Biceps are easily the most renown body part. When we first start going to the gym, all we want to do are Bicep curls.
However most people have lagging biceps, which completely goes against what I just said.
The reason is that they aren’t really putting much thought into how they target their biceps.

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Everyone uses different variations of the bicep curl in order to make our workout more effective.
To hit your biceps properly, you need to target the different heads of the muscle; the short and Long Head.

Getting Thick Biceps – Developing The Short Head
Ever seen someone from the side who has massive arms, but once their facing you, their arms seem to have disappeared. Thats because the short head contributes to the biceps thickness, and they haven’t developed that head enough. The short head runs from the inside of the arm, adding to the thickness when viewed from the front.
I personally have this problem, and trying to fixing it. Here are a few tips to help you develop that arm thickness.
Many lifters starting out believe that changing your exercise changes the angle you are hitting your bicep, this isn’t always so, and is often quite repetitive, contributing to no extra muscle growth.

You see, there are two main variations of bicep curls which apply more force to one of the bicep heads than the other; Supinated and Pronated curls.

Supinated curls are what we are going to focus on for this section.
Supination occurs when the arm is in a position where if you hold your hand open, your palm will be facing upwards. When applying this to your bicep movements, it puts more pressure on contracting the short head of the bicep than the long head of the bicep.
In other words, supinated curls will develop arm thickness rather than arm width.
Here are a few exercises which focus on developing the arm thickness:

Short Head Movement 1: Preacher curl
The preacher curl, like all bicep movements contract both heads of the muscle, however it puts more force onto the short head of the bicep. This is due to the (usually) supinated hand position and the fact your arms are positioned in front of your body. You can used dumbbells, EZ curl bars or standard barbells for this movement.
Starting Position

• Hold the barbell in front of you.
• Place your elbows as far down the preacher curl machine as you can ensuring your arms are in a comfortable position.
• Ensure that your hands are a littler narrower than shoulder width apart to help get target the shorter head better

Upward phase

• Hold  the bar with your arms fully extended.
• Quickly bring up the bar so that your forearms are perpendicular (90 degree angle) to the floor in a controlled fashion.
• Pause for a second to build tension.

Downward phase

• Lower the bar in a controlled manner until your arms are fully extended.
• This Phase should last twice as long as the upward phase in order to emphasise the eccentric contraction.

Short Head Movement 2: Cable curl
The cable curl is a staple in my training routine. it uses a cable machine to create resistance.
The reason i like this exercise is that it provides even tension on the muscle throughout the entire movement, unlike barbells and dumbbells.
Starting position

• Stand up holding the straight bar (attachment for the cable machines) with a supinated hand position.
• Make sure your feet are shoulder width.
• Your shoulders should not be rolling forward.
• Make sure your elbows are in front of your body.

Upward phase

• Keeping your arms fully extended, bring the bar up so it is about 2 or 3 inches away from your shoulder. This should be  perpendicular to the floor.
• Keep this position for a full second focusing on the isometric contraction.

Downward phase

• The Downward Phase of this movement should last approximately 2-3x longer than the upward phase in order to maximise time under tension and the benefits of eccentric training.
• Lower the bar in a controlled manner until your arms are fully extended.

Building A Massive Bicep Peak – Targeting The Long Head
The long head of the biceps is the head which contributes to the size of your bicep peak. A good example of a well developed bicep peak is Kai Greene.
The biceps long head is the part of the bicep which makes your arm look huge when viewed from the side or when you flex your biceps. Without a large long head, your biceps will look quite small.

Long Head Movement 1: Incline Dumbbell Curl
The Incline Dumbbell curl is a popular exercise for a single reason; It produces results.
The reason the incline dumbbell curl targets the long head so well is simple, it stretches the bicep head to its limit as your arms are hanging straight down unlike most other variations of the bicep curl.

Starting position

• Set an incline dumbbell bench to a 45-60 degree angle.
• Grab a weight you can lift properly for 10-15 reps.
• Lay down on the bench and keep your shoulders back, allowing your arms to hang freely to your side.

Upward phase

• Keep your arms fully extended.
• Bring the dumbbells up so it is approximately  perpendicular to the floor.
• Keep this position for a full second focusing on the isometric contraction.

Downward phase

• The downward phase of this movement should last approximately 2-3x longer than the upward phase in order to maximise time under tension and the benefits of eccentric training.
• Lower the dumbbells in a controlled manner until your arms are fully extended.

A common mistake many lifters make with this exercise is swinging the weight and using momentum to lift the dumbbell. To minimise the swinging, focus on keeping the elbow as still as possible during this exercise whilst trying to feel the movement as much as possible in the muscle.

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Long Head Movement 2: Reverse barbell curl
The barbell curl is the most well known variations of the bicep curl due to its ability to lift heavier weights than other bicep exercises, as well as the glorification of it from the “Golden Era of bodybuilding”.

Starting position

• Stand up holding the bar with a slightly narrower pronated hand position keeping the bar slightly in front of you.
• Keep your feet approximately shoulder width.
• Ensure your shoulders are not rolling forward to avoid posture issues whilst keep

Upward phase

• Keep your arms fully extended.
• Bring the bar up so it is about 2 or 3 inches away from your shoulder. This should be approximately  perpendicular to the floor.
• Keep this position for a full second focusing on the isometric contraction.

Downward phase

• The downward phase of this movement should last approximately 2-3x longer than the upward phase in order to maximise time under tension and the benefits of eccentric training.
• Lower the bar in a controlled manner until your arms are fully extended.

A common mistake found in gym goers doing this movement is using momentum. This movement should be controlled in order to maximise the mind-muscle connection. Many lifters lean back during this exercise for just a little bit more force to get the weight up, if this is you, the weight is too heavy.