9 Best Bicep Curl Variations For Stronger And More Defined Upper Arms

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Bicep curls are one of the best classic strength training exercises for targeting the biceps brachii muscle at the front of your upper arm. The exercise involves flexing the elbow joint against resistance to contract and strengthen your biceps.

Bicep curl variations allow you to target your muscles in diverse ways and from varying angles, making the movement more or less challenging, and helping you to achieve better outcomes from your exercises.

Benefits of Bicep Curl Variations

Incorporating bicep curl variations into your training regimen will offer you many benefits, including the following:

• Overcoming Muscular Adaptation
  The body can adapt to the same exercises over time.
  Introducing variations to your bicep curls can provide new stimuli to your muscles, helping to promote muscle growth and development. The variations target the biceps from different angles and engage diverse muscle fibers, leading to a more well-rounded and comprehensive workout for the upper arms.
• Achieving Muscle Balance and Symmetry
  Bicep curl variations allow you to target different parts of the biceps and engage other supporting muscles, including the brachialis and brachioradialis.
  That can help promote balance and symmetry in your muscles and help to correct imbalances.
• Enhanced Muscle Recruitment
  Bicep curl variations can help recruit muscles in varying ways, providing a unique stimulus to the involved muscles.
  By incorporating variations into your training, you can maximize the results and target specific areas of the biceps more effectively.
• Helping to Prevent Injury
  Bicep curl variations can help strengthen the muscles and connective tissues around the biceps, providing better stability and reducing the risk of injury.
  Variations of bicep curls can help target and engage your upper arm muscles from different angles. That can help address potential weaknesses and imbalances that could cause injury.
• Mental Stimulation and Avoiding Plateaus
  Introducing new variations to your bicep curl exercises can help spice up your workouts and make them more engaging. That can help reduce boredom and mental stagnation. It can also help you avoid plateaus by challenging your muscles in new ways and promoting progress and growth.

Related: 9 Best Rubber Hex Dumbbells To Help You Build Strength And Muscle Mass

Top Bicep Curl Variations that can promote Upper Arm Muscle Growth

You will need dumbbells for most of the exercises discussed here. Check out our best rubber hex dumbbells if you are yet to acquire some or are looking to expand your collection. Alternatively, one of our recommended neoprene dumbbells could be a good choice if you prefer. And remember, you will need a dumbbell rack for organizing and storing the dumbbells.

Bicep Curls

Bicep curls involve flexing the elbow joint against resistance to contract and strengthen the biceps.

You can perform the exercise using various equipment such as dumbbells, barbells, resistance bands, or cable machines.

Steps to follow

• Grasp a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing forward.
• Stand upright with feet at shoulder-width. Keep your arms fully extended and hanging by your sides. Keep your elbows close to your torso, and avoid letting them flare to the sides.
• Engage your core and maintain a neutral spine.
• Exhale, flex your elbows and slowly curl the dumbbells upward in a controlled movement. Ensure you move only your forearms. Avoid excessive swinging or using momentum to lift the weights.
• Continue curling the dumbbells until your biceps fully contract and the dumbbells are at shoulder level.
• Pause and squeeze your biceps to maximize the contraction and fully engage the biceps.
• Inhale and lower the dumbbells to your starting position until you fully extend your elbows without locking them. Do the movement in a slow and controlled manner, ensuring you resist the weight and maintain tension in the biceps.

Tips

• Maintain a straight posture and avoid leaning backward or forward during the exercise.
• Keep your wrists in a neutral position without excessive bending or extension.
• Focus on the mind-muscle connection, consciously contracting and feeling the biceps throughout the movement.
• Start with a lighter weight and gradually increase as your strength improves.

Muscles targeted by Bicep Curls

Bicep curls target the muscles of the upper arm, specifically the biceps brachii.

However, the exercise activates several other muscles as synergists or stabilizers during the movement.

• Biceps Brachii
  Bicep curls principally target the biceps brachii.
  The biceps brachii is at the front of the upper arm. It consists of the long head and the short head.
  The leading function of the biceps brachii is elbow flexion, the movement used in bicep curls.
• Brachialis
  Bicep curls can also help strengthen the brachialis, which lies underneath the biceps brachii. It helps with elbow flexion.
• Brachioradialis
  The brachioradialis is a forearm muscle that runs along the outer side of the forearm.
  It is not a principal bicep muscle. However, it assists with elbow flexion by acting as a synergist during bicep curls, assisting with elbow flexion.
• Forearm Muscles
  Various muscles in the forearm, including the flexor carpi radialis and flexor carpi ulnaris, also play a secondary role in stabilizing the wrist and forearm during bicep curls.

Hammer Curls

The hammer bicep curl variation principally targets the brachialis underneath the biceps. The muscle plays a significant role in adding thickness to the upper arm.

The movement also engages the biceps brachii and brachioradialis muscles, helping to strengthen and develop the muscle groups.

The brachialis plays a significant role in adding thickness to the upper arm.

Hammer curls can help promote balanced muscle development, helping to improve overall arm aesthetics and symmetry.

The movement simulates a natural arm movement, similar to carrying bags or gripping objects in a neutral position. Strengthening the activated muscles in this motion can enhance your functional strength for everyday activities.

Hammer curls are some of the best bicep curl variations that can help improve your ability to hold onto objects, as well as forearm stability.

The exercise involves holding a dumbbell in each hand with a neutral grip, that is, palms facing each other and curling the weights up towards your shoulders.

Aside from dumbbells, you can also use barbells, such as an EZ Curl bar, or even a cable machine for hammer curls, allowing for versatility in exercise selection.

Steps to follow for the hammer curls exercise

Concentration Curls

They are some of the best bicep curl variations for isolating the biceps. They target the biceps brachii muscles, helping to build strength and size in the biceps.

Concentration Curls involve sitting on a weight bench or chair and holding one dumbbell. You then rest your elbow against your inner thigh and perform curls while keeping your upper arm stationary.

Sitting on a bench and resting the elbow against the inner thigh stabilize the upper arm, minimizing the involvement of other muscles. The isolation helps to maximize the contraction and engagement of the biceps.

Stabilizing the upper arm against the inner thigh minimizes the potential for cheating or using momentum to complete the movement. The strict form encourages proper execution and increases the effectiveness of the exercise.

The movement emphasizes the peak contraction of the biceps brachii muscle, which can lead to improved muscle development and shape. They also allow you to target and fatigue the biceps, leading to potential muscle growth.

Concentration curls can help establish a solid mind-muscle connection with the biceps due to the isolated nature of the exercise. That can enhance your ability to feel and control the muscle, potentially leading to better muscle activation and development.

The exercise involves working each arm individually, allowing you to focus on equalizing strength and size discrepancies between the biceps. Thus it is also one of the best bicep curl variations for correcting muscle imbalances between the left and right arms.

Steps to follow for the concentration curl exercises

Preacher Curls

They are some of the best bicep curl variations for isolating the biceps and reducing the involvement of other muscles.

The exercise engages the brachialis muscle, helping to push the biceps outward to add thickness to the upper arm.

The movement involves resting your upper arm against the angled pad of the preacher curl bench while holding an EZ Curl bar, a straight barbell, or a dumbbell in each hand. You will then curl the weight upward toward your shoulders.

You will need a preacher curl bench, or an incline weight bench, to support your upper arms for the exercise.

Resting your arms on the preacher bench minimizes the involvement from other muscles, allowing for a more targeted and focused contraction in the biceps.

They also allow for a broader range of motion compared to standing curls. Extending your arm fully at the start of the movement can help you to achieve a deeper stretch in the biceps, leading to increased muscle activation and potential gains in strength and size.

The preacher bench also provides stability and support for your arms, reducing the potential for cheating or using momentum to complete the curl. That can help you to maintain strict control throughout the movement, leading to a more effective workout and better muscle activation in the biceps.

Steps to follow to do the preacher curls

Spider Curls

Don’t have access to a preacher bench? No problem. You can opt for Spider Curls as an alternative to preacher curls.

The exercise targets the long head of the biceps brachii muscle, helping to improve the shape of the biceps and the aesthetics of the upper arm.

Spider curls use an incline weight bench, set at around 45 degrees, to provide similar stability levels and support as the preacher bench, allowing for strict form and controlled movement. You will lie face down on an incline bench and let your arms hang freely to perform the exercise.

You will then curl the weights, either dumbbells or a barbell ensuring you keep your upper arms against the bench. Also, ensure you position your upper arms against the bench pad. That will allow for a concentrated and isolated contraction of the biceps. It will also help target the biceps brachii effectively.

Resting the upper arms against the incline weight bench helps to eliminate momentum and minimize involvement from other muscles. That allows for a more targeted and intense biceps contraction, making the exercise one of the most effective bicep curl variations for your training regimen.

Like the preacher curls, spider curls allow for a full range of motion in the biceps, emphasizing both the peak contraction and the stretch at the bottom of the movement. That can help enhance muscle development and strength gains in the biceps.

Using an incline bench for spider curls helps maintain constant tension on the biceps throughout the exercise. That can lead to greater muscle activation and potential hypertrophy.

Steps to follow for the spider curl exercises

Zottman Curls

Zottman curls, named after George Zottman, a renowned strongman from the 19th century, are good bicep curl variations that target the biceps brachii, brachialis, and forearm muscles.

Zottman curls engage multiple muscle groups simultaneously.

The exercises incorporate pronation and supination movements, making them highly effective bicep curl variations for developing the arms.

They involve performing a traditional bicep curl during the lifting phase, helping to target and work the biceps brachii and brachialis. But you rotate your wrists to a pronated or overhand grip during the lowering phase to engage the brachioradialis and other forearm muscles.

The combination of movements makes the exercise one of the best bicep curl exercises for comprehensive muscle engagement and development.

The rotational movement in Zottman curls emphasizes the forearm muscles, including the brachioradialis, brachialis, and wrist flexors, helping to strengthen and develop the muscles and boosting forearm strength and grip.

The rotational component also adds extra challenge and stimulus to the muscles. That can help break plateaus and help your muscles to grow.

Including Zottman curls in your arm training regimen can help create symmetry and proportional development in the upper arms.

The supination and pronation movements in Zottman curls mimic natural arm movements involved in everyday activities, such as lifting and carrying objects.

Strengthening the activated muscles in the Zottman curl movements can enhance functional strength and improve performance in various tasks.

Steps to follow to do the Zottman Curls

Cross Body Curls

Cross Body Curls target the biceps brachii muscle while engaging other muscles in the arm, including the brachialis and brachioradialis, to a lesser extent.

Instead of curling the dumbbells straight up as you do with bicep curls, cross body curls involve bringing the arms diagonally across your body towards the opposite shoulder.

They are some of the best bicep curl variations for emphasizing the outer portion of the biceps.

Cross Body Curls emphasize the biceps brachii by targeting them from a different angle than traditional bicep curls, making them one of the best bicep curl variations that can help increase the overall muscle activation in the biceps to help boost strength and development.

The diagonal movement pattern of cross body curls can help enhance the mind-muscle connection with the biceps, helping to develop better control and activation of the biceps.

The exercise simulates a movement pattern encountered in real-life activities, such as lifting objects across the body. Thus it can help improve your strength and functional capacity in daily tasks.

Steps to follow

• Stand upright with a dumbbell in each hand, your palms facing your torso. Keep your feet at shoulder-width to help give you stability.
• Extend your arms, allowing the dumbbells to hang down by your sides.
• Curl one dumbbell across your body toward the opposite shoulder, twisting your wrist as you curl for your palm to face your shoulder at the top of the movement. Ensure you keep your upper arm stationary throughout the exercise.
• Squeeze your biceps at the top of the movement.
• Then lower the weight back to your starting position in a slow and controlled manner.
• Repeat the movement with the opposite arm by curling the dumbbell across your body toward the other shoulder.
• Continue alternating arms for the desired number of repetitions.

Incline Bench Curls

The movement involves sitting on an incline bench with your back supported and performing the curls. The variation emphasizes the long head of the biceps and provides a different stimulation angle.

Incline bench curls target the biceps brachii muscle while engaging other muscles in the arm, including the brachialis and brachioradialis, to a lesser extent.

Performing bicep curls on an incline bench allows for a deeper stretch at the bottom of the movement. The increased range of motion can help boost muscle growth and flexibility in the biceps.

Resting your upper arms on the incline bench pad minimizes the involvement of other muscles, such as the shoulders and back. The isolation can help you focus more specifically on the biceps and maximize their activation.
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The stability and support from the incline weight bench can help reduce the tendency to swing or use momentum to lift the weights, giving you better control and ensuring the biceps do the movement.

Steps to follow for the incline bench curl exercises

Cable Curls

Cable Curls are excellent variations of the traditional bicep curl exercise.

Cable Curls provide constant tension throughout the range of motion, unlike the traditional dumbbell or barbell bicep curls, where it decreases at the top and bottom of the movement. That can help promote muscle growth and stimulate the biceps much more effectively.

A cable machine allows you to use various attachments like straight bars, rope handles, or EZ bars. The different grips can help target the biceps from different angles and provide variations in muscle stimulation.

Cable resistance pulls in different directions, requiring stabilization throughout the movement. That engages the stabilizer muscles, promoting strength and coordination.

Additionally, a cable machine has a weight stack or adjustable resistance that allows you to adjust the weight to suit your strength level. That makes the exercise one of the best bicep curl variations for beginners and advanced lifters.

You can perform the movement bilaterally with both arms simultaneously or unilaterally with one arm at a time. Unilateral training can help address any strength imbalances helping you to build a more balanced physique.

Steps to follow

• Stand facing a cable machine with a straight bar attachment or two separate handles attached to the low pulley and grasp the bar or handles with an underhand grip, palms facing upward.
• Position yourself with feet at shoulder-width. Maintain a slight bend in your knees, your upper arms close to your sides, and your elbows fully extended.
• Engage your core and maintain an upright posture. That will help keep your body stable and isolate the biceps.
• Exhale as you flex your elbows and curl the bar or handles upward toward your shoulders. Contract your biceps and squeeze them at the top of the movement.
• Pause briefly, inhale, and then lower the bar or handles to your starting position slowly and under control.
• Repeat 8-12 reps for a set and 3-4 sets per session.

21s

21s divides the curl movement into three parts. You perform the lower half of the curl for seven reps, then the upper half for seven reps, and then complete seven full curling movements. The technique increases time under tension and challenges the biceps in various ranges.

21s are one of the most popular bicep curl variations for targeting the biceps and providing an intense workout.

They are known for their intensity and ability to provide a more intensive pump in the biceps. The cumulative effect of performing multiple sets of partial and full-range curls can lead to a compelling muscle pump, which many individuals find satisfying and motivating.

21s prolong the time under tension for the biceps by dividing the movement into three parts. The extended duration can enhance muscle stimulation and contribute to muscle growth.

Performing partial curls and focusing on specific ranges of motion allows 21s to help target different areas of the biceps, making them one of the best bicep curl variations for challenging your upper arm muscles in unique ways, helping to boost strength and development.

The three-part nature of the 21s can help enhance the mind-muscle connection with the biceps. Consciously focusing on each portion of the movement can help develop better control and activation of the biceps.

Incorporate 21s into your bicep workout routine periodically to add variety and challenge your muscles. Start with lighter weights and focus on proper form and control throughout the exercise. Gradually increase the weight as you become comfortable and confident with the movement.

Steps to follow

You will stand upright with feet at shoulder-width, holding a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing upward, and perform the exercise in three parts, each with a different range of motion.

• Lower Half
  Begin by curling the dumbbells from a fully extended position to a 90-degree angle, focusing on the lower half of the range of motion.
  Keep your elbows close to your sides and your upper arms stationary throughout this portion.
• Upper Half
  Continue curling the dumbbells toward your shoulders from the 90-degree angle, focusing on the upper half of the range of motion.
  Ensure you start the curl from the halfway point and aim to bring the dumbbells as close as possible to your shoulders.
• Full Range of Motion
  Perform full bicep curls, starting from the fully extended position and curling the dumbbells to your shoulders after completing the upper half.

Repeat the three parts for seven repetitions in each segment, hence the name “21s.”

Final words from LiveLIfe

Bicep curls are some of the most effective exercises for strengthening the upper arm muscles.

But as with all muscle development and training, the possibility of getting improved results is greatly enhanced by targeting the muscles in different ways.

Thus incorporating these bicep curl variations into your training regimen can help stimulate your muscle development effort, allow you to target your upper arm muscles more effectively, and help boost your results.