Unlock the Secret: The Surprising Number of Biceps Exercises You REALLY Need for Massive Arms—And Why More Isn’t Better!

Ever caught yourself wondering if pumping the biceps once a week is enough, or if you should be curling, hammering, and cable-cranking your way into beast-mode all seven days? For most guys, biceps training is as simple as sneaking in a single isolation move or two alongside their usual strength grind. After all, those guns get fired up with nearly every pull-up, row, or deadlift anyway. But what if you’re itching to make those arms pop so much that even a winter jacket can’t hide your dedication? Suddenly, the question flips: how many biceps exercises are just right to sculpt those peaks without overdoing it? Well, buckle up—I’ve got the scoop on dialing in your arm routine for maximum flex appeal without falling into the trap of endless sets. Ready to learn the sweet spot between skipping and overkill? Let’s dive in. LEARN MORE

FOR MOST GUYS, biceps training is pretty straightforward. Including even a single isolation exercise into a balanced strength routine once or twice a week will help you build the strength and flex appeal you’re hoping to achieve. The reason: Your bis are engaged in just about every upper body pulling exercise (chinup, pulldown, bent-over row, etc.) you do, so for most strength training goals, you don’t need to hit them with as many targeted moves as you might for a larger muscle group like your pecs or quads.

But if you want to maximize your flex appeal so your arms are the focal point of your physique—even in the winter through a thick puffer jacket—you’ll need more focused work. That takes a more dedicated approach like you’ll find in our Ultimate Arms Recomp training plan.

That also raises an important question: What’s the ideal number of biceps-focused exercises you should include in your routines for optimum growth? We’ve got answers.

How Many Biceps Exercises Should You Do?

If you’re prioritizing upper arm hypertrophy, you likely have at least one day per week when you really hammer your arms. That training session should contain three dedicated biceps moves that meet the following guidelines:

Maximal Load

An exercise that you can load maximally, such as a standing dumbbell, barbell, or EZ bar curl. The goal here is to push the limits of your strength so that you struggle to bang out your final few reps with good form.

Example: Barbell Curl

How to Do It:

• Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, holding the bar, using a shoulder-width grip.
• Squeeze your glutes, abs, and shoulder blades. Keep your torso tight. Curl the weight up, moving only at the elbows.
• Squeeze your biceps at the top for a split second, then lower the weight back down.

Sets and reps: 3 sets of 6 to 8 reps

Upper Arm Angle Change

An exercise that changes your upper arm angle relative to your torso (e.g., a preacher curl, incline curl, or Bayesian/cable curl). That will challenge your biceps with a different “strength curve,” moving the most challenging point of curl from the middle to the beginning or end of the movement.

Example: Cable Curl

How to Do It:

• Grab the handle with one hand and take a step and a half away from the machine (or as far as you need to feel tension on the muscle).
• Squeeze the abs and glutes for a solid base.
• Create a slight angle with the elbow to where the cable feels like it’s pulling you back.
• Ensure that your hips and shoulders are facing square in front—don’t allow the tension from the cable to twist your torso backwards.
• Moving only at the elbow, curl your hand towards your shoulder.
• As you lower back down, make sure the cable doesn’t pull your shoulder from its position. Think about keeping the upper arm in line with your torso.

Sets and reps: 3 to 4 sets of 12 to 15 reps

Boost Your Brachialis

An exercise that changes your wrist angle to emphasize your brachialis, the muscle directly beneath your biceps that’s just as important for upper arm girth and even more important for elbow flexion. The hammer curl, reverse curl, and Zottman curl are all excellent options.

Example: Hammer Curl

How to Do It:

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a pair of dumbbells in a neutral grip (palms facing each other). Squeeze your shoulder blades, abs, and glutes to create full-body tension.
• Curl the dumbbell up, moving only at the elbow joint. Keep your upper arms still and perpendicular to the floor. Squeeze your biceps at the top of the movement.
• Avoid shifting your elbow forward to keep your shoulders out of the movement.
• Lower the weight back down to the starting position under control.

Sets and reps: 3 sets of 6 to 8 reps

Performing an exercise from each of those categories will help ensure maximum muscle fiber recruitment and engagement. This approach will also inject your arm training with enough variety to avoid strength plateaus—as long as you continue to reach for heavier weights as you get stronger and switch up the exercises you perform about every two months.

Will More Biceps Exercises Boost Your Gains?

The short answer is: probably not. The long answer requires some context. If we expand our muscular view beyond the biceps, research shows that three targeted exercises (or about 10 total sets) is the minimum weekly recommendation for maximum growth, with the sweet spot likely closer to six exercises (or 20 total sets). So why limit yourself when it comes to your biceps? The answer is that those two-headed elbow flexors are among your body’s top workhorses, assisting other muscles as “secondary” movers in countless other exercises.

Not only do your biceps kick into gear during isolation moves such as those mentioned above, but they also spring into action during just about every upper body pulling exercise you can imagine. That means every time you perform a pullup, pulldown, or row variation, you enlist your bis to help get the job done. They’re even engaged during exercises such as the deadlift and farmer’s walk to maintain grip strength and elbow joint tension and stability.

That’s why performing more than three to six targeted biceps exercises a week will be overkill—even for those prioritizing arm growth. And if such growth is a priority, it’s also important not to neglect your triceps. After all, they comprise about two-thirds of your upper arms’ mass.

Fortunately, the same rules apply when selecting triceps exercises. Check out our picks for the best 15 triceps exercises to round out your arm training.

Trevor Thieme is a Los Angeles-based writer and strength coach, and a former fitness editor at Men’s Health. When not helping others get in shape, he splits his time between surfing, skiing, hiking, mountain biking, and trying to keep up with his 10-year-old daughter.