Everyone loves the immense size of the biceps, and muscular biceps also allow you to lift heavier during compound exercises like deadlifts. Here, we discuss the best bicep exercises with dumbbells in a detailed guide. These exercises will surely grow the size of your arms.
The bicep is a small muscle that needs some attention to increase in size. The biceps are known as the symbol of fitness and strength, so it takes time to grow. Many bicep exercises require only a set of dumbbells, and if you have those, you add hard work.
Benefits of Bicep Exercises with Dumbbells Training
There are many benefits to bicep exercises with dumbbells, as these increase stamina in your arms. There are some benefits to this, as follows:
- Range of motion: Dumbbell exercises are natural movement workouts compared to curls and machines. It increases the range of motion in your body.
- Versatility: Additionally, a wider variety of exercises will be performed using dumbbells instead of machines. You only need a pair of dumbbells to work out your entire body.
- Unilateral training: Most people have one arm bigger and the other smaller. With the dumbbells, you can easily set the imbalance of your arms.
Warming Up to Prepare for Your Bicep Exercises with Dumbbells
It helps to warm up before starting the bicep exercises with dumbbells, as these warm-up activities prepare your body to do the hard work. It would help if you did these exercises and then began your workouts. Some of the best warm-up exercises are as follows:
- Cardio: You must do 5 to 10 minutes of light cardio that raises your heart rate and body temperature. A warm body performs better than a cold body, preventing injuries. Just a few minutes of cardio gives benefits to your training sessions.
- Arm circles: stand with your arms stretched out to the sides and make little circles with your arms. It is an excellent warm-up exercise that has a lot of benefits.
- Shoulder rotations: you stand with your arms at your sides and turn your shoulders forward in a circular motion. Also, this rotation gives you strength for bicep exercises.
Top 7 Bicep Exercises with Dumbbells
There are many bicep exercises, but the top bicep exercises with dumbbells that you can do easily are as follows:
- Dumbbell Curl
- Hammer Curl
- Concentration Curl
- Preacher Curl
- Inclined Dumbbell Curl
- Elevator Curl
- Zootman Curl
1. Dumbbell Curl
This exercise is a classic and a must for any biceps routine. It is a good combination for the biceps and will grow bicep size. Dumbbell curls impact your bicep, so add this to your routine of bicep exercises with dumbbells.
How to do it
- You start it by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart and a couple of dumbbells in your hands. Your palms should meet forward, keeping the dumbbells at your sides, using an underhand grasp.
- From the start position, curl the dumbbells up to shoulder level, holding your elbows in place and your wrist directly. Moving your elbows just forward is good.
- Wait shortly at the top of the movement and pack your bicep muscles to contract them thoroughly, then slowly lower the dumbbell back down to the starting place.
2. Hammer Curl
The hammer curl is a bicep curl variation where you maintain the dumbbells with an impartial grip. It is an ideal exercise for creating the long head of the biceps as well as both upper arm and forearm strength. It’s good for increasing the bicep size and length of the head of the biceps. It is also one of the best bicep exercises with dumbbells.
How to do it
- You stand shoulder-width apart, having a dumbbell with an impartial grip in each hand, pointing your palms to face your body.
- Flex your elbows, lifting the dumbbells toward your shoulders. Hold your palms facing your body and your wrists directly. Ensure that your upper arms remain fixed and that only your forearms move during the curl.
- Stay at the top of the movement when the dumbbells are near your shoulders, and tighten your biceps to maximize muscle concentration.
- Decrease the dumbbells back to the starting position in a controlled manner, maintaining your palms facing your body and pressure in your biceps and forearms.
3. Concentration Curl
The concentration curl is one of the best bicep exercises with dumbbells to separate the arms by minimizing the involvement of other muscles. You put a fantastic amount of pressure on the biceps, which helps boost muscle growth.
How to do it
- Sit on any bench or chair with your feet flat on the floor, and carry a dumbbell in one hand with a supinated grip.
- Bend forward and place your elbow against the inside of your thigh, just above your knee. Hold your upper arm close to your body and your other hand on your opposite knee for support and stability.
- Curl the weight towards your shoulder while maintaining your upper body, arm, and elbow fixed.
- Squeeze your biceps at the movement’s top and hold briefly before lowering the weight to the starting position.
4. Preacher Curl
The preacher curl with a dumbbell is a great biceps isolation workout. It effectively stops other muscles from assisting in the movement and stops cheating or swinging the weight. It is a fantastic variety for your biceps and gives you good results.
How to do it
- Use a preacher curl bench or position the backrest of a regular workout bench so that it bends back slightly.
- Place your upper arm on the backrest of the incline bench, with your armpits at the top of the pad. At the starting position, fully extend your arm, the dumbbell resting on the court.
- To strengthen your biceps, curl the dumbbell up towards your shoulders.
- Squeeze your biceps briefly at the top of the movement before lowering the weight to fully extended arms or until the dumbbell hits the bench.
5. Inclined Dumbbell Curl
During the incline dumbbell curl, your biceps would be forced into a stretched position, which gives you a terrific pump and promotes muscle building. The long head of the biceps, which offers your biceps their apex, is the objective of incline curls. It is also one of the best bicep exercises with dumbbells.
How to do it
- Modify the bench to an incline angle of about 45 degrees. Sit down on it with your feet flat on the ground. Lean back against the backrest, holding a dumbbell in each hand using a grip.
- In the starting position, you have your arms outstretched by your sides. Raise the dumbbells to shoulder height while maintaining a stationary, near-body elbow position. Steer clear of swinging the weights or lifting them with momentum.
- When the dumbbells are closest to your shoulders, squeeze your biceps as hard as possible. Then, carefully lower the dumbbells to the beginning position while keeping your biceps taut.
6. Elevator Curl
The elevator curl is an excellent variety of bicep exercises with dumbbells. With the W curl, you can efficiently target and isolate your biceps by turning your arms outward and putting your elbows into your sides. You can execute the elevator curl in three one-second holds with progressive movements. The elevator curl is a great dumbbell bicep exercise.
The w curl positions your elbows into your sides and turns out your arms to effectively target and isolate your biceps. The elevator curl will perform in movement progressions, with three separate pauses for one-second holds.
How to do it
- While seated on a bench, grab two dumbbells, set your elbows into your sides, and turn your palms away from you.
- Curl both dumbbells simultaneously with three pauses on the way up, slowly lower the weight back to the starting position, and repeat for a set of 10–15 reps.
7. Zootman Curl
The Zootman curl is one of the best bicep exercises with dumbbells, and it targets your biceps and forearms at the same time. If you want to improve your arm size and strength, this Zootman curl is best for you.
How to do it
- Stand up vertically with a dumbbell in both hands, held at arm’s length. The elbows should be close to the body.
- Make sure the palms of the hands are looking at each other. It will be your starting position.
- While holding the upper arm stationary, curl the weights while contracting the biceps as you breathe. Only the forearms should move. Your wrist should rotate so that you have a supinated (palms up) grip. Continue the movement until your biceps are tight and the dumbbells are at shoulder level.
- Hold the contracted position for a second as you squeeze the biceps.
- During the contracted position, rotate your wrist until you have a pronated (palms facing down) grip with the thumb at a higher place than the pinky.
- With a pronated grip, gradually start lowering the weights.
- As the dumbbells close your thighs, start rotating the wrist so that you go back to a neutral (palms facing your body) grip.
People Also Ask
Should I do three exercises for the biceps?
If you are a beginner, three exercises for the biceps are enough, but if you are advanced, you need more than three to gain muscle. You should do more than three because less activity does not break the strength and needs more pressure to break the power.
How heavy should the dumbbells be for beginners?
If you’re uncomfortable with the weights, start light and work your way up. When it comes to form, importance is secondary. Newbies must start with light weights, and advanced people can lift heavy dumbbells, but beginners must start with light weights.
What’s the difference between bicep curls and hammer curls?
With dumbbells, bicep curls and hammer curls are equally efficient bicep exercises targeting distinct parts of the biceps. In bicep curls, you hold the weight with your palms facing up, but in hammer curls, you keep the weight with your palms facing each other.
Can bicep exercises with dumbbells help with muscle imbalances?
Yes, bicep exercises with dumbbells can help prevent and treat muscular imbalances. You may work each arm separately with dumbbells, which is especially useful if one component is more vital. Dumbbells allow you to exercise your biceps equally on both sides without letting the more muscular arm overcompensate.
Conclusion
Bicep exercises with dumbbells can provide a lot of benefits. Unlike machines, they provide a more complete workout by increasing your arm’s range of motion and fostering muscular growth. They also make unilateral training possible, perfect for correcting arm-to-arm muscle imbalances.
With consistent use, these exercises can gradually increase the size and strength of your bicep exercises with dumbbells. Do not use momentum to lift the weights; concentrate on contracting your biceps while maintaining perfect technique.
