In this lesson, you will learn about the muscles on the front side of your upper arm. The biggest and strongest muscle in this area is the biceps brachii, which has two heads — a short head and a long head. That’s where the name “bi-ceps” comes from (bi = 2). Brachii means “arm.” The main functions of the biceps are flexing (bending) the arm and rotating the forearm. There are two more muscles in this area: the brachialis and the brachioradialis, which are located between the biceps, triceps, and forearm muscles. When we refer to the biceps, we often mean all the muscles on the front side of the upper arm, including the upper portion of the forearm muscles. Find exercises and information about other muscle groups in Weight Training Main.
Biceps Brachii
The biceps brachii is the large muscle in the middle of the upper arm with two heads, which gives it the name “bi-ceps.” When you do biceps curls with a straight barbell and hold the bar with your hands wider than shoulder width, you primarily train the biceps brachii.
Brachialis
The brachialis is located between the biceps and triceps. When you perform dumbbell hammer curls, you train both the biceps and brachialis muscles.
Brachioradialis
The brachioradialis is a forearm muscle that originates in the upper arm. Exercises like dumbbell hammer curls and reverse barbell curls target it. Most bodybuilders consider the brachioradialis a forearm muscle because the forearm portion is larger than the upper arm portion.
