Brachialis Bicep Exercises: Training brachialis muscles plays an integral part in developing your biceps. Training it can increase both its peak and arm girth, giving your biceps an additional lift and appearing larger overall.
A great exercise to target the brachialis is the seated dumbbell hammer curl. Use a neutral grip and go heavy! Tighter grips focus more attention on targeting the long head of your biceps while wider ones target its inner short head.
Pull-ups
Biceps are one of the go-to muscles when it comes to building bigger arms. Bodiesbuilders devote significant time and energy to developing this iconic mound of muscle that sits atop of each elbow joint. There are countless arm exercises designed specifically to target this region of muscle. From barbell and dumbbell curls, to triceps pushdowns and dips – many bodybuilders choose barbell and dumbbell curls as part of their arm workout regiments!
Though your biceps deserve all of the credit for any success with training, it’s also essential to train other arm muscles as well. One such muscle is brachialis; this lesser-known but equally essential muscle accounts for an important percentage of the width of your biceps and when trained can expand its size as well as increase grip strength.
Pull-ups are an invaluable addition to your arm workouts as a pull-up requires using back, lats, biceps and brachialis muscles all simultaneously to perform successfully. Furthermore, using pronated grip position during pull-up can also activate some areas of brachialis more directly.
This movement may prove challenging if done with a heavy load, but the effort put forth when adding this movement to your routine will more than pay off. Not only will you see increased size in both of your biceps and forearms, but there will also be psychological advantages from lifting yourself.
Pull-ups can also help develop the brachialis muscle that’s essential for flexing your elbows, giving your biceps more prominence when they flex – an added confidence booster when trying to take gym gains to the next level!
Preacher curls are another fantastic exercise to use when training the brachialis; they can be performed using either an EZ bar or barbell and are similar to regular barbell curls; with one exception: both the biceps and brachialis are trained with supinated (palms-down) grips to activate short head of biceps while also stimulating brachialis development by squeezing at the top of each movement to increase both their development as well as that of brachialis development.
Curls
Curls are one of the most beloved upper arm exercises. Not only can they build size and thickness in your biceps, but they can also be used to correct imbalances within their muscles if performed with one arm at a time; 1-arm hammer curl is an effective solution in this regard; simply grab one hand of a dumbbell with palm facing outward, perform a curl upwards while squeezing hard at the top, slowly return it back down until back at starting position and repeat for your desired number of reps!
The seated incline hammer curl is another excellent variation on this exercise, allowing you to perform this movement while sitting on an inclined bench, which isolates this muscle group and can reduce elbow pain.
An EZ curl bar provides another variation on this exercise that is similar, though more difficult, as it requires an aggressive grip that puts your wrist into pronated position – not ideal for those with limited mobility, yet with practice it is possible to overcome and experience all its benefits.
Warming up before any arm workout – whether full arm day or just curls – is crucial in order to prevent injuries and enhance performance. Even just five or ten minutes of cardio or dynamic joint mobility and flexibility work may suffice as warming-up activities.
One common piece of advice for the brachialis involves heavy load training to increase bicep size and strengthen elbow joints. This belief stems from the belief that type-II muscle fibers found within this muscle require high levels of intensity to stimulate their growth; however, research from 2020 indicates both low rep ranges and high rep ranges produce comparable muscle growth in this muscle group.
One key reason to be wary of using extremely heavy loads on this muscle is because doing so could result in injury. The tendons attached to this muscle are extremely delicate and overwork can damage them, leading to tears or inflammation if overused – something particularly concerning for those engaging in slow, heavy movements like the chin-up or pull-up.
When starting to train your biceps, the ideal approach is to begin by mastering either an EZ curl or reverse barbell curl in order to avoid injuring your elbow. Once these movements have become natural to you, gradually increase the weight lifted over time. Before allowing your muscles to fatigue, it’s advisable to perform several sets of 8-10 reps per arm and make sure each set gets maximum benefit while your form remains on point as you add weight. This will allow for optimal results with each set. As with all exercises, when performing the bicep curl it’s essential to focus on form rather than speed or strength in order to maximize results. Over time as you continue training this muscle you should find that you are able to lift heavier loads while keeping proper form intact.
