The biceps are the most popular muscle to train for most men, and with good cause. They are incredibly functional, allowing you to pull and lift items, and they have aesthetic appeal. You can train them with compound movements such as chin-ups, underhand bent-over rows, and seated cable rows. But biceps really benefit from isolation exercises.
In this article, we will be taking a look at eight bicep isolation exercises. You will learn how to perform them, the benefits of learning them, and any tips that you can use to give you an advantage.
Bicep Isolation Exercises
The following eight exercises all isolate the biceps. This means that the exercises target primarily the biceps, and nothing else.
- Ezy-Bar Preacher Curls
- Seated Bicep Curls
- Single Arm Dumbbell Preacher Curls
- Single Arm Cable Preacher Curls
- Dumbbell Concentration Curls
- Standing Barbell Bicep Curls
- Standing Barbell Drag Curls
- Seated Incline Dumbbell Alternating Curls
It is impossible to have a completely isolated movement. For example, a barbell bicep curl will require your forearm muscles to grip the bar. But isolation exercises won’t rely on a major muscle group to assist each lift.
Ezy-Bar Preacher Curls
The Ezy-Bar is a barbell that undulates, allowing you to grip the bar using a slightly altered stance. Studies have shown that the Ezy bar stimulates the biceps brachii more than a standard barbell during the eccentric part of the lift (lowering the bar).
This exercise also requires a preacher bench, which is a bench designed specifically to rest your arms on while you perform bicep exercises. This takes away any momentum and prevents you from swinging your arms, improving your form, and allowing you to make greater muscle gains.
How to Perform
- Sit on preacher bench with arms resting on the pad, holding an EZY-bar in an underhand grip
- Take a deep breath, and then curl your arms up until the EZY-bar is in line with your chin
- Pause, and then slowly lower the bar back down until your arms are fully extended
Benefits
- The EZY bar allows for greater bicep activation during the lowering part of your curl
- The preacher bench prevents momentum from affecting your lift, allowing stricter form
Tips
- Really slow down the movement while lowering, as this is where maximum growth occurs
- Squeeze your biceps tight once you have curled the bar up
- Push your chest out to avoid bad posture
- Ensure that the seat is set up correctly beforehand, too high or low and you will be uncomfortable
Seated Bicep Curls
This exercise is one of the easiest exercises you can perform, all you need is a set of dumbbells and a bench or chair.
How to Perform
- Sit on a bench with a dumbbell in each hand and your arms fully extended
- Keep your back against the bench and your arms by your sides
- Curl one dumbbell all the way up to your chin while keeping your other arm fully extended
- Lower the dumbbell back down
- Curl the opposite dumbbell up to your chin
- Lower the dumbbell back down
Benefits
- Accessible to almost everyone
- Requires little equipment
- Can be turned into a complex by adding in a shoulder press
Tips
- Don’t move both dumbbells at the same time, perform one full rep with your left arm, then one full rep with your right arm.
Single Arm Dumbbell Preacher Curls
We’ve already looked at the Ezy-bar preacher curl, but dumbbell preacher curls are also incredibly popular bicep isolation exercises.
How to Perform
- Sit at a preacher bench with one arm resting on the pad holding a dumbbell
- Keeping your upper arm flat on the bench, curl the dumbbell up until it reaches chin height
- Pause, and then slowly lower the dumbbell back down until your arm is fully extended
Benefits
- This is great for people with muscle imbalances between their right and left arm as it allows both arms to work independently
Tips
- Change your grip from underhand to neutral and you can perform a hammer grip, which targets the forearms
Single Arm Cable Preacher Curls
This exercise is identical to the dumbbell version (exercise #3) but it uses a cable station instead, and it is a lot of fun to perform. The downside being, that it takes up quite a bit of space around the cable station, so may not be ideal for a crowded gym!
How to Perform
- Place a handle onto the bottom of a cable station and place your preacher bench in front of it
- Sit at a preacher bench with one arm resting on the pad holding the handle
- Keeping your upper arm flat on the bench, curl the handle up until it reaches chin height
- Pause, and then slowly lower the handle back down until your arm is fully extended
Benefits
- Great exercise for targeting the bicep
- Preacher bench makes it easier to remove momentum and it improves range of motion
Tips
- If you can’t get the right height then you can use an exercise bench that is set to a 45 degree angle and perform a standing version
Dumbbell Concentration Curls
This is the classic bodybuilding bicep isolation exercise, and one that has been used for decades. It’s a great alternative to preacher curls, and can be performed anywhere that has a seat and a dumbbell. So at home, or at the gym.
How to Perform
- Sit on a bench with your knees apart, holding a dumbbell in your right hand
- Place the elbow of your right arm onto the inside of your right thigh
- Place your left hand on your left knee to support yourself
- Curl the dumbbell up
- Pause, slowly lower the dumbbell until your arm is fully extended
Benefits
- Great exercise for isolating the bicep
- Can be performed in crowded gyms or at home with minimal equipment
Tips
- Squeeze the bicep tight at the top of the movement
Standing Barbell Bicep Curls
One of the easiest bicep exercises that you can learn, the standing barbell bicep curl is perfect for beginners.
How to Perform
- Stand upright holding a barbell in an underhand grip with arms fully extended
- Keep your elbows tucked into your side, push your chest out and stand up straight
- Curl the barbell until it rest underneath your chin
- Pause, and then slowly lower it back down to the starting position
Benefits
- Easy to set up, simple to learn, and ideal for busy gyms
Tips
- Stay upright throughout, don’t rock backwards and forwards. If you find that you are doing this, then you need to lower the weight.
- Keep your elbows pinned to your sides to prevent your arms from swinging
Standing Barbell Drag Curls
The drag curl is a nice variation of the regular barbell bicep curl. It can also be performed with dumbbells, but the barbell version feels better.
How to Perform
- Stand upright holding a barbell in an underhand grip with arms fully extended
- Keep your elbows tucked into your side, push your chest out and stand up straight
- Drag the barbell up your torso, pausing when it is around armpit height
- Pause, and then drag it back down slowly
Benefits
- Great bicep “finisher” exercise, perfect when your biceps are fatigued but you want to get a few more reps out of them.
Tips
- Keep the barbell close to your body throughout. Elbows should stay close to your sides too
Seated Incline Dumbbell Alternating Curls
The final exercise on this list is one of the most underrated. It is very similar to the seated dumbbell bicep curls (exercise #2) but the incline setting makes it much harder.
How to Perform
- Set a bench so that it is at 45 degrees and sit on it with a dumbbell in each hand
- Let your arms hang down to the ground
- Curl your left dumbbell up to shoulder height
- Pause, and then lower it back down until your arm is fully extended
- Curl your right dumbbell and repeat
Benefits
- This is the strictest form of dumbbell curls you can do; it gives you that little bit more range of motion making the curls even more challenging.
Tips
- Use light dumbbells for this exercise, it is so much more difficult than regular bicep curls
Benefits of Isolation Exercises
Because the biceps brachii muscles are quite small, they can often get overlooked during compound lifts. Performing compound lifts that target the biceps (chin-ups, underhand-grip bent-over rows) is great but they won’t fully fatigue the biceps.
Adding isolation movements will help you to properly target the biceps, increasing their size and strength over time.
Conclusion
So, there you have it. Eight bicep isolation exercises. Try adding in 2-3 of these exercises into your weekly training program. You will soon see incredibly results.
