and bring the weight up towards the shoulder.
- Upon full contraction, exhale and slowly reverse the movement back to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of reps in your set.
Sets and reps: For those who have an arm focused day, this lift can be your primary lift and can take on several different set and rep schemes. You could do anywhere between 3-5 sets and include as a rep range of 3-15 reps depending on your goal for the exercise. For those incorporating it on full body, upper, and pull workout days, performing 2-4 reps with 6-12 reps would be beneficial for this exercise.
3. Low Pulley Cable Curls
About the exercise: The low pulley cable curl is beneficial in developing the long head of the biceps for a lot of the same reasons that the narrow grip barbell curl is. Given the fact that most cable attachments are narrower than your average barbell, it also allows you a better idea of where to place your hands.
The added benefit of utilizing the low pulley cable is that the biceps remain under constant tension throughout the exercise. With barbell and dumbbell variations, this isn’t the case as there are two points in which the resistance becomes nearly non-existent on the muscle (the beginning and the end).
How to:
- Attach a straight bar cable attachment to the cable machine and ensure the cable is set at its lowest point.
- Stand facing the cable machine with your back upright and grab the attachment with an underhand grip that is slightly narrower than shoulder width.
- Keep your glutes, abdominals, and back muscles engaged as you inhale to flex the biceps and bend the elbows bringing the weight towards your shoulders.
- Exhale at the top of the movement and slowly lower the weight back to the starting position.
- Repeat for the prescribed number of reps.
Sets and reps: Add this in as one of your mid-routine exercises if you have your own arm day and perform 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps. The same set and rep scheme can be utilized by those adding this exercise to their full body, upper body, and pull workouts.
4. Incline Cable Curls
About the exercise: Incline cable curls combine the benefits of both the incline dumbbell curl and the low pulley cable curl.
By utilizing a degree of incline, you’ll again increase the amount of stretch placed on the biceps and increase the range of motion. Incorporating this on the cable pulley machine also allows for non-stop tension in the form of resistance on the biceps.
The con of this exercise is it can be a bit tough to set up in most commercial gyms – especially if the gym is crowded. Most times, the adjustable benches are closer to the dumbbell racks which tends to be away from the cable pulley stations.
How to:
- Grab an adjustable bench and set it to the desired incline (most utilize a 60 degree incline for this exercise).
- Set the bench up facing away from the cable pulley set up.
- Set the cable pulley machine to the lowest setting and attach a single arm handle to the pulley. If your cable pulley machine has dual pulleys, attach a single grasp handle to both sides. Alternatively, you can also just grab the balls of the cable and perform more of a pronated/hammer grip variation.
- Sit on the incline bench with your back firmly against the back pad and grab the cable(s).
- Inhale as you flex the biceps to bring the cable handle towards the shoulder by bending at the elbow(s).
- Exhale and slowly reverse the movement back to the starting position.
- Perform for the desired number of repetitions.
Sets and reps: This exercise is best utilized as a finisher regardless of the workout protocol you have. Wrap up your arm/upper/pull/full body session with 2-3 sets of 12-15 reps for each arm. Focus, feel the burn and enjoy the pump.
5. Close Grip EZ Bar Curls
About the exercise: The close grip EZ bar curl is a great way to develop the long head of the biceps for the same reasons the narrow grip barbell curl is.
The narrow grip allows you to place more emphasis on the long head while the EZ bar allows you to put a heavier load on the biceps than other curl variations might.
The EZ bar is especially useful for those who have wrist or elbow tendinitis. By somewhat pronating the grip ever so slightly, you take some of the tension off the joints and tendons of the arms which is helpful for those who want to isolate the biceps with slightly nagging pains.
How to:
- Pick up an EZ Bar and stand straight and tall.
- Keep your abdominals, glutes, and back tightly braced as you inhale to flex the biceps, bending the elbow, and bring the weight up towards the shoulders.
- Exhale at the top of the movement and reverse the rep slowly to bring the weight back to the starting position.
- Repeat until you’ve completed your set.
Sets and reps: The close grip EZ bar curl can be used in the same fashion as the narrow grip barbell curl. You’ll either want to perform one or the other. Or, if you hit your biceps multiple times per week, you could alternate between the two.
Set and rep counts can range from 3-5 sets and 6-15 reps. You could go lower reps on these like recommended on the narrow grip barbell curl. However, if you’re choosing this variation due to some slight inflammation in the wrists and elbows, you should avoid going too heavy.