Are you ready to take your bicep workouts to the next level? With the right combination of strength and technique, you can craft the sculpted arms you’ve been dreaming about. Long-head bicep exercises are a great way to target this muscle group for maximum gains in definition and size. As such, it is important to understand the anatomy of your body and how each exercise will directly impact it.
This article will discuss how you can specifically target the long head with certain exercises and why they are beneficial for muscular growth and development. We will break down exactly what muscles these movements activate, why they’re important, and provide tips on how to keep form while performing them to ensure maximal benefit.
Plus, we will discuss some common mistakes many beginners make when attempting these exercises so that you can avoid them. Finally, we’ll provide a sample long head bicep exercise routine that will help bring out the definition in your guns and increase overall arm strength. So let’s get started!
Contents
What Is The Long Head?
THE LONG HEAD OF THE BICEPS IS A MUSCLE LOCATED ON THE UPPER ARM, NEAR YOUR SHOULDER JOINT.
This muscle contributes to both elbow flexion and shoulder flexion, but it is primarily responsible for helping support the shoulder joint when lifting objects overhead or in front of you. It also helps to stabilize the shoulder when throwing or punching movements are performed.
By building up this muscle through long head bicep exercises, you can strengthen both your arms and shoulders.
Barbell Curl
The Barbell Curl is one of the most effective exercises for developing strong long head biceps.
TO DO THIS EXERCISE, HOLD A BARBELL AT SHOULDER WIDTH AND STAND UP STRAIGHT.
With your elbows tucked close to your sides and palms facing up, slowly curl the weight up towards your chest until it reaches shoulder height.
Keep your core engaged throughout the movement and avoid arching or leaning forward as you curl. Slowly lower the weight back down to starting position after a brief pause at the top. Aim for 3 sets of 10-15 repetitions with 1-minute rest in between sets.
The Reverse Curl
It is another great exercise for strengthening long head biceps muscles. Stand up straight with feet hip-width apart and hold onto a barbell at shoulder width with palms facing down.
Keeping elbows tucked close to your sides, slowly curl the weight upwards until it reaches chest height before slowly lowering it back down to starting position after a brief pause at the top. Aim for 3 sets of 8-12 repetitions with 1-minute rest in between sets.
Preacher Curls
Preacher curls are a popular exercise used to isolate and target the long head of the biceps muscles. This exercise can be done with either dumbbells or a barbell.
To do this exercise, sit on an adjustable preacher bench and position your arms so that they are extended outwards over the bench pad.
Grasping a dumbbell or barbell in each hand, curl them up towards your body as far as you can go without straining or sacrificing form. Try to hold at the top for 1-2 seconds before slowly lower back down to starting position. Aim for 8-12 reps per set and 3-4 sets total for maximum benefit from this exercise.
Chin-Ups
Chin-ups are one of the best exercises for targeting not only the long head but also other muscles in the upper body like lats, traps, delts, and pecs. To do this exercise, find an overhead bar or sturdy structure that can support your weight and grip it firmly with both hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart (palms facing away from you).
Pull yourself up towards the bar until your chin comes over it and then slowly lower yourself back down before repeating for the desired number of reps. Make sure to keep the core engaged throughout the entire movement for the best results!
Dumbbell Hammer
Finally, Dumbbell Hammer Curls are an excellent exercise for targeting long head bicep muscles as well as supporting forearms and brachialis muscles on top of that!
WITH FEET SHOULDER-WIDTH APART, HOLD ONTO TWO DUMBBELLS AT HIP LEVEL WITH PALMS FACING EACH OTHER (OR INWARDS TOWARDS THE BODY).
Keeping elbows tucked close to sides, curl both arms simultaneously towards shoulders before lowering weights back down slowly after a brief pause at the top. Aim for 3 sets of 10-15 repetitions with 1-minute rest in between sets.
Benefits Of Long Head Bicep Exercises
There are numerous benefits associated with performing long head bicep exercises as part of your regular workout routine.
- First, by doing these exercises regularly, you can help improve overall arm strength and stability. Stronger arms mean improved performance during activities such as weightlifting, throwing sports, and boxing/martial arts training.
- Additionally, stronger arms also mean improved posture since they provide more support for your spine and chest muscles when standing upright or sitting down for extended periods.
- Furthermore, these exercises can also help reduce pain associated with shoulder impingement syndrome due to their ability to strengthen the rotator cuff muscles that surround your shoulder joint.
5 Common Mistakes To Avoid When Doing Bicep Peak Exercises
Unfortunately, there are several common mistakes people make when trying to achieve this peak. Let’s take a look at some of them and how to avoid them.
Lifting Too Much Weight
It’s easy to get carried away by wanting a bigger biceps peak, so you might be tempted to lift heavier weights than your body can handle.
This is a mistake because lifting too much weight will lead to injury or poor form which will result in an ineffective workout. If you want to achieve a better peak, focus on form and control rather than increasing the amount of weight lifted.
No Focus On Tension
Tension is an important element when it comes to building muscle and achieving the perfect biceps peak.
If you don’t focus on keeping tension throughout the exercise, your muscles won’t be getting the full benefit of each rep and you won’t be able to maximize your results.
Make sure to keep tension on your biceps throughout each rep—this means squeezing at the top of each rep and focusing on keeping tension in your muscles during the eccentric (lowering) part of each repetition as well as during the concentric (lifting) part.
Don’t Aim For Muscle Failure
Many people make this mistake when doing any kind of exercise—not just bicep exercises. While it may seem like a good idea to push yourself until failure, it can do more harm than good in terms of muscle gains.
You should aim for reps that are challenging but not too difficult where you are unable to complete them with proper form or technique.
This way you’ll still get an effective workout while avoiding injuries or fatigue that could cause long-term damage or impede progress later down the line.
Lack of Variation
If you’re performing the same exercises every time you work out, your muscles won’t have enough variety in their routine and they will eventually reach a plateau in terms of growth and development.
To prevent this from happening, mix up your workouts with different types of exercises such as hammer curls, alternating curls, preacher curls, etc., which target different parts of your bicep muscles for more comprehensive development over time as well as providing better overall stimulation for faster results overall.
Cheating Too Much
Cheating is sometimes necessary if you want to get those extra few reps to challenge yourself further but it shouldn’t become a habit.
Otherwise, it can lead to poor form which will affect both safety and effectiveness when performing any type of exercise—especially bicep exercises because they involve smaller muscle groups so improper form can easily lead to injury if done incorrectly over long period of time.
Also exercising with too much weight/resistance applied at once without proper support/guidance from other larger muscle groups working together in harmony with one another).
Conclusion
If you’re looking to build size and strength in your biceps, then the long-head exercises mentioned above are a great place to start.
These exercises can be done with minimal equipment and no gym membership is required, making them popular among those who want to increase their arm strength and size conveniently.
Not only that but they can also be used as part of a larger full-body workout regime to help maximize muscle gains all over your body.
KEEP IN MIND THAT ALTHOUGH THESE EXERCISES ARE EFFECTIVE FOR TARGETING THE LONG HEAD OF THE BICEPS, IT’S IMPORTANT TO ALSO INCLUDE EXERCISES THAT TARGET THE WHOLE ARM, SUCH AS TRICEP DIPS OR HAMMER CURLS.
By incorporating these different exercises into your routine, you’ll be able to get the most out of your workouts and reach your goals faster than ever before!
