Biceps exercises in the gym for women with dumbbells

How to pump up biceps for a girl?

Unlike the male half, the question of how to pump up a girl’s biceps worries the fair half much less. And, probably, this is good, because powerful, veined arms should be an attribute of men, but not women. But since the topic of today’s story is women’s arm training, we can’t do without descriptions of biceps exercises for girls.

Drawing a parallel with the construction of the triceps, the work on the construction of the biceps brachii muscle should be built according to a similar pattern. The first in the complex are basic exercises aimed at muscle growth. And after them come forming movements that develop small muscle sections that make the arms sculpted and beautiful.

Biceps exercises for girls | Increasing the volume of your arms

Biceps training for girls , the arsenal of exercises is completely no different from men’s. The movements are as simple, natural, and at the same time the most effective:

STANDING BICEPS RAISES

A basic exercise designed to develop the entire muscle mass of the biceps brachii muscle. There are quite a few variations of this exercise. I talked about most of them in my article “Barbell Curls | 8 options for the best arm exercises.”

Barbell Curls | The main biceps training exercise for women

If desired, instead of boring standing barbell lifts, you can choose a different version of the exercise. This will diversify the training process and force the muscles to react more actively to the new load. But in any case, a girl should start training her biceps with this exercise.

2. ARM CURL WITH DUMBBELLS SITTING ON AN INCLINE BENCH

This exercise is also basic, but unlike barbell lifts, it forces the biceps to work when it is in a stretched state. Therefore, the main part of the load falls on the bottom of the biceps muscle, lengthening it and improving its appearance. By changing the angle of the bench, you can increase the load on this section of the biceps or, conversely, reduce it.

Dumbbell Curls | Effective biceps exercise for girls

Note: there is a widespread opinion that girls in the gym should do exercises with dumbbells or in exercise machines, because the barbell is a purely male accessory. For large muscle groups, this statement is true. Indeed, doing bench presses or lunges with dumbbells is easier and more natural for women.

But representatives of the fair sex can and even need to use a barbell to train small muscles. It may not be as comfortable, but by doing exercises with a barbell, a girl will be able to pump up her arms much faster.

Biceps Exercises for Women | Making your hands sculpted

The biceps brachii muscle has two functions - flexion of the arm at the elbow joint and rotation of the hand outward (supination). The basic exercises described above target the biceps during curling. They allow you to use the maximum weight of the weight and stimulate an increase in volume. And exercises based on supination improve the shape of the biceps, bringing it to an ideal state. The best biceps exercises for a girl in this regard are:

1. LIFTING DUMBELLS FOR BICEPS WITH SUPINATION

The exercise can be performed standing or sitting. Both on a horizontal bench and on an inclined one. But when performing standing dumbbell lifts, you can use the heaviest dumbbells, which immediately increases the effectiveness of the exercise.

Dumbbell Supination Raise | Making your hands sculpted

But when performing curls, it is important not only to raise your hand with a dumbbell, but also to turn your hand outward as much as possible. That is, perform supination.

exercises for women video:

Turning the wrist allows you to make the load on the biceps not just strong, but peak. Which will immediately affect the change in its shape for the better.

On topic: We pump up our shoulders and then our arms

2. CONCENTRATED DUMBELL RAISES FOR BICEPS

An almost complete copy of the previous exercise, but with a higher degree of isolation (direct load) of the biceps. The word “concentrated” in the name of the exercise is key.

Concentrated dumbbell curl for biceps | Improving the shape of your hands

The weight of the dumbbell is absolutely not important. The effectiveness of the movement depends entirely on focusing on contracting the biceps through supination. You need to lift the dumbbell, turn your hand to the maximum, freeze for a couple of seconds and slowly lower it.

ARM BENDING ON THE LOWER BLOCK

In terms of its biomechanics, the exercise resembles a biceps curl with a barbell. But it has one significant difference - the muscles are in a tense state all the time when performing it, since the load vector of the cable exercise machine is directed downward and forward. At the same time, the biceps have to be involved in the work more actively.

training for girls video:

A delay of 1-2 seconds at the top point of the movement is required; without this, the exercise loses half of its effectiveness. But at the lowest point, you don’t have to straighten your arms completely. This technique is called “cutting the trajectory.” It allows you to achieve greater blood supply to the muscles, which promotes their growth.

Arm workout for women | Why download brachialis?

Training the brachialis, or as it is also called, the brachioradialis muscle, is extremely important to answer the question of how to get sculpted arms. The brachialis is a very small muscle; you shouldn’t expect dramatic growth in arm mass from training it.

But even minimal direct load on the brachialis quickly increases the muscularity of the arms, giving them athletic roundness and relief. Brachialis rarely works in everyday life, so it grows quickly and willingly.

You can perform one exercise for the brachioradialis muscle at the end of a general arm workout and that will be enough. Or pump it separately from the biceps and triceps, loading it after some large muscle group.

Hammer exercise | Great arm exercise for girls

There are few exercises for brachialis and they all have one distinctive feature: a parallel (neutral) grip. Curling arms with dumbbells (hammer exercise), lifting a special barbell, lifting on a block. Any curl performed with a neutral grip primarily targets the brachialis.

But unlike biceps and triceps, which I recommend training in the style of supersets, you need to pump up your brachylis in a different way. Separated from other muscles and with fewer (up to 10) repetitions per exercise, this way it grows better.

Muscle Density | How to increase it?

Muscle density is important for everyone, but for girls who dream of beautiful hands, this parameter is of enormous importance. Dense, hard muscles look much tougher, more prominent and more impressive even with modest volumes.

Naturally, in order for your arms to look better, you must first lose weight by reducing the amount of water and fat, and only then move on to a targeted increase in muscle density. But even in this case you will have to work hard.

To increase muscle density, only dynamic load (exercises performed in motion) is not enough. But the static load comes to the rescue. Exercises performed with delay, without movement, are the best way to increase muscle density. The muscles do not increase in size, but their quality and relief become better.

In the light of arm training for girls , increasing muscle density consists of performing a static hold of the weight at the extreme point of tension. For example, having lifted the barbell onto your biceps, you need to stay in this position as long as possible, additionally straining your arm muscles, and lower it only when it becomes impossible to hold the barbell. The situation is similar with the triceps.

Static weight hold | The Best Way to Increase Muscle Density

One static set for each muscle group, performed at the end of an arm workout, is quite enough to increase their density.

If training takes place at home, ordinary elastic bands can replace barbells and dumbbells. Performing a static hold with such devices helps increase muscle density even better than with conventional equipment.

A set of arm exercises for girls | How often should you do it?

The answer to the question of how often a girl should train her hands depends entirely on their level of development. If your arms are noticeably behind in volume, you need to set aside a separate training day for them.

In this case, you will have to reduce the load on other muscles, focusing exclusively on your arms. In this case, you will have to pump up your biceps, triceps and brachialis in one workout. This technique is called specialization.

If everything is not so sad, you can pump up a girl’s arms as part of a weekly split (training program), dividing them into separate sections. For example, like this:

Monday . Chest, shoulders, biceps
Wednesday _ Back, triceps
Friday . Legs, brachialis

If we talk about a specific set of hand exercises for a girl, it could be like this:

Triceps. Barbell press with a narrow grip + push-ups from a bench (2 sets of 12-15 repetitions). Then, push-ups in the gravitron + arm extensions on a block with a reverse grip (2 sets, 12-15 repetitions). Both of these ligaments are performed using the superset method. Finally - arm extensions with a rope handle with a pause at the bottom point (1 set, 25 repetitions) and statically holding the projectile for 30-40 seconds.
Biceps. Barbell curls + standing dumbbell curls with supination (2 sets, 12-15 reps). Then, dumbbell curls while sitting on an incline bench + concentrated seated dumbbell raises (2 sets, 12-15 reps). Finally, curl the arms on the lower block with a pause at the top point (1 set, 25 repetitions). Holding the projectile (1 approach, 30-40 sec.)
Brachialis. Alternating dumbbell curls while standing with a neutral grip (3-4 sets, 9-10 reps). Holding the projectile (1 approach, 30-40 sec.)

On topic: DIY autumn stretch marks

Conclusion

It’s really not easy to pump up a girl’s arms. Becoming the owner of a sports butt is much easier. But by realizing the characteristics of your body and building your own training program based on them, the road to having an ideal figure can be greatly shortened.

It’s not worth blindly copying the male approach to gaining weight, but walking around the gym with Barbie dumbbells weighing 1 kilogram is also stupid. You need to train hard, with full dedication, while not forgetting about the characteristics of the unique female body and your goals. Be healthy and graceful!

About the author: My name is Stanislav Mikhailovsky. I am the author of this blog, a personal bodybuilding trainer, nutritionist, sports nutrition specialist, and writer. I am 46 years old, almost 30 of which I have been doing strength training.

I develop individual training programs for weight gain and weight loss, create diets, and advise on the selection and use of sports supplements. Specialization – bodybuilding after 40.

Source

Biceps training plan for girls

What weight of dumbbells should I take?

The first question that arises before training biceps is what dumbbell weight to use? If you seriously decide to start training at home, then it is better to purchase collapsible dumbbells up to 10-15 kg . Even if you are just starting to do biceps exercises, and minimal weights are enough for you, over time your muscles will adapt, and it will be necessary to increase the weight of the dumbbells.

The weight of dumbbells depends on your goals:

If you are working on muscle growth , then take a weight of dumbbells in which the last repetition of the set is performed at maximum effort. For beginner girls, dumbbells 5-7 kg ; for the first time, this will be enough for biceps exercises. In the case of training for muscle growth, you need to perform exercises for 8-10 repetitions in 3-4 sets.

If you are working on muscle tone and burning fat, then you can start with 2-3 kg . In this case, biceps training involves 12-15 repetitions in 3-4 sets. However, even in this case, it will be necessary to gradually increase the weight of the dumbbells, otherwise the effectiveness of the exercises for the muscles will be reduced.

Biceps training plan for girls

The biceps training plan for girls will also differ depending on your goals. Let us immediately clarify that if you only have small dumbbells (up to 5 kg), then use the second plan without any options. With small dumbbells there is no question of any muscle growth, and performing 8-10 repetitions with such a weight will simply not be enough load.

Plan for muscle growth:

Bicep curls: 8-10 reps in 3-4 sets
Biceps curls hammer grip: 8-10 reps in 3 sets
Bicep curls with alternating arms: 8-10 reps per arm in 3 sets
Zottman curls: 8-10 reps in 3 sets

Rest between sets for 30-45 seconds. Rest between exercises for 2 minutes.

Plan for muscle tone (you can leave only 4 exercises of your choice):

Bicep curls with rotation: 12-15 reps in 3-4 sets
Biceps curls with hammer grip: 12-15 reps in 3-4 sets
Bicep curls with alternating arms: 12-15 reps in 3-4 sets
Zottman curls: 12-15 reps in 3-4 sets
Pulsating biceps curl: 15-25 reps in 3-4 sets

Rest between sets for 30-45 seconds. Rest between exercises for 2 minutes.

If you are unable to increase the weight of dumbbells, then try to increase the number of repetitions or perform more sets.

How to train biceps if you don’t have dumbbells?

What to do if you don’t have dumbbells and can’t buy them? The biceps is a muscle that is almost impossible to train in isolation without additional equipment. However, dumbbells can be easily replaced with other auxiliary equipment.

What can you replace dumbbells with:

1. Instead of dumbbells, use plastic bottles filled with water or sand:

2. Buy an elastic band (from a sports store) or an elastic bandage (from a pharmacy). With this item you can perfectly train the muscles of the whole body, while it is very compact and takes up very little space:

3. Or you can buy a tubular expander, which will also be useful for strength training. At the same time, you can always take it with you:

General information about biceps training

Should girls train their biceps?

If you are doing strength training and want to work out all muscle groups in a balanced manner, then yes, doing biceps exercises is a must. Otherwise, you will not be able to achieve the necessary progress when working on other muscles. strong biceps muscles are needed to properly work out the back muscles.

. And if you don't develop them, you won't be able to make enough progress in strengthening your back muscles.

If you are not involved in strength training, but just want to lose weight and tone your muscles, then doing isolated biceps exercises is not necessary.

. Or rather, you can include 1-2 biceps exercises in your general arm workout, but it is not necessary to perform a full set of biceps exercises.

Many girls worry that strength training will increase their muscles and make their body look muscular and boxy. However, we hasten to reassure you. Even with heavy weights, it is very difficult for girls to achieve noticeable muscle growth due to the characteristics of the hormonal system. So don't give up on strength training.

, because it is with their help that you can get a beautiful, toned body.

How often should you train your biceps?

When strength training, biceps are most often trained on the same day as the back.

, since during strength exercises on the back muscles, the arm flexor muscles
(biceps)
.
The second popular option is to train the biceps muscles on the same day as the antagonist muscles, i.e. with triceps
. The first option is more traditional. The second option is most often used when they want to change the classic training plan for a new increase in strength indicators.

So, if you do strength training, then perform a set of biceps exercises 1-2 times a week

using one of two options for combinations of muscle groups in one day:

Back + Biceps
Biceps + Triceps
Biceps + Triceps + Shoulders

If your priority is weight loss and weight loss

, then it is better to use training not for individual muscle groups, as described above, but for the whole body. In this case, you should pay attention to circuit training, which includes a variety of exercises for different muscles, including the biceps.

Dumbbell biceps curl

Take dumbbells that suit you. Stand straight, lower the dumbbells down. As you inhale, bend your arm at the elbow, with your palm facing your face. That is, during the exercise you turn your hand over. As you exhale, return to the starting position.

During the exercise, make sure that your elbow is pressed to your body. You can raise both hands at once, or one at a time - as is more convenient for you.

Perform 3 sets of 10 times. The exercise is performed slowly.

Biceps exercises for girls

Biceps Curl

Bicep curls are one of the most beneficial and effective biceps exercises for toning your arms. Stand up straight, hold dumbbells in your hands, palms facing forward. Straighten your back, try to keep your elbows close to your body. As you exhale, bend your elbows, lift your forearms and place your palms on your shoulders. The arms above the elbow remain motionless. As you inhale, slowly lower your forearms to return them to the starting position.

Biceps curl with hammer grip

This biceps exercise is a variation of the biceps curl, but it uses a neutral grip, which means it puts a different load on the target muscles. Stand up straight, take dumbbells in your hands, palms facing each other. Try to keep your elbows close to your body, your shoulders down, and your back straight. As you exhale, bend your elbows and raise your palms at shoulder level. As you inhale, return to the starting position.

Biceps curl with change of hand

This biceps exercise is especially suitable for those who have heavy dumbbells. Hold the dumbbells in your hands with a neutral grip. As you exhale, bend your elbow and raise the palm of one hand to your shoulder, turning the hand at the joint. As you inhale, slowly return to the starting position. Then perform a similar movement with your other hand. In principle, you can curl both arms at the same time if the weight of the dumbbells allows. This biceps exercise is not recommended if you have problems with your wrist joints.

On topic: A set of exercises for biceps

4. Biceps curl with elbow rotation

This version of the biceps exercise is suitable for those who want to diversify their routine workouts. The principle of execution is the same as the first exercise. Hold the dumbbells with your palms facing outward. As you exhale, bend your elbows until there is a right angle between your shoulder and forearm. Hold in this position for 2 seconds, rotate the wrist joint 180 degrees and back. Then pull your palms towards your shoulders and inhale as you return to the starting position.

Zottman Curls

This biceps exercise is essentially a combination of two exercises: forward grip curl + reverse grip curl. Take dumbbells and turn your palms outward, back straight, shoulders down. As you inhale, bend your elbows and raise your palms to shoulder level. Rotate your wrists 180 degrees so they are facing outward. As you inhale, lower your arms, maintaining a reverse grip. While lowered, rotate your wrists back 180 degrees and repeat the exercise.

Pulsating biceps curl

Pulse exercises are great to do if you want to tone your muscles but only have small dumbbells available. Take dumbbells and bend your elbows so that your shoulder and forearm form a right angle. Now perform pulsating movements, raising your arms up at a small amplitude. It is better not to practice these biceps exercises with heavy dumbbells.

Biceps training plan for girls

What weight of dumbbells should I take?

. Even if you are just starting to do biceps exercises, and minimal weights are enough for you, over time your muscles will adapt, and it will be necessary to increase the weight of the dumbbells.

The weight of dumbbells depends on your goals:

If you are working on muscle growth
, then take a weight of dumbbells in which the last repetition of the set is performed at maximum effort.
For beginner girls, dumbbells 5-7 kg
; for the first time, this will be enough for biceps exercises. In the case of training for muscle growth, you need to perform exercises for 8-10 repetitions in 3-4 sets.
If you are working on muscle tone
and burning fat, then you can start with
2-3 kg
. In this case, biceps training involves 12-15 repetitions in 3-4 sets. However, even in this case, it will be necessary to gradually increase the weight of the dumbbells, otherwise the effectiveness of the exercises for the muscles will be reduced.

Biceps training plan for girls

Plan for muscle growth:

Bicep curls: 8-10 reps in 3-4 sets
Biceps curls hammer grip: 8-10 reps in 3 sets
Bicep curls with alternating arms: 8-10 reps per arm in 3 sets
Zottman curls: 8-10 reps in 3 sets

Rest between sets for 30-45 seconds. Rest between exercises for 2 minutes.

Muscle tone plan

(you can leave only 4 exercises of your choice):

Bicep curls with rotation: 12-15 reps in 3-4 sets
Biceps curls with hammer grip: 12-15 reps in 3-4 sets
Bicep curls with alternating arms: 12-15 reps in 3-4 sets
Zottman curls: 12-15 reps in 3-4 sets
Pulsating biceps curl: 15-25 reps in 3-4 sets

Rest between sets for 30-45 seconds. Rest between exercises for 2 minutes.

If you do not have the opportunity to increase the weight of dumbbells, then try to increase the number of repetitions or perform b o

greater number of approaches.

Biceps exercises

So, in order for your arms to be proportional to all other parts of the body, you need to pump not only them, but also your chest, back, and shoulder girdle. You should not exercise more than 2-3 times a week. Although it is extremely difficult for a woman to build up arm muscles like bodybuilders, there is still no need to try hard. You risk overworking your muscles and even suffering a painful injury.

For home biceps workouts, you will need some kind of weight in your hand. If you have dumbbells at home, then these are just what you need. If you don’t have them and you don’t want to spend money, replace them with simple bottles of water. Weight is best determined by feeling.

Don't take a projectile that is too heavy. You should lift it with a little effort, but not strain like the last time. The optimal weight for women's hands ranges from 1 to 2.5 kg.

Before moving on to the biceps training itself, it’s worth saying that you can get beautiful arms, as well as your whole body, thanks to swimming. The common misconception that swimmers have broad shoulders is not entirely true. Only serious athletes can boast of broad shoulders.

If you visit the pool once or twice a week, believe me, your shoulders will not become wider than they already are, but at the same time your body will become toned, your arm muscles will become more noticeable and beautiful.

Watch the video workout where you work your biceps:

Along with swimming, the following biceps exercises will help you get your arms in order.

Elbow flexion.

1. Take a weight in each hand.

2. Stand straight, legs slightly apart.

3. Hands along the body.

4. Alternately raise one hand and then the other.

5. Do 10-20 reps, then rest and repeat once or twice.

Related article: “One-arm dumbbell row”

Hammer style elbow curl.

This exercise is very similar to the previous one, but it is aimed at pumping the central part of your biceps and forming the so-called “bundle”. It must be done as follows:

1. Starting position: standing.

2. Press your hands lightly towards your body.

3. Palms with dumbbells facing inward (palms facing each other).

4. Bend your elbows alternately so that your palms still face inward.

5. Do 10-20 reps, then rest and repeat once or twice.

As a result, you should have a movement as if you were hitting the table with your fists.

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