What would you say if I told you that there are only two biceps exercises you need to do? In this video, I am going to show you the two biceps exercises that should make up the bare minimum of your biceps workouts. Not only are these two exercises great for building big biceps, but they are the two exercises that created the foundation of my biceps training.
Some might tell you that you only need two exercises total in order to build a muscle group. I disagree. I don’t think anyone should be limited to picking just two exercises for a muscle group because each one often has multiple muscle heads as well as multiple functions that can be targeted individually through exercise selection.
The chest is a great example of this; it has three heads as well as two separate functions. Some might tell you that all you need is a flat bench press and an incline bench press. You are only hitting two of the three heads of the chest with this selection and while you are pressing, you are not getting any adduction – another major function of the chest.
With the biceps, you have three major functions: supination of the forearm, elbow flexion and shoulder flexion. However, you are able to attack all three functions with just about any biceps exercise you do, since they are all a version of a curl. This means that you are not required to have a whole range of exercises, unless you are ready to take you biceps training to the next level.
But in the case of needing two exercises to build big biceps, this is simply what the absolute foundation of your biceps training should include. Not every single biceps workout needs to include both of these exercises, but a complete training plan will at least build off or include them at some point. As a matter of fact, these two biceps exercises were staples in my early training that helped me to build the big arms that I have today.
The first exercise up is the strict curl / cheat curl drop set. This is simple, stand with your back, butt, and head against the wall and curl the weight up without losing contact with the wall at any of these points of contact. Perform these curls to failure and then immediately step away from the wall. Here, you are to perform a set of cheat curls, allowing for a little momentum and cheat to get the weight up. Be mindful of the eccentric portion of the lift, however. You will want to lower the weight slow and controlled to get the most benefits out of the exercise.
This drop set combination is great for building big biceps because you are able to overload the muscles with heavier weight in both portions of the lift. Not only that, but the ability to take an exercise to and through failure is a key component to new muscle growth.
The next exercise requires nothing but a pullup bar and your own bodyweight. This is something I did fro ma very young age and I think was a major factor in the development of my biceps. The exercise is simply to flex your arms while holding the bar and sticking your head forward so that the back of your head is in front of the pullup bar. This will make sure that you are not only in elbow flexion and forearm supination, but you are getting shoulder flexion as well.
So what do you do from this position? Well, in order to build bigger biceps you can simply flex and hold there as long as possible and fight the negative. Fight the descent of your body through the entirety of the movement. The key here is to make sure that you are keeping an open angle, about 90 degrees, on your arms while holding the bar.
Similar to performing a chin-up, you don’t want to close the gap between your biceps and your forearms as you will start to activate your lats, which is something you want to avoid if you are looking to isolate and build big biceps.
Now, if you want to take your biceps training to the next level that hits every function of the biceps as well as targets the muscle from different angles, there are many exercises to choose from. I don’t think we should ever be limited to just two exercises for a muscle group, the biceps included. But you should at least start with these two exercises to build the foundation of your biceps growth.
If you are looking for a complete step-by-step training program that will take your workouts to the next level, be sure to head over to athleanx.com and find the workout program that matches your goals.
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38 replies to "The ONLY 2 Biceps Exercises You Need (NO, SERIOUSLY!)"
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Missed it again!
Make a same video on chest too
I got accepted thanks chief ❤😂
How did you tear your bicep?
I’m doing classic curls where i turn my hand outwards while coming up. I also like hammer curls a lot!
Amazing content!!💪🏻 always bringing the best content to the platform! We appreciate the format and knowledge behind the “why”! Thanks you’re the 🐐
I’m literally in the gym right now doing a pull day. Jeff is building the algorithm so that there aren’t any imbalances
I’m in the gym holding my cellphone in one hand and playing pocket pool with the other. That sounds more like what you’re doing. LOL
@Jack Bean Hello my alternative account, time to go annoy others before kicking the bucket?
@Andy A.C Keep laughing at yourself like that while saying that to yourself, kid.
Jeff, I think would be a good ideia to make a series of videos about ideal volume for each muscle
@michael vanderlaan Your little opinion ain’t matter, if you wanna bark then go ahead and do it again
@etofok LOL, that’s funny.
@michael vanderlaan Yet you’re here whining about it. Okay, skinny.
As always. Thank you very much Jeff!🙏🏻
Isometrics are something you hit in the Bruce Lee video as well so I’ve added them to the end of my workouts. Can’t wait to see the results in a few weeks. Thanks for another great, fact packed video, Coach.
I know he knows what he’s doing but whenever I see Jeff doing Bicep work, I am always worried with that nasty torn bicep injury. Please be careful Jeff.
I tore one of my biceps last year and am still in the process of getting back to where I was beforehand. Seeing how developed and strong you’ve been able to become after the same injury gives me a lot of hope. Great video.
How did you tear it because I’m scared
@Heuvelke nah it was from mixed grip deadlifting, I went beyond the point of fatigue and my form broke down. The supinated arm unstraightened slightly, putting too much strain on the bicep and the tendon ripped right out of the bone.
@James Macrae deadlifts, specifically mixed grip. The supinated (forward-facing) hand has a lot of strain on the bicep. It’s a fairly common deadlifting injury. I’m deadlifting again, but only doing double overhand grip. My grip has to be a lot stronger now to hold heavy weights without the advantage of mixed grip, but I guess that’s not a bad thing.
@Fordragon alright. Thx. I always watch out for fatigue and dont go further when i cant maintain my form
Did you need a surgery to fix it?
I’m about to finish my first month of the basix program and I freaking love it — I feel great and I’m excited for month two. Would love to see a video about breathing // breathwork during basic exercises; I find that I’m always trying to find the best time to breathe in and out and I feel like I’m doing it wrong or missing something. It’s hard to catch my breath and find the right time to breathe, even though I’m not necessarily OUT of breath. It’s hard to explain. I feel like I’d have better endurance if I just figured that out! Thanks so much for everything you guys do, you’re the best 💪
That’d be great, so +1
Breathe out under load and in during the load release is the most accepted method. So for chest press you breathe out while you push, in when you relax and come down. The problem is when you’re at max weight it’s not always easy to concentrate on that and some people(myself included) don’t feel comfortable doing that. What I do is load up by hyperventilating for say 10 breaths before the set just to get my blood loaded before I lift so if I mess up it’s not so bad. 🙂
Out: Concentric
In: Eccentric
This man is definition for hardwork & consistency
Hope we can also get a tricep version of this in the future!😄
hi Jeff! I would really like to see a video about how you can correct muscle asymmetry at home. that would be incredibly helpful!
Yes, incredibly valuable! Those workouts where time is the limited resource, having this in my hip pocket is perfect!
Excellent advice as usual, incredibly strong with biceps that surpass most.
Great information! Thanks for sharing your deep knowledge!
Did these today after I did deadlift barbell squats and bench press. Major pump. Thank you !
Thanks, Jeff. I’m a personal trainer, and I love the strict curl idea. It will help me in working with people who swing the torso backwards as they curl. This will correct that. I love your channel.
Thx boss. Always speaking wisdom I can keep applying and working out without hurting myself (again) and recovering and getting stronger 💪🏼
Thank you Jeff!
Since you have this new video up, might as well tell everyone who is reading this that I am going to do it. I am going to eat better and train harder. I am going to get a six pack and become super fit. I will return to this comment one year from now (March 10th 2024) and I will tell you guys if I fail or succeed.