For bigger arms with greater muscle definition, make sure these essential moves have places in your mass- and strength-building regimen.

THERE ARE PLENTY of exercises that’ll stretch your shirtsleeves—but if you want targeted moves for your biceps, then it’s time to start learning a variety of curls.

Here are 15 biceps exercises that’ll stimulate new levels of growth, help maximize strength, and give you the sort of muscle definition that would make Mark Wahlberg and Vin Diesel proud.

1. Fat-Grip Hammer Curl

Select two dumbbells, and wrap towels around each handle to thicken it. Another option is to use rubber-grip sleeves like Fat Gripz or Grip4orce. Keeping your upper arms stationary at your sides and your palms facing up, curl the weights.

2. Behind-the-Back Cable Curl

Attach a D-handle to the low pulley of a cable machine, grasp the handle in your left hand, and step forward (away from the machine) until there’s tension on the cable and your arm is drawn slightly behind your body. Stagger your feet so your right leg is in front. Curl the handle but don’t allow your elbow to point forward. Alternate sides.

3. EZ-Bar Preacher Curl

Sit at a preacher bench, and adjust the bench height so your armpits touch the top of the bench. Grasp an EZ-curl bar overhand at shoulder-width. Curl it up, keeping the backs of your arms against the bench. Take three seconds to lower the bar back down, flexing your triceps as you do it (as if you were performing a cable pushdown).

4. Reverse Curl

Grasp the bar overhand (aka prone grip) at whatever width is comfortable. Keeping your upper arms against your sides, curl the bar.

5. Wide-Grip Curl

Grasp the bar with hands wider than shoulder-width—if you’re using an Olympic bar, your pinkies should be on the outside knurling. Perform curls.

6. Close-Grip Curl

Curl with your hands inside shoulder-width, in the middle of the bar.

7. Conventional Barbell Curl

You’ve certainly done this exercise before, but there are plenty of ways to shake up the set/rep scheme. Try this: Place three 5-lb plates on each side of the bar, hands at shoulder-width, and perform 20 reps. That’s one set. Then take off one plate from each side. Perform 30 reps. Unload another plate from each side and do 40 reps. Finally, remove the last set of plates, and do 50 reps with just the empty bar.

8. Dumbbell Curl

Stand holding a dumbbell in each hand with palms facing your sides. Keep your weight on your heels and lean forward slightly. Without letting your upper arms drift forward, curl the weights, rotating your wrists outward so that your palms face you in the top position. Hold the top for a moment and squeeze your biceps. Lower the weights back down and flex your triceps hard in the bottom position (your arms should end up slightly behind your body).

9. Drag Curl

Perform as you would a conventional dumbbell curl, but stand tall and drive your elbows back as you curl so the head of each dumbbell touches the front of your body throughout the rep. (Keep your palms facing up the whole time.) It should look as though you’re dragging the weights up along your torso.

10. Hammer Curl

Perform as you did the conventional dumbbell curl but keep your palms facing your sides throughout (aka neutral grip).

11. Cheat Curl

Choose the heaviest dumbbells you think you can curl, and perform as you did the conventional dumbbell curl, but use momentum from your hips to power through the sticking point (halfway up, when the weights are most difficult to lift). Do not lean back as you lift, but get into a rhythm where you rock your torso forward and then extend your hips to complete each rep. Stop each set one rep shy of total failure.

12. Band Curl

Anchor a band under your feet, holding each end with both hands at your sides. Resist your elbows moving forward as you perform curls as fast as you can. Keep your body still.

Source: mensfitness
“The 15 best biceps exercises of all time”