The biceps brachii, more commonly referred to as simply the biceps, are located on the anterior (front) of the upper arm. They are the most visible part of the upper arm muscles, creating the nice peak when you flex. The biceps are composed of two bundles of muscle (hence the "bi" in biceps), whose key functions are to supinate the forearm (turn the palm of the hand upwards) and to flex the elbow (bring the hand towards the shoulder).

The anterior upper arm also contains another key muscle called the brachialis anticus, or simply the brachialis. It lies underneath the lower part of the biceps muscles, situated on the lower half of the upper arm close to the elbow, and helps with flexion of the elbow.

Since most people use the term "biceps" to loosely refer to the entire anterior upper arm muscle group, I will do the same. Therefore, unless specified otherwise, when I say "biceps" I am referring to the biceps and brachialus muscles as a collective unit.

The best exercise to work the biceps is a curl. Curls can be done from different angles and using different hand positions to create more even muscle development across the entire length of the muscle. Here are six types of biceps curls you can easily do at home with the equipment outlined in the Basic Workout Equipment section:

The standard biceps curl with dumbbells can be done either sitting or standing. Sitting helps isolate the muscle more because it's harder to use body torque to help curl the weights. You therefore won't be able to lift as heavy a weight when you are seated as compared to standing.

Here is the basic movement for the standard biceps curl, whether sitting or standing:

1. Extend your arms towards the ground, holding the dumbbells with palms facing forward and hands slightly behind your body.
   

   Start Position

   
   
2. Make sure you have a firm grip on the dumbbells so they don't slip from your grasp and fall on you during the exercise. Your thumb should be across your fingers, which locks your grip in place.
   

   Right Way Thumb locking fingers into place	Wrong Way Weight of the dumbbell could force your fingers open and slip from your grasp

   
   
3. Your wrists should remain straight and rigid at all times. If you relax them at any time during the exercise and the weight of the dumbbells causes your wrists to bend you could strain the tendons or perhaps even break your wrist!
4. Tighten your biceps muscles and lift the dumbbells up towards your shoulders in a smooth, controlled motion and stop just before your elbows are fully flexed. (If you fully flex your elbows you remove stress from your biceps muscles, which you don't want to do.)

Finish Position



5. Barely pausing, lower the dumbbells back to the starting position in a controlled manner. Don't let gravity do the work, for two reasons. The first is safety - letting the dumbbells simply drop can damage your elbow joints, which will take the brunt of the stress when the dumbbells abruptly come to a halt. Second, you want to keep as much stress as possible on your biceps muscles during the downward motion so they don't get a chance to recover between reps.
6. Breathe out as you lift the dumbbells and breathe in as you lower them back to the starting position.
7. Complete only as many repetitions as you can perform in a safe and controlled manner. Push yourself, but try not to go to complete failure. If your biceps muscles were to suddenly give out and the weight of the dumbbells forced your hands to drop quickly, you could injure your elbow joint.

Helpful Tips

• Starting position on the standard curl is key to maximizing the effectiveness of this exercise. The standard biceps curl start position is for your arms to be fully extended at your sides (your elbows should remain slightly bent to prevent stressing the elbow joint), with your hands slightly behind your body. The palms of your hands are facing forward. This properly pre-stretches the biceps muscles with resistance. (Refer to Basic Workout Guideline #6.)
  
  

  Most Efficient Start Position: Hands slightly behind your body (palms facing forward) to fully prestretch the muscle

  
  You will see many people at the gym turning their palms towards their bodies in the start position for this exercise, in what is known as the "hammer" position - see Hammer Curl exercise below. You may catch your own body trying to do the same thing during your set, especially as you start to tire. That's because your body is smart - it knows that turning your palms towards your body takes much of the stress off your biceps muscles (and places it primarily on the brachioradialis muscle of the forearm) which allows the biceps to rest and partially recover between reps. This is NOT what you want to happen. As per my Basic Workout Guideline #6, your objective for each set should be to tire your muscle out as quickly as possible, which will not happen if your biceps muscles are allowed to recover between reps. (Some people mistakenly believe that by starting in a hammer curl position and finishing in a standard biceps curl position they are effectively working both the biceps and the brachioradialis. However, nothing could be further from the truth - they are in fact ineffectively working both sets of muscles because they are not isolating either muscle to work it fully.)
  
  

  Inefficient Start Position: When your palms face towards you, you are taking the stress off your biceps muscle and placing it on the brachioradialis (forearm) muscle. (However, this is the correct start position for the Hammer Curl exercise outlined below.)

  
  You will also see many people resting either the backs of their hands or the edge of the dumbbells on their thighs between reps. This is another big no-no. Not only does it take the strain off the biceps muscles at the bottom of each rep and thus allow them to partially recover between reps, it severely limits range of motion of the exercise. The greater the range of motion of an exercise, the greater the muscle recruitment and the better the overall muscle development.
  
  

  Inefficient Start Position: Palms resting on your thighs allows your muscles to rest between reps and limits your range of motion.

  
  And speaking of range of motion, make sure that as you finish each rep and return to the start position you are extending your forearm fully (but not locking the elbow joint). This makes your set much harder, but also much more effective. Even an inch or two can make all the difference, so focus on the entire movement and don't forget to return to the full start position.
  
  

  Efficient:   Forearm fully extended	Inefficient:   Forearm not fully extended

  
  
• Once you begin your set, keep your elbow position fixed at all times. Be careful not to tilt your elbow forward or up during the curl movement, because then you are using your shoulder to help your biceps lift the weight. Use a mirror to make sure your elbow remains in a fixed position.
• Try not to lift your shoulder during the curl movement. Because the longer of the two biceps muscles attaches to the shoulder, there will always be some slight shoulder movement when the elbow flexes. However, your objective is to keep this to a minimum so that the biceps muscle remains as isolated as possible during the exercise. Once you can no longer prevent your shoulders from engaging during the curl movement, the set is effectively over.
• Do not pause appreciably at the top of the movement before lowering your arms back to the start position. Your entire rep should be a single smooth and controlled movement. The only reason you do pause somewhat is to prevent yourself from incorporating momentum to swing the weights up and down. The same logic applies upon return to the start position; begin your next rep as quickly as you can without allowing momentum to do the work for you.

Standard Biceps Curl - Standing

Start Position	Finish Position

Standard Biceps Curl - Seated

Start Position	Finish Position

Standard Biceps Curl - Incline
To change the angle of stress on the biceps muscles, you can do your biceps curls while seated on an incline bench and leaning against the backrest which is set past 90°. Make sure to keep your elbows positioned where they will not move as you do the curl exercise. Keep in mind that the further you lean back, the harder the exercise will be. At a certain point you may put too great a strain on your elbow joint, so be careful how far you choose to lean back.

Start Position	Finish Position

Standard Biceps Curl - Alternating
Whether standing or seated, alternating your biceps curls also changes the angle and dynamic of the exercise and thus hits your muscle from a different angle. You can alternate one arm at a time:

Start Position	Finish Position

Or both arms simultaneously:

Finish Position	Transition

Standard Biceps Curl - With Tubing
The key advantage of tubing is that it keeps resistance on the biceps muscles all the way through the entire movement. Even when your biceps muscle is fully contracted at the top of the curl, it is still fighting the tension on the tubing.

Tubing curls can add extra challenge and spice to your biceps workout. With tubing, as your biceps muscles tire, you can continue stepping forward slightly to ease up on the resistance and keep on going until you honestly can't go any further. It's a great way to really push yourself with no fear of losing control of a dumbbell as you approach failure.

This is similar to what is known as a "strip set" in body building terms, where you do the same thing on a machine by setting the weight pin at your maximum weight and doing as many reps as you can before progressively lowering it one weight bar at a time. A properly executed strip set will take several minutes to complete, and believe me, it's truly exhausting.

Another advantage of tubing is that it allows you to curl from different angles, working your muscles differently with each variation.

Tubing Curls - Traditional
By standing on the tubing you can simulate the traditional standing dumbbell curl. The wider your stance, the greater the tension on the tubing.

Start Position	Finish Position

Tubing Curls - Mid-Height
By positioning the tubing around your mid-height, you can dramatically change the angle of your curl. Depending on your personal set up, middle tubing curls can be done as single arm, both arms simultaneously or alternating.

Single Arm Tubing Curls - Mid-Height
Start Position	Finish Position

Tubing Curls - Low
By positioning the tubing somewhere below your knees, you can again change the angle of your curl. Depending on your personal set up, low tubing curls can be done as single arm, both arms simultaneously or alternating.

Single Arm Tubing Curls - Low
Start Position	Finish Position

Like the standard biceps curl, the concentration curl can be done either sitting or standing, although because you are bent over the standing position can be a little hard on the back. Sitting better isolates the biceps muscle because it's harder to use body torque to help curl the weights. You therefore won't be able to curl as heavy a weight when you are seated as compared to standing.

Here is the basic movement for the concentration curl, assuming a seated position:

1. Sit down at the end of an exercise bench (or a regular chair) and spread your legs, keeping knees bent at 90° and feet flat on the floor.
2. Bending forward slightly, pick up a dumbbell in one hand and lightly rest your elbow against your inner thigh. Extend your forearm towards the ground, but do not lock your elbow. Place your free hand on your free leg (same side as free hand) to support your upper body. This is the start position.
   

   Start Position

   
   
3. Make sure you have a firm grip on the dumbbells so they don't slip from your grasp and fall on you during the exercise. Your thumb should be across your fingers, which locks your grip in place.
   

   Right Way Thumb locking fingers into place	Wrong Way Weight of the dumbbell could force your fingers open and slip from your grasp

   
   
4. Your wrist should remain straight and rigid at all times. If you relax your wrist at any time during the exercise and the weight of the dumbbell causes your wrist to bend you could strain the tendons or perhaps even break your wrist!
5. Tighten your biceps muscle and curl the dumbbell towards the shoulder in a smooth, controlled motion and stop just before your elbow is fully flexed. (If you fully flex your elbow you remove stress from your biceps muscle, which you don't want to do.). Only your forearm should move. Elbow should remain steady against your leg and shoulder should not shift back and forth.

Finish Position



6. Barely pausing, lower the dumbbells back to the starting position in a controlled manner. Don't let gravity do the work, for two reasons. The first is safety - letting the dumbbell simply drop can damage your elbow joint, which will take the brunt of the stress when the dumbbell abruptly comes to a halt. Second, you want to keep as much stress as possible on your biceps muscle during the downward motion so it doesn't get a chance to recover between reps.
7. Breathe out as you curl the dumbbell and breathe in as you lower it back to the starting position.
8. Complete only as many repetitions as you can perform in a safe and controlled manner. Push yourself, but try not to go to complete failure. If your biceps muscle were to suddenly give out and the weight of the dumbbell forced your hand to drop quickly, you could injure your elbow joint.

Helpful Tips:

• To properly pre-stretch the biceps muscle with resistance (refer to Basic Workout Guideline #6), for the start position your forearm should be fully extended without locking the elbow joint. This makes your set much harder, but also much more effective. Even an inch or two can make all the difference, so focus on the entire movement and don't forget to return to the full start position for your entire set.
  

  More effective:   Forearm fully extended	Less effective:   Forearm not fully extended

  
  
• Your elbow should be resting lightly against your inner thigh, not firmly anchored there. Resting your elbow against your thigh is primarily to ensure it does not move during the exercise; if the pressure changes against your thigh at any point during a repetition you know you are recruiting other muscles to help your biceps - a big no-no. If you can hold your elbow slightly away from the thigh and still hold it steady throughout the set, even better.
  
• Don't lean too far forward into the exercise or you could bump your jaw with the dumbbell as your curl.
• Try not to lift your shoulder during the curl movement. Because the longer of the two biceps muscles attaches to the shoulder, there will always be some slight shoulder movement when the elbow flexes. However, your objective is to keep this to a minimum so that the biceps muscle remains as isolated as possible during the exercise. Once you can no longer prevent your shoulder from engaging during the curl movement, the set is effectively over.
• Do not pause appreciably at the top of the movement before lowering your arm back to the start position. Your entire rep should be a single smooth and controlled movement. The only reason you do pause somewhat is to prevent yourself from incorporating momentum to swing the weights up and down. The same logic applies upon return to the start position; begin your next rep as quickly as you can without allowing momentum to do the work for you.

Seated Concentration Curl

Start Position	Finish Position

Standing Concentration Curl

Execution is virtually identical to the seated version, but you are standing with knees very slightly bent, and back bent at 90°.

Start Position	Finish Position

Hammer curls hit your biceps muscles from a different angle than standard dumbbell curls or concentration curls, with the added bonus of also working the brachioradialis muscle of the forearm. Thus hammer curls are a great addition to any arms workout routine.

Hammer curls can be done either sitting or standing. Sitting helps isolate the biceps and forearm muscles more because it's harder to use body torque to help curl the weights. You therefore won't be able to lift as heavy a weight when you are seated as compared to standing. You can curl both arms simultaneously, one arm at a time or alternate your two arms.

Here is the basic movement for the hammer curl exercise in a standing position.

1. Extend your arms towards the ground, holding the dumbbells with palms facing your body (so that one end of the dumbbell is pointing forward) and hands slightly behind your body.
   

   Start Position

   
   
2. Make sure you have a firm grip on the dumbbells so they don't slip from your grasp and fall on you during the exercise. Your thumb should be across your fingers, which locks your grip in place.
   

   Right Way Thumb locking fingers into place	Wrong Way Weight of the dumbbell could force your fingers open and slip from your grasp

   
   
3. Your wrists should remain straight and rigid at all times. If you relax them at any time during the exercise and the weight of the dumbbells causes your wrists to bend you could strain the tendons or perhaps even break your wrist!
4. Tighten your biceps muscles and lift the dumbbells up towards your shoulders in a smooth, controlled motion and stop just before your elbows are fully flexed. (If you fully flex your elbows you remove stress from your biceps muscles, which you don't want to do.)

Finish Position



5. Barely pausing, lower the dumbbells back to the starting position in a controlled manner. Don't let gravity do the work, for two reasons. The first is safety - letting the dumbbells simply drop can damage your elbow joints, which will take the brunt of the stress when the dumbbells abruptly come to a halt. Second, you want to keep as much stress as possible on your biceps muscles during the downward motion so they don't get a chance to recover between reps.
6. Breathe out as you lift the dumbbells and breathe in as you lower them back to the starting position.
7. Complete only as many repetitions as you can perform in a safe and controlled manner. Push yourself, but try not to go to complete failure. If your biceps muscles were to suddenly give out and the weight of the dumbbells forced your hands to drop quickly, you could injure your elbow joint.

Helpful Tips

• Starting position on the hammer curl is key to maximizing the effectiveness of this exercise. The hammer curl start position is for your arms to be fully extended at your sides (your elbows should remain slightly bent to prevent stressing the elbow joint), with your hands slightly behind your body. The palms of your hands are facing you so that one end of the dumbbell points forward. This properly pre-stretches the biceps and forearm muscles with resistance. (Refer to Basic Workout Guideline #6.)
  
  

  Most Efficient Start Position: Hands slightly behind your body (palms facing you) to fully prestretch the muscle

  
  Do not rest the edge of the dumbbells against your thighs between reps. Not only does this take the strain off the biceps muscles at the bottom of each rep and thus allow them to partially recover between reps, it severely limits range of motion of the exercise. The greater the range of motion of an exercise, the greater the muscle recruitment and the better the overall muscle development.
  
  

  Inefficient Start Position: Dumbbells against your thighs allows your muscles to rest between reps and limits your range of motion.

  
  And speaking of range of motion, make sure that as you finish each rep and return to the start position you are extending your forearm fully (but not locking the elbow joint). This makes your set much harder, but also much more effective. Even an inch or two can make all the difference, so focus on the entire movement and don't forget to return to the full start position.
  
  

  Efficient:   Forearm fully extended	Inefficient:   Forearm not fully extended

  
  
• Once you begin your set, keep your elbow position fixed at all times. Be careful not to tilt your elbow forward or up during the curl movement, because then you are using your shoulder to help your biceps lift the weight. Use a mirror to make sure your elbow remains in a fixed position.
• Try not to lift your shoulder during the curl movement. Because the longer of the two biceps muscles attaches to the shoulder, there will always be some slight shoulder movement when the elbow flexes. However, your objective is to keep this to a minimum so that the biceps muscle remains as isolated as possible during the exercise. Once you can no longer prevent your shoulders from engaging during the curl movement, the set is effectively over.
• Do not pause appreciably at the top of the movement before lowering your arms back to the start position. Your entire rep should be a single smooth and controlled movement. The only reason you do pause somewhat is to prevent yourself from incorporating momentum to swing the weights up and down. The same logic applies upon return to the start position; begin your next rep as quickly as you can without allowing momentum to do the work for you.

Standing Hammer Curl

Start Position	Finish Position

Seated Hammer Curl

Start Position	Finish Position

Hammer Curl - Alternating
Whether standing or seated, alternating your hammer curls changes the angle and dynamic of the exercise and thus hits your muscle from a different angle. You can alternate one arm at a time:

Start Position	Finish Position

Or both arms simultaneously:

Finish Position	Transition

This exercise is very similar to a hammer curl, except that you are lifting the dumbbell across your body instead of forward. This will of course change the dynamics of the exercise so that the biceps and brachioradialis (forearm) muscles are hit from a different angle.

This particular exercise is done from a standing position, one arm at a time.

Here is the basic movement for a cross body hammer curl in a standing position.

1. Extend your arm towards the ground, holding the dumbbell with palm facing behind you (so that one end of the dumbbell is next to you) and hand slightly to the right or left of your body (depending on which arm you're working).
   
   

   Start Position

   
   
2. Make sure you have a firm grip on the dumbbell so it doesn't slip from your grasp and fall on you during the exercise. Your thumb should be across your fingers, which locks your grip in place.
   

   Right Way Thumb locking fingers into place	Wrong Way Weight of the dumbbell could force your fingers open and slip from your grasp

   
   
3. Your wrist should remain straight and rigid at all times. If you relax it at any time during the exercise and the weight of the dumbbell causes your wrist to bend you could strain the tendons or perhaps even break your wrist!
4. Tighten your biceps and forearm muscles and lift the dumbbell across your body and up towards your opposite shoulder in a smooth, controlled motion and stop just before your elbow is fully flexed. (If you fully flex your elbow you remove stress from your muscles, which you don't want to do.)




Finish Position



5. Barely pausing, lower the dumbbell back to the starting position in a controlled manner. Don't let gravity do the work, for two reasons. The first is safety - letting the dumbbell simply drop can damage your elbow joint, which will take the brunt of the stress when the dumbbell abruptly comes to a halt. Second, you want to keep as much stress as possible on your biceps and forearm muscles during the downward motion so they don't get a chance to recover between reps.
6. Breathe out as you lift the dumbbell and breathe in as you lower it back to the starting position.
7. Complete only as many repetitions as you can perform in a safe and controlled manner. Push yourself, but try not to go to complete failure. If your muscles were to suddenly give out and the weight of the dumbbells forced your hands to drop quickly, you could injure your elbow joint.

Helpful Tips

• Starting position for the cross body hammer curl is key to maximizing the effectiveness of this exercise. The cross body hammer curl start position is for your arm to be fully extended at your side (your elbow should remain slightly bent to prevent stressing the elbow joint), with your hand slightly to the right or left of your body. The palm of your hand is facing behind you so that one end of the dumbbell points towards you. This properly pre-stretches the biceps and forearm muscles with resistance. (Refer to Basic Workout Guideline #6.)
  
  

  Most Efficient Start Position: Hand slightly to the right or left of your body (palm facing back) to fully prestretch the muscles

  
  
• To maximize range of motion, make sure that as you finish each rep and return to the start position you are extending your forearm fully (but not locking the elbow joint). This makes your set much harder, but also much more effective. Even an inch or two can make all the difference, so focus on the entire movement and don't forget to return to the full start position.
  
  

  Efficient:   Forearm fully extended	Inefficient:   Forearm not fully extended

  
  
• Once you begin your set, keep your elbow position fixed at all times. Be careful not to tilt your elbow forward or up during the curl movement, because then you are using your shoulder to help your biceps lift the weight. Use a mirror to make sure your elbow remains in a fixed position.
• Try not to lift your shoulder during the curl movement. Because the longer of the two biceps muscles attaches to the shoulder, there will always be some slight shoulder movement when the elbow flexes. However, your objective is to keep this to a minimum so that the biceps muscle remains as isolated as possible during the exercise. Once you can no longer prevent your shoulders from engaging during the curl movement, the set is effectively over.
• Do not pause appreciably at the top of the movement before lowering your arms back to the start position. Your entire rep should be a single smooth and controlled movement. The only reason you do pause somewhat is to prevent yourself from incorporating momentum to swing the weights up and down. The same logic applies upon return to the start position; begin your next rep as quickly as you can without allowing momentum to do the work for you.

Cross Body Hammer Curl

Start Position	Finish Position

Cross Body Hammer Curl - Alternating
While it is possible to do this exercise in an alternating fashion, I don't see any advantage to it. It's a bit awkward and there is always the possibility of smashing the weights together as you get tired. (You will find that your coordination drops as your body gets tired, so it's best to do the more "complicated" moves earlier on in your workout while your coordination is still good.)

If you do choose to do an alternating version of this exercise, make sure you completely finish a rep on one side (i.e. from start position to finish position and back to start position again) before starting a rep on the other side, otherwise you may smash one dumbbell into the other (or into your hand - ouch!)

The Zottman curl is another great exercise for working both your biceps and forearms within the same exercise. The first half of the curl works your biceps and the second half targets your forearms.

Zottman curls force you to focus fully on what you're doing and move relatively slowly, otherwise you'll lose balance and control of the dumbbells.

Here is the basic movement for the zottman curl in the standing position:

1. Extend your arms towards the ground as if you were doing a standard biceps curl, holding the dumbbells with palms facing forward and hands slightly behind your body.
   

   Start Position

   
   
2. Make sure you have a firm grip on the dumbbells so they don't slip from your grasp and fall on you during the exercise. Your thumb should be across your fingers, which locks your grip in place.
   

   Right Way Thumb locking fingers into place	Wrong Way Weight of the dumbbell could force your fingers open and slip from your grasp

   
   
3. Your wrists should remain straight and rigid at all times. If you relax them at any time during the exercise and the weight of the dumbbells causes your wrists to bend you could strain the tendons or perhaps even break your wrist!
4. Tighten your biceps muscles and lift the dumbbells up towards your shoulders in a smooth, controlled motion and stop just before your elbows are fully flexed. (If you fully flex your elbows you remove stress from your biceps muscles, which you don't want to do.)

First Finish Position


Before lowering the dumbbells, twist your wrists so that your palms are now facing away from you.

Wrist position before lowering dumbbells



5. Lower the dumbbells back to the starting position in a controlled manner. Don't let gravity do the work, for two reasons. The first is safety - letting the dumbbells simply drop can damage your elbow joints, which will take the brunt of the stress when the dumbbells abruptly come to a halt. Second, you want to keep as much stress as possible on your biceps and forearm muscles during the downward motion so they don't get a chance to recover between reps. Once you have fully lowered the dummbells, twist your wrists so they are again facing forward.




Lower the dumbbells...	...then twist your wrists



6. Breathe out as you lift the dumbbells and breathe in as you lower them back to the starting position.
7. Complete only as many repetitions as you can perform in a safe and controlled manner. Push yourself, but try not to go to complete failure. If your muscles were to suddenly give out and the weight of the dumbbells forced your hands to drop quickly, you could injure your elbow joint.

Helpful Tips

• Starting position for the zottman curl is identical to that of the standard biceps curl. The standard biceps curl start position is for your arms to be fully extended at your sides (your elbows should remain slightly bent to prevent stressing the elbow joint), with your hands slightly behind your body. The palms of your hands are facing forward. This properly pre-stretches the biceps muscles with resistance. (Refer to Basic Workout Guideline #6.)
  
  

  Most Efficient Start Position: Hands slightly behind your body (palms facing forward) to fully prestretch the muscle

  
  
• To maximize range of motion, make sure that as you finish each rep and return to the start position you are extending your forearm fully (but not locking the elbow joint). This makes your set much harder, but also much more effective. Even an inch or two can make all the difference, so focus on the entire movement and don't forget to return to the full start position.
  
  

  Efficient:   Forearm fully extended	Inefficient:   Forearm not fully extended

  
  
• Once you begin your set, keep your elbow position fixed at all times. Be careful not to tilt your elbow forward or up during the curl movement, because then you are using your shoulder to help your biceps lift the weight. Use a mirror to make sure your elbow remains in a fixed position.
• Try not to lift your shoulder during the curl movement. Because the longer of the two biceps muscles attaches to the shoulder, there will always be some slight shoulder movement when the elbow flexes. However, your objective is to keep this to a minimum so that the biceps muscle remains as isolated as possible during the exercise. Once you can no longer prevent your shoulders from engaging during the curl movement, the set is effectively over.
• Do not pause appreciably at the top of the movement before lowering your arms back to the start position. Your entire rep should be a single smooth and controlled movement. The only reason you do pause somewhat is to prevent yourself from incorporating momentum to swing the weights up and down. The same logic applies upon return to the start position; begin your next rep as quickly as you can without allowing momentum to do the work for you.

Zottman Curl - Standing

Start Position	Perform the curl

Twist your wrists	Lower the dumbbells	Twist your wrists

Zottman Curl - Sitting

Start Position	Perform the curl
Twist your wrists	Lower the dumbbells
Twist your wrists

Preacher curls isolate your biceps muscles quite differently than the other curls, so they can add additional variety to your arms workout routine.

Preacher curls can either be done sitting or standing, and most gyms will have a preacher curl station for at least one of these two options. If you happen to have an adjustable weight bench (listed in the "Nice to Have" portion of the Basic Workout Equipment page), you can mimic the standing version of the single arm dumbbell preacher curl. (Two handed preacher curls are done using a barbell.)

Here is the basic movement for the single arm dumbbell preacher curl in the standing position:

1. Position the back of your adjustable weight bench close to the fully upright position, but not quite.
2. With dumbbell in full curl position (i.e. hand is at your shoulder), rest the back of your upper arm on the bench so that it is solidly positioned there. You will need to adjust the rest of your body positioning so that you have a solid and comfortable stance.
3. Extend your forearm so that the back of your hand is as close to the bench as you can get it without feeling undue stress on your forearm. (The heavier the weight, the less you may be able to extend your forearm.) Make sure you do not straighten your elbow completely or you could injure the elbow joint.
   

   Start Position Solid stance, upper arm firmly against bench, forearm fully extended

   
   
4. Make sure you have a firm grip on the dumbbells so they don't slip from your grasp and fall on you during the exercise. Your thumb should be across your fingers, which locks your grip in place.
   

   Right Way Thumb locking fingers into place	Wrong Way Weight of the dumbbell could force your fingers open and slip from your grasp

   
   
5. Your wrist should remain straight and rigid at all times. If you relax your wrist at any time during the exercise and the weight of the dumbbell causes your wrist to bend you could strain the tendons or perhaps even break your wrist!
6. Tighten your biceps muscle and curl the dumbbell towards the shoulder in a smooth, controlled motion and stop just before your elbows are fully flexed. (If you fully flex your elbows you remove stress from your biceps muscles, which you don't want to do.). Only your forearm should move. Elbow should remain solid against the bench and shoulder should not shift.
   

   Finish Position

   
   
7. Barely pausing, lower the dumbbells back to the starting position in a controlled manner. Don't let gravity do the work, for two reasons. The first is safety - letting the dumbbell simply drop can damage your elbow joint, which will take the brunt of the stress when the dumbbells abruptly come to a halt. Second, you want to keep as much stress as possible on your biceps muscle during the downward motion so it doesn't get a chance to recover between reps.
8. Breathe out as you lift the dumbbells and breathe in as you lower them back to the starting position.
9. Complete only as many repetitions as you can perform in a safe and controlled manner. Push yourself, but try not to go to complete failure. If your biceps muscle were to suddenly give out and the weight of the dumbbell forced your hand to drop quickly, you could injure your elbow joint.
10. Before removing your arm from the bench, lift the dumbbell to your shoulder; if your muscle is too tired, then use your free hand to help with the lift. This will prevent the dumbbell from dropping unexpectedly and straining your elbow joint as you stand fully upright.

Helpful Tips:

• To properly pre-stretch the biceps muscle with resistance (refer to Basic Workout Guideline #6), for the start position your forearm should be fully extended without locking the elbow joint. (However, make sure the dumbbell doesn't touch the weight bench - that's too far and touching will interfere with the effectiveness of the exercise.) This makes your set much harder, but also much more effective. Even an inch or two can make all the difference, so focus on the entire movement and don't forget to return to the full start position for your entire set.
  

  More effective:   Forearm fully extended	Less effective:   Forearm not fully extended

  
  
• The back of your arm should remain firmly pressed against the bench at all times; if it changes position at any point during a repetition you know you are recruiting other muscles to help your biceps - a big no-no.
• Try not to lift your shoulder during the curl movement. Because the longer of the two biceps muscles attaches to the shoulder, there will always be some slight shoulder movement when the elbow flexes. However, your objective is to keep this to a minimum so that the biceps muscle remains as isolated as possible during the exercise. Once you can no longer prevent your shoulder from engaging during the curl movement, the set is effectively over.
• Do not pause appreciably at the top of the movement before lowering your arm back to the start position. Your entire rep should be a single smooth and controlled movement. The only reason you do pause somewhat is to prevent yourself from incorporating momentum to swing the weights up and down. The same logic applies upon return to the start position; begin your next rep as quickly as you can without allowing momentum to do the work for you.
• You can try changing the angle of the bench to work your biceps muscle a little differently. Just make sure you do not choose an angle that throws your body off balance and/or doesn't allow it to remain in a solid and strong stance. You do not want to accidentally twist the wrong way and hurt your back.
• If you are over 5'5" in height you may find using a weight bench to do this exercise a little too awkward because you need to bend over too far to maintain a solid connection with the bench.
• A word of warning for this exercise: when your biceps fails on this exercise it truly fails, sometimes quite unexpectedly. Therefore, you need to keep your free hand ready to catch and help lift the weight back up to your shoulder before you remove your arm from the bench.

Standing Dumbbell Preacher Curl

Start Position	Finish Position