Unique Biceps Workouts

There’s no denying biceps as a top vanity muscle. Men and women both like to show off their hard work in the gym by flexing their arms and letting the world see their bulging upper arms. While you’ll benefit the most from working out all the muscles in your arms and other parts of your body, there’s nothing wrong with devoting a few sets exclusively to the biceps. And if you’re looking for an alternative to the standard curl, you can try some unique biceps workouts that will give you something a little different while still building the strength you need to showcase your guns.

  1. Curl Variation

    • Even if you’re trying to avoid the traditional curl, it is still a very effective method for building your biceps. However, you can change it up a little with some variations that will work your muscles in other ways and give you something different to look forward to. Try the Zottman version, where you start with a standard curls using dumbbells, but transition into a different movement halfway through. Grasp the dumbbells with your palms facing up and lift them to shoulder height. At the top position, rotate your wrists so your palms are facing down, then slowly lower the weights back down to the starting position.

    Paddling

    • Kayaking, rowing and canoeing all rely on upper-body strength, and any one of these activities will provide a unique exercise for your biceps. These types of paddling workouts require strong arm, shoulder and back muscles, and biceps are utilized extensively to move you across the water. However, if you don’t have a lake or a watercraft handy, you can replicate these rowing movements to exercise your upper arms. Try standing rows with a set of dumbbells or do a prone bench pull with a barbell. To do standing rows, get into squat position, lean forward and bring the dumbbells to chest height. For the prone bench pull, lay on a bench on your stomach with a barbell underneath the bench. Raise your head and chest off the bench and pull the barbell off the floor and to the bench to exercise the biceps.

    Climbing

    • Climbing is another unique way to work your arm muscles. Your biceps, in particular, will benefit from this activity. Though all your muscles are engaging during climbing, upper-body strength is vital for pulling you up the rock surface. The biceps are also responsible for moving your hands and forearms in different grips as climbing demands. Climbing is an endurance activity, so even though you may not be using your maximum biceps strength, you’ll still be getting a major workout for this muscle group.

    Yoga

    • Yoga may not be the first exercise that comes to mind when you’re thinking of ways to bulk up your biceps, but this kind of strength training can be used to target certain muscle groups. There are a few poses you can try to strengthen your biceps, from basic postures like plank and downward-facing dog to more advanced moves such as the four-limbed staff pose. Plank is performed by getting into a starting push-up position, with your arms and legs straight and your hands under your shoulders. Move into downward-facing dog from plank by raising your hips and creating an inverted V with your body, keeping your back, arms and legs straight. Four-limbed staff pose also starts from plank position, but you bend your elbows and lower your legs and torso as close to the floor as possible, challenging your biceps even more.