The bicep curl is one of the most traditional weight lifting exercises you can do. It’s goal is simple: to strengthen the front part of the upper arm. Bulging biceps have always been a symbol for strength on a man but strong arms are also very sexy on a lady. Hollywood celebrities have definitely proven this for both men (Ryan Reynolds) and women (Jennifer Aniston)! So now that you know that the bicep curl is not just for body builders anymore, you need to know how to do them correctly!

To do the bicep curl:
This exercise can be done standing or sitting on a bench or ball but in this description, we will be standing. Start standing with medium weight dumbbells at your side. The feet are a few inches apart or staggered with one foot in front of the other. Keep the upper body tall with shoulders rolled down and back and the eyes looking forward. Place the arms slightly in front of the body with the palms facing out. Keeping the elbows in to the waist, slowly lift the weights toward the shoulders. Pause. Now lower the weights back to the starting position. The whole time, you should be squeezing the stomach and butt, keeping the shoulders rolled back and the elbows in to the waist so that the focus is on the bicep muscles. Repeat 10 times. Work up to doing 3 sets of 10.

The bicep muscle is a two-headed muscle, which means that it contains 2 bundles of muscle that run the length of the upper arm. The biceps are engaged when both the elbows and the shoulders are motion. We use them every day for daily tasks that involve flexing the elbow and rotating the forearm.

There are several variations of bicep curls but they all have the same foundation. Also remember that while the bicep curl shapes the front of the arm, the back of the arm needs to be strengthened as well to really get a toned look.