How to Train a Long Head Bicep?

To effectively train the long head of your bicep, focus on arm positioning relative to your body during curls, and specific exercise techniques.

Understanding Bicep Heads

Before diving into training, it's useful to understand that the bicep muscle has two heads:

• Long Head: Located on the outer part of the bicep. Its primary function is flexion and supination of the forearm. It also contributes to shoulder movement.
• Short Head: Located on the inner part of the bicep. Primarily for elbow flexion.

Targeted Long Head Training

Exercise Positioning

The key to targeting the long head is by positioning your arms behind your body during the curling motion. According to the provided video, instead of positioning arms in front of your body, like in a preacher curl, you need to position them behind you. This can be achieved by:

• Incline Dumbbell Curls:

  • Sit on an incline bench with the backrest tilted back at a 45-60 degree angle.
  • Let your arms hang straight down with the dumbbells. The angle of the bench forces your elbows behind your body.
  • Curl the weight up while keeping the elbows stable, emphasizing the squeeze in your bicep at the top.

• Concentration Curls:

  • Sit down on a bench with your legs spread out.
  • Place one elbow on the inside of your thigh.
  • Allow your arm to hang down towards the floor.
  • Curl the dumbbell up towards your shoulder. The position puts more stress on the long head.

• Cable Curls (using incline setup):

  • Set up a low cable pulley.
  • Stand far enough from the pulley so that your arms are behind you at the start of the movement.
  • Curl the cable upward, keeping your elbows slightly behind your body throughout the curl.

Key Techniques

• Full Range of Motion: Ensure you are moving through a full range of motion, at the bottom of the movement, your arms are fully extended, at the top of the movement, the dumbbell is close to your shoulders.
• Mind-Muscle Connection: Focus on squeezing your bicep at the top of each curl to maximize muscle activation.
• Controlled Movements: Avoid using momentum or swinging the weights. This ensures the long head of the bicep is doing most of the work.
• Progressive Overload: Gradually increase the weight, reps, or sets over time to continue challenging your muscles.
• Variety: Incorporating variations such as hammer curls or cross-body curls can add to the training of long head bicep. However, when the goal is to isolate long head of bicep the above mentioned exercises are most optimal.

Sample Long Head Bicep Workout

Here’s a sample workout routine that you can incorporate into your training program:

Important Notes:

• Always warm up before and cool down after your workout.
• Proper form is more important than the amount of weight used, focus on technique.
• If you are new to weight training, seek guidance from a personal trainer or an experienced lifter.