Bicep curl how to#

And the more pronated your hand (palm in or down), the more your long head (outer bicep) will be activated. Overall, when doing curls, just remember, the more supinated your hand, the more your short head (inner bicep) will be activated.

Curl with your arms held laterally toward your body.Įven without weights, you can try these arm and grip positions real quick to see how your inner bicep (short head) is more activated and contracted.

Curl with a supinated grip (palm held upward and outward.

Curl with your elbows in front of your body (upper arm held up parallel with the floor).

With consideration of the aforementioned differences in actions, you have four main ways to better target the short head of the biceps during elbow flexion (i.e. While you can’t completely isolate the short head of the bicep, there are methods of emphasizing it when doing bicep exercises.

Bicep curl how to#

HOW TO TARGET THE SHORT HEAD OF THE BICEPS? The long head also supports the inward turning of the arm, a process called internal rotation. The long head supports abduction, the process of moving the arm away from the trunk.The short head of the biceps supports adduction, the act of pulling the arm back toward the trunk of the body.The short head also acts as a fixator to stabilize the shoulder joint.However, there are certain functions that one head takes more control over. When the biceps’ short and long heads contract simultaneously, the elbow bends in the aforementioned process of flexion. Targeting the short head during training will help make your biceps wider, which will give your upper arm a fuller appearance.

So, if you want to build a high peak in your bicep, that’s your long head, and if you want more width, that’s your short head. The long head is the part of the biceps you notice when your arm is flexed, almost shaping into a sphere. The long head is slimmer than the short head and has a higher peak. The long head of the bicep is located on the top and outside of your upper arm. The short head is wide and meshes with the long head to give the biceps a defined and wide appearance from the front view. The short head of bicep is located on the inside of your upper arm. This info will help to further clarify the natural function of your biceps and make you look even smarter at the gym if anyone asks about the biceps! With that in mind, here are some key comparison facts about each. The same is true for the long head, but since this article is about the short head, we will only be focusing on exercises that target the short head specifically.īecause the muscle heads come together to form the entirety of the biceps brachii, the short head and long head of the biceps are difficult to discuss separately.

Remember, it is just a muscle head that shares the same muscle belly as the long head.Īs a matter of fact, you can't even isolate the biceps brachii from the brachialis, as they share the same function.īe that as it may, there are ways that you can emphasize the short head, meaning provide it with the most possible activation. You can not completely isolate the short head. The main function of the biceps brachii is to flex the elbow (bringing your forearm up toward your upper arm by bending your elbow) and supinate the forearm (rotating your forearm/wrist outward).Īs both muscle heads cross the shoulder joint, they also assist in flexion and abduction/adduction of the shoulder. The long head attaches to the supraglenoid tubercle in the hollow of the scapula right near the shoulder joint.Īs you can see, the short head is on the inner side of the arm and the long head is on the top/outer side of the upper arm, both on the anterior side (front). If you want to get nerdy and specific, the short head of the biceps attaches to a bony protrusion on the scapula called the coracoid process.

Here is a pic of the muscle and where the heads attach: The two muscle heads of the biceps are called the short head and the long head.īoth muscle heads arise from the scapula (at different points) and converge to form a single muscle belly which is attached to your upper forearm.įor reference, a muscle “head” is simply the point of origin, and the “belly” is the central point where the muscle bulges. Your biceps (or bi’s), more formally known as the biceps brachii, is a single muscle made up of two muscle heads (hence the word “bi”, which means two). This article will guide you through the key points about the biceps and how you can effectively target the short head. And while you can’t completely isolate the short head, you can perform certain bicep exercises (aka curls) that provide the highest degree of activation for this muscle head, which is located on the inner side of your upper arm. If you want well-defined, thick biceps, targeting the short head of the biceps brachii is essential.