14 Best Dumbbell Bicep Exercises For Bigger Arms

Concentration curl is a unilateral curl variation that challenges the biceps in a seated position with the working elbow supported by the thigh. This keeps the bicep stable and prevents other areas of the body from supporting the lift, which places greater tension on the bicep.

How To Do:

• By sitting on the bench, rest your right arm against your right leg, letting the weight hang down.
• Next, curl the weight up and hold on for a while before lowering it down.
• Repeat the same with the other arm.
• Go for the desired number of reps.

Standing Dumbbell Curl is a movement that primarily targets the biceps while also involving the abs and forearms.

However, the degree to which each muscle is triggered is largely different for each movement. The standing bicep curl initiates all three muscles comparatively evenly.

How To Do:

• At first, stand in an upright position gripping the dumbbells on each hand and letting the arms hang by your sides.
• Ensure that the elbows are close to your torso with your palms facing forward.
• Keeping the arms still, curl up the weights to shoulder level, exhaling and contracting the biceps.
• After pausing a bit, slowly lower the weight to the starting stage.
• Repeat the same for the desired number of reps.

These are biceps curls enacted with your hands facing each other. The hammer curl is a helpful bicep dumbbell exercise to add mass to your arms and can help to focus more attention on the long head of the biceps as well as the brachialis and the brachioradialis.

They may not be as challenging to tolerate as the traditional biceps curl. The hammer curl is a relatively easier exercise that beginners can master in a short time.

How To Do:

• With your palms facing your thighs, let the dumbbells hang at arm's length to your side.
• Without moving your arms, bend the elbows and curl the dumbbells close to your shoulders as much as possible. 
• Hold on to the top for a moment, then squeeze and bring back slowly to the initial position.
• Follow the same process for the desired number of reps.

This is a different form of the dumbbell curl that is performed or done mainly to get the bigger biceps. The incline dumbbell curl enlarges the opposite side of the dumbbell curl and makes a deeper stretch on the biceps muscle tissue.

As the incline curl mainly focuses on the biceps brachii, the muscle that is majorly noticeable more than any of the other muscles, this variation is great if you are after a big bicep. 

How To Do:

• At first, recline down having your back placed against a bench which is placed to a 45-degree incline.
• After that, twist your elbows and pull the dumbbells as close to your shoulders as you can.
• Next, slowly lower the weight back to your initial position.
• Make sure that you fully straighten your arms while lowering down.

Twist curls are a variant of your standard bicep curls. The only thing that makes it different is the starting position. You grab the dumbbells like you are just about to do the hammer curls. As you bring your arms up, you just twist them and curl them like a regular bicep curl.

The twisting dumbbell curl will soar the strength in both the biceps and forearms. Muscle shrink and expansion of the biceps will assist in isolating these muscles, stimulating more muscle hypertrophy.

How To Do:

• To start, pick up a dumbbell in both hands at your side with palms facing each other.
• Next, use your bicep to lift the dumbbells to your shoulders alternately, twisting your palms to face your chest while you lift them.
• Then, slowly lower the dumbbells back down to your side and repeat the same.

This uses a decline bench to operate the muscles worked while primarily targeting the chest muscles, the decline of the bench means that a greater focus is shifted to the down portion of the pecs, which is called the sternal head, compared to that of a flat bench press.

The decline bench press not only exercises pectoral muscles; it also stimulates the triceps. This exercise is a great way to stimulate those muscles while focusing on the chest.

How To Do:

• Grab two dumbbells, sit on a decline bench, and lie down slowly.
• Enlarge your arms so that the dumbbells are just above you.
• Take back your shoulder blades by pulling them onto the bench. 
• Lastly, bring down the dumbbells, keeping the elbows tucked to reduce the chance of deviating from the appropriate position.

It is a movement that segregates and targets the biceps muscles and helps to build strength and greater arms. Additionally, by carrying out this exercise in a seated position, you can reduce the chances of using momentum or swinging your body to lift the weights.

How To Do:

• Rotate the palms of the hands, making them face your torso. This will be your initial or the starting position.
• While holding the upper arm still, curl the weights and start rotating the wrists once the dumbbells pass your thighs so that the palms of your hands face forward at the end of the movement.
• Lower down the weight in a controlled manner and repeat.

The Dumbbell Weighted chin-up is a way to increase additional weight to the motion to build more strength in your back, as well as your biceps. Furthermore, it also stabilizes strength in the core and shoulders. The chin-up workout includes pulling your body up to a hanging bar using a supinated grasp.

How To Do:

• For dumbbell-weighted pull-ups, begin by enacting 2–3 sets of 5–10 repetitions. 
• Choose the right weight and keep it in between your knees based on your ability.
• Enact an intense chin up with arms shoulder width apart comprising a catch and release, either using body weight or by attaching a weight plate to your waist.
• Aim for moving as much weight as you can with an increased rep velocity.
• Maintain a rigid core throughout the exercise.

A variant of the dumbbell curl, this workout doesn't require you to completely bring the weight in front of your body, which is why you have a more difficult time swinging and using momentum to get the weight up. It is often used as a finisher of bicep workouts with dumbbells.

How To Do:

• Using a supinated grasp, take a deep breath and curl the dumbbells directly up the front of your body.
• The elbows will drift behind the body as you try to keep the weight as close to your body as possible.
• Once the biceps are fully shortened, slowly and steadily lower the weight back to the initial position.

This movement is the variation of the standard dumbbell row where you hold the dumbells facing your palms up, ensuring strictly that your palms are not facing downwards. The underhead dumbbell row mainly impacts the deltoids, lats, and biceps.

How To Do:

• First, choose the appropriate dumbbells as per your choice and capacity and place them on the floor just in front of you.
• The second step is to bend at the knees but make sure your back is linear. After that, squat down, and pick up the dumbbells with an underhand grip, making sure your palms facing up.
• Be at the starting posture and bow at the knees keeping your back undeviated. Enable the dumbbells to attain down your thighs till they are just below knee height.
• Perform by pulling the dumbbells up under your chest as much as possible.
• Then, pause for like 2 to 3 seconds and then slowly lower the dumbbells back to the initial position.
• Finally, repeat this exercise for your targeted number of reps.

Preacher curl is another form of the traditional bicep curl. This exercise segregates the bicep muscles by being performed in a seated position, using a slanted preacher curl bench for assistance. 

The preacher curl and bicep curl are almost identical exercises, but they do have some dissimilarities. Preacher permits you to have more control over the movement in comparison to being in a standing position where you need stability from your entire body.

How To Do:

• Grab a dumbbell and place the upper arm on top of the preacher bench or the incline bench.
• The dumbbell should be kept at shoulder length which is your starting position. 
• As you breathe in, slowly bring down the dumbbell till your upper arm is stretched and the biceps are enlarged.
• Repeat the same process for desired reps.

This helps to build shoulder strength, improves stability, and balances development between the left and right sides. The single-arm dumbbell bench press places a unilateral spin on the popular dumbbell bench press.

The dumbbell bench press is a foundation muscle and strength builder by incorporating an independent weight in each hand. This movement pushes the trainee to develop even strength and hypertrophy. By executing the unilateral version, we can double down on those benefits.

How To Do:

• Pick up the dumbbell at around shoulder level. Start slightly out to the sides of the body in line with the chest.
• Push the dumbbell up and in until the arm is fully stretched. The stretch should end with the dumbbells directly above the shoulder.
• Back-pedel the pattern and return to the initial position.
• Repeat the same process for the desired number of reps.

The front raise movement is applied in weight training. It mainly works the anterior deltoid and the clavicular head of the pectoralis major through the utilization of arm abduction and flexion through the frontal plane. The number of sets, training volume, and repetitions performed are based on the lifter's training program and goals. 

Dumbbell front raises are an elementary weight-training workout for people who want to create strength or more definition in the shoulders. One can use dumbbell front raises in any upper body workout using the desired weight and technique.

How To Do:

• Inhale and lift the weight upward. Your arms should be stretched, palms facing down, with a little bend in the elbows to lower stress on the joints.
• Hold for a while when your arms are horizontal to the floor at shoulder height.
• Lower the dumbbells slowly and in controlled motion to the initial position at the thighs while exhaling.

They perform a great job of segregating the muscles in the arms namely the biceps, triceps, and brachialis, as the rest of the body is stabilized against the bench.

How To Do:

• First, make a bench set up at a 45-degree angle and recline against it with your stomach and chest pressed against the firm support. Make sure your head is just above the bench.
• Next, hold a dumbbell in both hands making your palms face upwards. 
• After that, position your arms on either side of the bench, allowing your arms to extend down and in front of you.
• By keeping your torso against the bench, squeeze your biceps as you bend at the elbow to lift the dumbbells till they are in line with your shoulders.
• Then, slowly and steadily reverse the movement by stretching your elbows until your arms are straight.