5 Best Beginner Bicep Exercises for Jacked and Wider Arms

Bigger arms take more than doing endless curls. The biceps are part of a group of muscles that bend your elbow, and the brachialis and brachioradialis help with that movement too. Training them with a few different grips and arm positions can build a more complete look.

The five exercises below are beginner-friendly and easy to adjust as you get stronger. You do not need to use all five in every workout. Start with two or three, use a weight you can control, and add reps or weight gradually. Research supports progressive resistance training for muscle growth, while the precise number of sets and exercises that works best can vary from person to person.

What makes arms look wider?

The biceps brachii is the muscle most people think of when they picture a bicep. It contributes to bending the elbow and turning the palm upward. The brachialis sits underneath the biceps and also bends the elbow. The brachioradialis runs along the forearm and contributes to elbow flexion, particularly in some forearm positions.

That means “wider arms” is not a result of one magic curl. Training the biceps alongside the muscles that assist elbow flexion can help develop the upper arm and forearm as a whole. A supinated grip, with your palm facing up, lets you train elbow flexion and the biceps’ role in turning the forearm. A neutral grip, with your palms facing each other, changes the contribution of the elbow flexors and provides useful variation.

3 Best Beginner Exercises for Muscular Upper Pecs

Exercise selection matters, but it does not need to get complicated. You can build muscle with dumbbells, a cable, or a machine. Choose movements that feel comfortable, let you control the weight, and make it easy to add a little more work over time.

1. Standing dumbbell curl

The standing dumbbell curl is a simple place to start. It trains elbow flexion with a palm-up grip, and dumbbells let each arm work independently. That makes it easier to notice if one side is doing more work than the other.

Stand tall with a dumbbell in each hand and your arms by your sides. Begin with your palms facing in, then turn them toward the ceiling as you curl. Keep your upper arms close to your torso and bend your elbows to raise the weights. Lower them under control until your arms are nearly straight.

Use a weight that lets you keep your torso still. If you have to lean back, swing your elbows forward, or throw the dumbbells upward, the load is probably too heavy for the reps you are trying to do. A controlled curl does not mean moving extremely slowly. It means you can guide the weight through a comfortable range without turning the set into a whole-body movement.

Try two or three sets of 8 to 12 repetitions. When you can complete the top number of reps with steady form, increase the weight by a small amount or add a repetition to your next set.

2. Hammer curl

Hammer curls use a neutral grip, with your palms facing each other throughout the movement. They train the elbow flexors while using a different forearm position from the classic palm-up curl. Research measuring muscle activity during elbow flexion has found that hand position can change how the biceps and brachioradialis contribute to the movement. That does not prove that one grip is best for arm growth, but it supports using more than one grip if you want to train the elbow flexors in different ways.

Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing inward. Keep your elbows near your sides and curl the dumbbells toward your shoulders without rotating your hands. Lower them smoothly until your arms return to the starting position.

Avoid letting your wrists bend back or letting your shoulders take over. If the dumbbells swing forward, reduce the weight and keep the movement at your elbows. You can also do one arm at a time if that helps you stay steady.

Start with two or three sets of 8 to 12 reps. Hammer curls pair well with standing dumbbell curls because the two exercises use different hand positions. Together, they give beginners a straightforward way to train the elbow flexors without needing complicated equipment.

3. Incline dumbbell curl

The incline dumbbell curl places your upper arms slightly behind your torso while you sit against an incline bench. This position lengthens the biceps across the shoulder joint compared with a curl performed with the arms by your sides. Research comparing incline and preacher curls has found differences in where elbow-flexor muscle thickness increased, although the results do not establish one exercise as universally superior.

Set the bench to a comfortable incline and sit with your back supported. Let your arms hang down, palms facing forward or turning upward as you curl. Keep your shoulders relaxed and your upper arms in place. Bend your elbows to lift the dumbbells, then lower them under control.

Use a lighter weight than you use for standing curls at first. The stretched starting position can feel unfamiliar, and forcing a deep stretch or bouncing out of the bottom is unnecessary. Use a comfortable range of motion and stop if you feel sharp or unusual pain around the shoulder or elbow.

Two sets of 8 to 12 controlled reps are plenty to begin with. If you already do standing curls, you can add incline curls as a second biceps exercise rather than trying to cram every curl variation into one session.

4. Preacher curl

Preacher curls support your upper arms on a sloped pad, which can make it easier to focus on bending the elbows without swinging your body. You can use a preacher bench with dumbbells, a barbell, or a curl machine. Choose the version that feels comfortable and lets you control the weight.

Set your upper arms against the pad and hold the handles or weight with a secure grip. Lower the weight until your elbows are nearly straight, then curl it upward without lifting your upper arms off the support. Do not force your elbows into a locked position at the bottom. Keep tension through a range that feels controlled.

A preacher curl is useful for practicing consistent reps, but it is not a shortcut to perfect isolation. The biceps still work alongside other elbow flexors. In a study that compared preacher and incline curls, the two exercises produced different regional changes in muscle thickness, while strength gains were greater in the curl variation participants practiced. Those results support treating exercise choice as a way to vary training, not as a contest to find one curl that works for everyone.

Try two or three sets of 8 to 12 reps. If using a machine, adjust the seat and pad so your upper arms rest comfortably and the machine’s pivot aligns roughly with your elbow joint. Start light and learn the movement before increasing the load.

5. Cable curl

Cable curls are a practical option if you want a curl that is easy to set up and adjust. Stand facing a low cable with a straight bar or individual handles attached. The machine provides resistance as you bend and straighten your elbows. The resistance profile differs from dumbbells, but there is no need to assume that this makes cable curls automatically better for muscle growth. Current resistance-training guidance finds that a range of equipment can support strength and muscle growth.

Stand upright with your feet steady and elbows near your sides. Hold the attachment with your palms facing up, then curl it toward your chest. Pause briefly if you can do so without shifting your shoulders, and lower it under control. Keep your wrists in line with your forearms rather than letting them fold backward.

Choose a load that lets you complete each repetition smoothly. If you need to lean back or drive your hips forward, reduce the weight. Two or three sets of 10 to 15 repetitions can work well, especially if you find the cable station easier to control than free weights.

How to use these exercises in a beginner workout

You do not need five different curls in a single workout. Start with two exercises, such as standing dumbbell curls and hammer curls, for two or three sets each. If you want a third movement, rotate in incline curls, preacher curls, or cable curls in a later workout.

Train your arms as part of a balanced routine that also works your chest, back, shoulders, and legs. Beginners can make progress without taking every set to the point where they cannot complete another repetition. Choose a load that makes the last few reps challenging while still allowing you to keep good form. As you adapt, gradually add repetitions, weight, or sets rather than changing everything at once.

Use a comfortable range of motion and keep the lowering portion controlled. Research on range of motion suggests that working through a fuller range, including the more lengthened part of a movement, can be useful for muscle growth in some muscles, including the biceps. You do not need to force a painful stretch or use partial reps as a replacement for controlled full reps.

Give your arms time to recover between challenging sessions. If your elbows stay sore or your form gets worse from workout to workout, reduce the amount of curling for a while. Consistent training with manageable progress is a more practical route to bigger arms than trying to destroy your biceps in every session.

References

• Currier, B.S., D’Souza, A.C., Fiatarone Singh, M.A., Lowisz, C.V., Rawson, E.S., Schoenfeld, B.J., Smith-Ryan, A.E., Steen, J.P., Thomas, G.A., Triplett, N.T., Washington, T.A., Werner, T.J. and Phillips, S.M. (2026) ‘American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand. Resistance Training Prescription for Muscle Function, Hypertrophy, and Physical Performance in Healthy Adults: An Overview of Reviews’, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 58(4), pp. 851–872.
• Kassiano, W., Costa, B., Nunes, J.P., Ribeiro, A.S., Schoenfeld, B.J. and Cyrino, E.S. (2023) ‘Which ROMs Lead to Rome? A Systematic Review of the Effects of Range of Motion on Muscle Hypertrophy’, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 37(5), pp. 1135–1144.
• Kassiano, W., Costa, B., Kunevaliki, G., Lisboa, F., Stavinski, N., Prado, A., Tricoli, I., Francsuel, J., Lima, L., Nunes, J.P., Ribeiro, A.S. and Cyrino, E.S. (2025) ‘Distinct muscle growth and strength adaptations after preacher and incline biceps curls’, International Journal of Sports Medicine, 46(5), pp. 334–343.
• Kleiber, T., Kunz, L. and Disselhorst-Klug, C. (2015) ‘Muscular coordination of biceps brachii and brachioradialis in elbow flexion with respect to hand position’, Frontiers in Physiology, 6, article 215.
• Kobayashi, Y., Maeo, S., Eihara, Y., Ono, M., Sato, M., Sugiyama, T., Kanehisa, H. and Isaka, T. (2026) ‘Exercise-specific preferential hypertrophy of individual elbow flexor muscles after incline versus preacher dumbbell curl training’, Journal of Sports Sciences.