Best and Worst Exercises To Build Bigger Biceps

Summary

In this fitness-focused video, Coach Craig shares his top three bicep exercises for achieving massive arms: the standing cheating bicep curl, the dumbbell curl with a pronated to supinated twist, and a variation of the first two. He advises against exercises like hammer curls and chin-ups, emphasizing their limited effectiveness for bicep growth. Craig's straightforward approach and humorous delivery aim to simplify bicep training, encouraging viewers to focus on the most effective exercises for optimal results.

Takeaways

• 💪 The standing cheating bicep curl is considered the most important bicep exercise for building big arms.
• 🏋️‍♂️ Cheating a little on the bicep curl allows for heavier weights and more progressive overload, but avoid leaning back past vertical.
• 📊 A normal grip width (shoulder-width) is recommended for the barbell curl to maximize bicep contraction.
• 🔄 The second best exercise is the dumbbell curl with a pronated to supinated twist, which engages the bicep's long and short heads.
• 🧘‍♂️ Seated or incline dumbbell curls are alternatives to standing curls, catering to those with back issues or personal preferences.
• 🚫 The third exercise in the list is not explicitly mentioned, but the focus is on isolating bicep exercises rather than compound movements.
• 👎 The hammer grip curl is considered the third worst bicep exercise due to its limited bicep activation and greater forearm involvement.
• 🙅‍♂️ Reverse grip curls are even less effective for bicep growth compared to traditional curls, offering less peak activation.
• 🙅‍♂️ Chin-ups, pull-ups, and rows are deemed the worst exercises for bicep growth as they primarily target the back, not the biceps.
• ⏰ It's suggested to perform back exercises before bicep-specific exercises to maximize the effectiveness of both muscle groups.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video script?

The main focus of the video script is to provide advice on the best and worst exercises for building big biceps, emphasizing the importance of certain exercises and explaining why others are less effective.

What is the opinion of the speaker regarding the importance of cheating in bicep exercises?

The speaker believes that a little bit of 'cheating', or using momentum, can be beneficial for bicep exercises, especially for those who have been training for a while, as it allows for heavier weights and more progressive overload.

What does the speaker suggest as the number one bicep exercise?

The speaker suggests the standing cheating bicep curl as the number one bicep exercise, emphasizing the importance of not going past vertical and using a normal grip width.

Why does the speaker recommend starting with a pronated grip during dumbbell curls?

The speaker recommends starting with a pronated grip during dumbbell curls because it allows for a greater contraction of the bicep as you curl and supinate, hitting both the long and short head of the bicep.

What is the significance of the 'curls for girls' comment made by the speaker?

The 'curls for girls' comment is a humorous way the speaker uses to emphasize the importance of focusing on bicep-specific exercises rather than compound movements like chin-ups, which are better for back training.

What is the speaker's stance on the effectiveness of chin-ups and pull-ups for bicep growth?

The speaker considers chin-ups and pull-ups to be less effective for bicep growth compared to isolation exercises like curls, and suggests that these should be done to target the back rather than the biceps.

What does the speaker suggest as the worst bicep exercise according to the script?

The speaker suggests that chin-ups, pull-ups, and rows are the worst exercises for specifically targeting bicep growth, as they are more effective for back training.

What advice does the speaker give regarding the number of exercises and sets for bicep training?

The speaker advises focusing on a few key exercises and going hard on them rather than doing many exercises with fewer sets, emphasizing that quality and intensity are more important than variety.

Why does the speaker consider hammer grip curls less effective for bicep growth?

The speaker considers hammer grip curls less effective for bicep growth because they involve more forearm work and less bicep contraction compared to other curl variations.

What is the speaker's recommendation on the order of exercises during a workout focused on the back and biceps?

The speaker recommends performing back exercises first while the biceps are fresh to maximize back potential, and then moving on to bicep-specific exercises after.

Outlines

00:00

💪 The Art of Building Bigger Biceps

This paragraph introduces the video's focus on bicep exercises, emphasizing the importance of choosing the right exercises to maximize bicep growth. Coach Craig shares his opinion on the three most effective bicep exercises and warns against the three least effective ones. He clarifies that his advice is based on his 34 years of training experience and not on formal kinesiology. The paragraph sets the stage for a practical guide to bicep training, promising viewers a clear understanding of what exercises to include and avoid for optimal results.

05:01

🏋️‍♂️ Top Bicep Exercises and Techniques

The speaker discusses the first of the three crucial bicep exercises: the standing cheating bicep curl. He explains that 'cheating' refers to using a slight swing of the body to lift heavier weights, which can lead to greater muscle growth. The paragraph details the proper form for this exercise, including avoiding leaning back past vertical and using a normal grip width. Coach Craig also introduces the second exercise, the dumbbell curl with a pronated-to-supinated twist, which targets the entire bicep muscle. He suggests variations such as standing, seated, or incline positions and emphasizes the importance of training intensity over exercise quantity.

10:04

🚫 Debunking Myths: The Worst Bicep Exercises

In this paragraph, the focus shifts to the exercises that are less effective for bicep growth. The speaker ranks hammer grip curls as the third least effective due to their higher forearm involvement. He then identifies reverse grip curls as the second worst, as they do not engage the biceps as effectively as a supinated grip. The paragraph culminates with the speaker's opinion that chin-ups, pull-ups, and rows are the worst exercises for bicep-specific training, as they primarily target the back muscles. He advises prioritizing isolation exercises for biceps after compound back exercises to ensure maximum bicep development.

Keywords

💡Biceps

Biceps refer to the muscles at the front of the upper arm, which are crucial for lifting and bending the arm. In the video, the focus is on exercises to develop and strengthen these muscles, aiming for 'big arms' or 'guns.' The script discusses various exercises that target the biceps, emphasizing their importance in achieving the desired muscular appearance.

💡Cheating Curls

Cheating curls are a technique in weightlifting where a slight momentum is used to assist in lifting heavier weights, particularly when strict form becomes too challenging. The video suggests that a little bit of 'cheating' can be beneficial for advanced trainees to push past failure points and achieve progressive overload, which is essential for muscle growth.

💡Progressive Overload

Progressive overload is a principle in strength training where the stress placed on the body during exercise is gradually increased over time. This can be done by adding more weight, increasing the number of repetitions, or decreasing rest time. The video mentions this concept as a key to growing biceps, suggesting that exercises should be challenging enough to stimulate muscle growth.

💡Pronated and Supinated Grip

These terms describe the orientation of the hand during exercises. A pronated grip is when the palm faces down, while a supinated grip is when the palm faces up. The video explains that changing from a pronated to a supinated grip during a dumbbell curl can enhance bicep contraction and target different parts of the bicep muscle.

💡Preacher Curls

Preacher curls are a specific type of bicep curl done while leaning on a preacher bench, which isolates the bicep and reduces the involvement of other muscles. Although not the main focus, the video gives these an honorable mention for those with shoulder issues, suggesting they can provide a good contraction at the top of the movement.

💡Isolation Exercises

Isolation exercises are those that target a specific muscle group with minimal involvement of other muscles. The video emphasizes the importance of isolation exercises like bicep curls for targeted muscle growth, as opposed to compound movements that engage multiple muscle groups.

💡Compound Movements

Compound movements involve multiple joints and muscle groups working together. The video suggests that while exercises like pull-ups and rows do engage the biceps, they are not ideal for bicep-specific growth and are better suited for back training.

💡Hammer Grip Curls

Hammer grip curls are a variation of bicep curls where the palms face each other, resembling the grip used for hammering. The video ranks this as a less effective exercise for bicep growth compared to other curl variations due to increased forearm involvement and less bicep contraction.

💡Reverse Curls

Reverse curls, also known as concentration curls, are performed with the palm facing down throughout the movement. The video considers this exercise less effective for bicep growth because it does not provide as much peak contraction as other curl variations.

💡Pull Day

A pull day in a workout routine is dedicated to exercises that involve pulling motions, typically targeting the back and bicep muscles. The video advises that if training biceps and back on the same day, one should prioritize back exercises to avoid bicep fatigue that could limit the effectiveness of back training.

Highlights

Three main bicep exercises for building big arms.

Standing cheating bicep curl as the most important exercise.

Importance of not going past vertical when cheating.

Normal shoulder-width grip recommended for bicep contraction.

Dumbbell curl from pronated to supinated position explained.

Benefits of twisting motion in dumbbell curls for bicep contraction.

Variations of curl exercises including standing, seated, and incline.

Preacher curls as an honorable mention for bicep training.

Cable curls with forward lean for additional bicep contraction.

Advice on not overcomplicating bicep training with too many exercises.

Recommendation for a maximum of two hard sets per exercise.

Hammer grip curls as the third worst exercise for bicep growth.

Reverse grip curls as the second worst exercise for bicep development.

Chin-ups and rows as the worst exercises for bicep isolation.

Suggestion to prioritize back exercises before bicep work on pull days.

Encouragement to subscribe and engage with the content.

Transcripts

and this is gonna create some

controversy because some of your

favorite guys they're gonna tell you the

opposite of this one and I don't care

cuz this is just my opinion

what I think if you disagree you

disagree coach Craig and today we are

going to learn how to get some big

biceps

everyone wants huge arms and who doesn't

want to show off the guns okay so what

I'm saying is there are three main or

most important biceps exercises that you

should be doing to get the most jacked

arms you can okay I'm gonna also explain

the three worst or the most stupid or

the ones you shouldn't do to get your

arms to grow so you'll walk out of this

video and know what to train and what

not to train to get the best arms that

you could possibly have okay before we

get into that not a doctor not a

dietician an actual kinesiologist that

actually knows about this stuff okay so

listen to me I've been training for 34

years I know what I'm doing okay I'm

gonna make it real simple so you all

will understand not gonna talk over your

head and not gonna try to confuse you

with any of the BS we're gonna get right

into it the number one yes most

important bicep exercise you should be

doing to get the big arms that you want

here it is the standing cheating bicep

curl now I don't mean you cheat right

away but I mean you need to cheat a

little bit okay so I'm gonna explain

what I mean so barbell curl it doesn't

matter if it's a barbell or an EZ bar

you know the bendy ones it really

doesn't matter your hands can be anyway

don't try to confuse it you just stand

up and you curl the frickin weight okay

it's that simple

so why cheating well when you cheat you

allow yourself to lift a little bit

heavier okay if you go super super

strict

you're gonna fatigue before you can

really go to failure or really

push your arms to the point that they

get that progressive overload at the end

at first sure you just go strict and

it's fine if you're a beginner don't

need a cheat but if you're watching this

and you've been training a few years you

want your arms to grow train harder

train harder than last time

cheat a little bit not saying lean back

past vertical okay so let me just demo

okay so you start strict bicep curl okay

say you get to eight reps and you can't

do it anymore okay a little bit of a

swing a little bit of a swing no big

deal do not bend backwards it is not a

limbo contest okay you're not trying to

limbo so do not go past the vertical so

standing straight so okay lean get a

little bit of power and curl to the top

that's what I'm talking about

that is the number one exercise okay you

do that everything else is gravy

everything else is bonus okay now one

thing to remember is you don't want to

use a super close grip on this it will

in fact decrease the amount of bicep

contraction that you're getting the

studies will show this okay less

activation of the bicep don't need to

know that just grab a normal freaking

grip you go a little bit wider for

variation but to me I don't like wider

it feels like you have less range of

motion so just grab it normal shoulder

width grab that bar and curl it when you

get tired eight nine ten reps do a

couple more by cheating okay

this is one time when cheating is good

don't cheat on your girlfriend cheat on

the curls curls for girls don't cheat on

your girls see what I did there number

two are you ready for this

it is a dumbbell curl but it is a

certain way you have to start from a

pronated to a supinated position when

you curl the weight easy-to-remember

pronate is when your hand is down

supinate is when you can hold a cup of

soup there's a cup boom my coffee I can

hold it if my hands like that I can't

hold it I can

Abbot supinate you hold a cup of soup

okay so this number to exercise you

start with the weight on the side if

you're at home you curl your frickin

syrup okay so you start in your pronated

position and as you curl up you twist up

okay so you see that motion it twists so

my baby finger becomes higher than my

thumb at the top and now see what

happens

okay you and you twist over the bicep

automatically contracts so as you do

that you're going to get more

contraction of the bicep okay remember

the bicep is technically two muscles

it's like a bicycle it's got two wheels

a tricycle a tricep is three okay short

and long head okay so you want to work

the entire bicep so if you start with

the curls then switch to the dumbbells

where you supinate you hit that entire

bicep action to flex and contract okay

and that's what you want the long and

short head you want the peak and you can

see if you flexing you twist in the

bicep actually moves okay so you're

asking well should you be standing

seated it doesn't matter do it the way

you like standing boom at the same time

sure same time slow-mo

look at that slow-mo one arm at a time

whew see it's not that cuff oh but I

don't like standing I have a sore back

all right

seated I can still do it oh but what

about I like to do it at an incline yeah

so freaking lay back and do the same

thing watch this look well I can do it

there's so many ways to do it

okay don't over complicate this that is

number two number three remember you

only need three anything else really you

don't need it

sure you might get a bit more gains one

percent

or if you do seven different exercises

most of you just need to train harder

that's 90 percent of the work done right

there you can pick one exercise and go

harder and get better than doing the

five or six the best way with the RP and

seeks to do seven and to hold it for

next time into six days a week and the

g-load afterward three and upwards and

to do yeah whatever science science

science do all that stuff pick the best

exercises and go freaking hard on them

that's all you need to do how many sets

five to ten twice a week max and if you

go crazy hard five is plenty so number

three the answer is whichever are the

ones I just showed that you didn't do

yet okay you did barbell now you can do

it with the EZ bar you did dumbbells

standing up now you do it sitting down

see how simple this is

you're very it a little bit all bored I

don't want to do it standing this time

oh my back sorry see sit yourself down

and do the curls that way it's really

that simple

now just for kicks I give you an

honorable mention that was almost made

the list okay I have a sore shoulder I

can't do half of these things preacher

curls like this in the front I'm gonna

give you more of a contraction at the

top if you want to add those in and

another one would be if you're leaning

forward with a cable cable leaning

forward and you're pulling in this way

okay that will give you more contraction

right at the bottom so if you're like

mr. Olympia guy and you're like no I

want more no I've already done those

streets no you just have your two extras

see you now got five exercises now

remember you can only do a max of two

hard sets on each of these five because

that's ten so if you add more exercises

you need to do less sets of each so

remember just because you're doing more

variety doesn't make it better because

if you add more variety you have to do

less

the really good stuff standing barbell

curls is awesome you do five sets of

that hard you're gonna get good arms now

if you said no but this coach said I

should do five different exercises well

if you only do one set of each you just

went from doing five sets of biceps with

the barbell curl which is awesome to one

you just did less of the good stuff

geez does that make sense it's like food

you can only eat so much calories well

if you're eating a lot of vegetables in

your coaches no you should switch over

to junk food to bulk and you eat less

veggies in order to eat more junk well

then you just decrease your nutrition

does it make sense hopefully it makes

sense the three worst and this you need

to know because you don't know which of

the ones should you avoid or not do as

much of okay which will offer you the

less games you know the ones that are

gonna give you the most gains now you

know what's the worst okay

I'm gonna do them in reverse order so

the third worst exercise for building

Jack biceps hammer grip curls hammer

like you're banging nails gate hammer

see your hands like this you're curling

this way okay you see that it is a lot

more forearm involvement okay less bicep

you're not you're not twisting you see

that little motion your biceps in this

position as opposed to twisting and

doing the curl that way you can see the

difference

I've unless peak right here okay that is

the third worst exercise to do can you

still do it yes

does it suck no if you love it still do

it at the end do your sets all good the

best ones and throw in that at the end

it's not like you can't do it okay you

can do it you can even grab dumbbells

and do your cardio with a bicep you're

seeing gram of Josephine walking around

the hill with a 1 pound dumbbell pumping

away it's still gonna benefit you're

still good it's just not ideal okay so

do what you need to do if you like it

keep doing it but just know there's

better next second worst thing you could

do yes this is the worst now it's even

worse one worse loop the reverse curl so

I used to do these was and as a kid I

was like why am I even doing this I hate

it sure it's working your form if you

want to work your forms more that's

great but it's not doing nearly as much

for your biceps as if you curled the

right way I'll call the right way with

the supinated grip okay

cup of soup curls if you put your hand

this way and you curl it's a reverse

grip not as good and here's the worst

and this is gonna create some

controversy because some of your

favorite guys they're gonna tell you the

opposite of this one and I don't care

cuz this is just my opinion what I think

if you disagree you disagree okay the

worst bicep exercise you could ever do

this is and I grouped them into one chin

ups pull ups and any kind of bicep or

like rows pull-ups chin-ups and rows you

know pull up chin up

it still works your bicep for sure row

seated rows it's still you're still

pulling in you're still working the

bicep yes but not ideal those exercises

are for guess what do you know it's for

your back try to minimize bicep

involvement maximize back involvement

lats for example when you do those

exercises don't try to do chin-ups and

rows to get bigger biceps

try to do those exercises to get a

bigger back then use your more isolation

stuff for the biceps specifically after

so can you do chin-ups to build bigger

arms yes of course you can it's just not

ideal

I would suggest strongly that you do the

curls for the girls not the chins for

the win the chin for the win is for your

back okay

can you do both together yes a lot of

people do back and biceps together it's

a pull day but you want to start with

your back first when your arms are fresh

because you don't want your biceps to be

a weak link in the moment in the

movement and you want to be able to

perform your back to its maximum

potential okay after you're done your

back then you can go on to the bicep

specific exercises like the barbell

curls dumbbell Carol's and so on okay so

you can do your chins and your pull-ups

and your rows but do them before you

focus on your biceps don't just use

those to do your biceps okay hopefully

that makes sense

subscribe click bell buttons freakin

press every single thing on the screen

hopefully you get a swoosh hopefully you

get a swish one of the two it's the

lottery you might not get I don't know I

don't do this stuff I also did a video

it was the top three chest training

exercises in worst three be sure to

watch that if you learn about your

biceps you certainly want to build a big

chest as well okay so watch those Greg

do CENTCOM for coaching Greg just said

IFBB Pro follow me on Instagram we can

chat over there and watch one of these

two videos are so important you can't

miss them or they're stupid and you

can't miss them because they're so

stupid either way you've got to watch it

and until next time I'm out