Bicep Dumbbell Exercises
Because the biceps are located in the upper part of the arms, they are very visible. They can be very eye-catching when you wear short-sleeve shirts, or engage in activities where you show off your bare upper body. This makes it important to include bicep dumbbell exercises in your routine.
Many people consider the visibility of this part of the male anatomy, in particular, as an unequivocal sign of masculinity. However, every day more and more women are also looking to get great biceps too.
As with any other muscle, in order to develop the biceps, you have to go through a certain process. You have to combine a diet that’s very high in protein with weight-lifting, pull-ups, and rope work.
In the specific case of weight lifting, dumbbells are the most common type of equipment used to exercise the biceps. The results of bodybuilding will be evident to you after just a few training sessions.
In any event, the biceps should not be exercised in isolation. All training should be comprehensive. It’s not really appropriate to just exercise these muscles, without doing the same for their complementary muscles – the triceps. In fact, some trainers recommend starting with the triceps.
Considerations when doing bicep dumbbell exercises for muscle development
In all training programs, your objective is to get the maximum benefit from the exercises, without injury. Before getting started with these dumbbell exercises, it’s important to keep the following suggestions in mind:
- Keep the neck straight and the abdomen tight while going through these movements. This way, you won’t move the source of your efforts to your vertebral column.
- Only the target parts of the body should move in each exercise. Otherwise, the energy that you invest will be spread out, and you could suffer injuries.
- Don’t start the program with heavy weights. Increase them progressively from lighter weights to avoid injuries.
- Do enough repetitions in regular intervals.
- You shouldn’t rush through weight-training. Instead, it is important for you to concentrate. You should consciously feel the weight and its impact on your muscles.
- As with any exercise program, you should drink water before and after the training session.
Don’t start training without creating a diet plan to go along with it too. This generally means that you should increase your protein intake. - You should stretch after workouts in order to bring the muscle back to its normal state. This will also help to keep it in good condition and eliminate the muscular tension you feel.
Impatience is not a good ally for physical training. Excess effort won’t make a muscle develop faster or better. - Experts suggest that you start off in the first four months with six sets, and increase this number until you reach twelve sets.
Bicep dumbbell exercises
There are many different exercises in this category. It all depends on what your preferences or needs are. You can find some variations on the basic movements. You can also train with these exercises by using the same techniques, in different positions.
There are various examples in this category of exercises: seated on a bench, lying face up or face down on a bench, or practicing them on incline benches. It’s also beneficial to do curls with some added support under your arms.
One-sided bicep dumbbell curls
- Take two dumbbells, one in each hand, with your palms facing forward.
- Lift one of the dumbbells up to shoulder level, bending the arm, while the other hand turns towards your hips. Pause and lower the weight.
- After ten repetitions, do the same with the other arm.
- Repeat this from the first step, several times.
Alternating bicep dumbbell curls
- Hold the dumbbells at your sides, with your palms facing inwards.
- Lift the right dumbbell up to shoulder level, while at the same time turning the palm towards the shoulder on the same side. While you’re doing this, the left hand should stay by your side. Lower the right dumbbell.
- Do the same with the left dumbbell.
- Each time you lower the dumbbell, turn the palms back to face the hips or the sides of your body.
- Alternate the use of the arms and do this ten times.
Simultaneous bicep dumbbell curls
- Hold the dumbbells at your sides, with your palms inwards.
- Lift both of the dumbbells at the same time, until they reach shoulder height. At the same time, rotate your palms toward your back.
- Perform sets of ten repetitions.
Hammer curls
- Hold the dumbbells at your sides, with the palms facing inwards.
- Lift both of the dumbbells at the same time, up to shoulder height. Keep the palms facing in the same direction.
- Perform ten repetitions, with pauses between them.
These dumbbell exercises with their different positions should be enough to adequately develop the biceps.
