Biceps Muscles

The Biceps Muscles

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 with its two heads - A short head and a long head. That's where the name "Bi - Ceps" comes from (Bi = 2) Brachii means arm. The functions of the biceps are flexing (bending) the arm and rotating the forearm. There are two more muscles in this area: Brachialis and Brachioradialis, which are located between biceps, triceps and the forearm muscles. When we refer to the biceps, we often mean all the arm muscles on the front side of the upper arm, including the upper arm portion of the forearm muscles. Find exercises and information about other muscle groups at weight training main.

Description

  • Biceps Brachii
    The biceps brachii is the big muscle in the middle of the upper arm and has two heads. That's where the name "Bi - Ceps" comes from. When you do biceps curls with a straight barbell and hold the bar with your hands more than one shoulders width apart, you train your biceps brachii.
  • Brachialis
    The Brachialis is the muscle between biceps and triceps. When you do dumbbell hammer curls, you train your biceps and your brachialis muscles.
  • Brachioradialis
    The brachioradialis is a forearm muscle that begins in the upper arm. Exercises: Dumbbell Hammer Curl and Reverse Barbell Curl. Most bodybuilders consider the brachioradialis a forearm muscle, because the forearm part is larger than the upper arm part.

Advice

  • Start your biceps training with a heavy free weight exercise like the barbell biceps curl or chin ups.
  • There aren't many stretches for the biceps. Check out the stretching section for more information.
  • The biceps only makes up one third of your upper arms volume. If you want big arms, don't forget to train your triceps.