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Biceps brachii or simply biceps is made of two parts, long and short head. Just remember the following points regarding its anatomy:
The long head (situated at the outer side of arm) starts from supraglenoid tubercle of the acromion process of scapula (upper part of shoulder joint) and its tendon crosses the shoulder joint.
The short head (situated at the inner side of the arm) starts from coracoid process of the scapula and it does not cross the shoulder joint. (lower part of shoulder joint)
Both the heads fuse to form a common tendon of the biceps which is inserted at the radial tubercle on the radius bone of the forearm
Biceps brachii does the flexion and supination at elbow joint (chief function of biceps) and also flexion and little external rotation at shoulder joint.
The bicipital groove of the upper part of the humerus (arm bone) contains the long head of biceps tendon and is at risk for injury.
The brachialis muscle is situated below the biceps connecting the humerus (arm) and the ulna (forearm). But it’s size pushes the biceps up and make it look bigger.
The long head of the biceps is responsible for the biceps peak and aesthetics. The short head is responsible for the girth and thickness of the biceps. The brachialis contributes to the overall mass of the biceps.
Almost all the biceps activation movements are about curling and supination at the elbow joint. In few cases, little shoulder flexion and external rotation is also done by the biceps at the last part of the curling movement.
Remember the following points regarding the movement:
It is impossible to isolate only one head of the biceps. In every curling movement, both long and short heads are activated at various degrees.
Closer grip on the bar activates the long head of the biceps more.
Wider grip on the bar activates the short head of the biceps more.
A shoulder width grip or just outside stresses both the heads equally.
Neutral grip or the ‘hammer grip’ (with dumbbells) activates mainly the brachialis and somewhat the long head too.
When biceps have been in pre stretched condition, i.e. elbows are behind the body, long head is activated more. (e.g. incline dumbbell curls)
When the elbows are in front of the body, the short head is activated more. (e.g. preacher curls)
To hit all the functions of the biceps, curl and twist (supination from mid part of motion) the forearm, followed by little flexion and external rotation of the arm (near the end of the motion)
Brachialis is best hit by the “hammer grip” curl of dumbbells, where the grip is midway between over and underhand with slow lowering movement (e.g. hammer curl)
Straight bar hits biceps harder instead of ez curl bar. But ez curl bars are easier on the wrists at the end part of the movement (when wrists are strained more).
Reverse grip curl with barbell or dumbbell emphasizes brachioradialis along with some biceps activation.
Common exercises for biceps are as follows:
Barbell curl: (classical underhand grip – both straight (hits biceps better) and ez curl bar (hits some brachialis too and wrist friendly) are used. Wider grip for short head and closer grip for long head is used (as explained before). Just outside shoulder wide grip (including the elbow carrying angle width) is best for activation of both long and short heads. Overhand grip stresses the brachioradialis and brachialis more.
Dumbbell curl: Both seated and standing movements are good. Alternating arms as well as both arms together can be used. Curling to the nose, by lifting elbow up and arm external rotation at the last part of the lift executes the full movement (including that shoulder movement too – do not think biceps are only elbow flexors!)
Preacher curl: Done on a preacher curl bench where elbows and shoulders are fixed and the movement is strict. Both barbells and dumbells can be used.
Incline dumbbell curl: Both barbells and dumbbells can be used. Both arms together or alternating arms can be used. Forearm supination is needed from beginning or at least from mid part of movement. Full elbow extension with arms hanging vertically is needed and is extremely effective for the long head (pre stretched before curl).
Concentration curl: Alternate curling of dumbbells fixing elbow on thigh while seated. Bodybuilders of the older era loved it to get pump and peak.
Drag curls: Where the elbows are drawn toward the body and the bar is kept close to the body.
Higher overhead pulley cable curl: This stresses the biceps in a different way. (mainly short head) But load has to be much lower (as arms are in fixed and raised/ abducted position)
Low pulley curl: A bar (to hit biceps in different manner, accentuating the end part of the movement) or the ‘triceps pushdown’ rope (to hit the brachialis) are used.
Spider curl: Hands containing bar is suspended vertically while leaning the torso on preacher curl bench. (for short head of biceps)
Hammer curl: Dumbbells are commonly used either across the body or straight up and down. By the way, slow lowering movement works best for the brachialis.
Besides these, slow chin ups (with underhand grip) is great for biceps building (besides lats and other back muscles, of course) and variation can be made by different grips of the chin up bar as in curl.
Another exercise which taxed biceps well, is the underhand grip rowing variation (like seated cable row, bent over barbell row)
Medical and injury issues:
Biceps injuries, even rupture of the long head, are not uncommon. Please try these following to prevent injury:
Always use proper warmup and full range of motion. Cold biceps are more prone to injury. They are typically done in finishing sets of an workout.
Never try to curl more weight than you can handle for ego lifting. People try to jerk up and down heavy shit only to increase their chance of biceps tendon injury
Smoking and steroid abuse increases chance of biceps injury. Avoid them at all costs.
Avoid chances of shoulder impingement where the biceps tendon with supraspinatus (rotator cuff tendon) gets compressed. Do not lift weights with abducted and internal rotated shoulder. Overhead heavy movements with pain can also impinge biceps tendon.
Deadlift are with locked elbow all the time and overhand grips in both hands. Biceps tendon tear is a complication in heavy deadlift with mixed grip (one over and one underhand grip – used to lift more weight). Do not jerk the weight up or down or try to pull with biceps. Remember, our biceps are much weaker than glutes, hamstring and back muscles (the biggies of the posterior chain), which should be used in deadlifts. Arms should hand straight down with fully extended elbow.
Be extra careful during preacher curls. Trying to curl too much weight or lower it quickly to bottom is dangerous.
Beware of any tendinitis or any other connective tissue pathology. Even a nagging pain at biceps should not be ignored. Diagnose and treat them early and give proper rest to recover. Otherwise this can be the recipe for future biceps rupture (on overuse or undue stress).
For even more suggestions on this, please click this link: https://www.drjbfitness.com/single-post/biceps-tendon-rupture-prevention-tips-dr-jb
Proper way of doing curls:
To have more aesthetic biceps and make them grow fast, keep the following in mind…
Try both heavy curl with rep range of max 5 to 6 and load them heavy and some lighter slow curls for pump with a rep range of even 15 or more. Biceps contain both slow and fast twitch muscle fibers (the latter being more abundant). Moreover the classical ‘pump’ by bodybuilders with lactic acid accumulation kick starts growth of the biceps.
Lowering phase or eccentrics should be slower at a range of 3 to 4 seconds with a squeeze and hold for a second at the top. Few recommend negative phase, even slower than 5 seconds for better results.
Weekly thrice biceps workout is optimal. At least twice a week is a must and give at least 48 hours for the fibers to recover no other rowing or pulling motion in that time period, let them grow).
Brachialis respond even better to slow moves. Go heavy and slow with more emphasis during lowering or eccentric phase. Do not ignore the brachialis as it contributes to the thickness and volume of the biceps.
For ladies too, biceps workout is important simply because it is a stabilizer of the elbow joint which is involved in heavy pulling movements. Weak biceps can easily lead to injury. Ladies wont get big masculine arms anyway by doing a few curls, so don’t worry. 🙂
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