Bicep Peak Exercises: 5 Best Bicep Builders

Let’s be honest: massive bicep peaks aren’t just a testament to your overall fitness and strength levels. They’re a way to look good too.

Most guys have bigger arms as a top goal in the gym. Women are increasingly following suit too. For anyone who trains regularly, getting thicker, toned arms with well-developed biceps is a surefire way to enhance your aesthetic potential.

What are the top 5 exercises to increase the size of your bicep peaks?

Dumbbell bicep curls, hammer curls, pull-ups, preacher curls and incline curls are some of the best bicep peak exercises you can do to get blown-up biceps.

Here’s an explanation of how to do the best exercises to grow your bicep peaks.

Top 5 exercises for bicep peaks

Here’s a walkthrough of some of the best exercises to help you build up your bicep peaks. The key to growing your bicep peaks with exercises is to find exercises that prioritize the long head of your biceps.

We’ll go through some more specifics of bicep anatomy later. First, let’s see the top exercises to grow your bicep peaks.

Dumbbell Bicep Curl

• Set-Up: Grab a set of dumbbells.

• Body Position: Stand with your feet hip-width apart, letting your weights hang down in front of your thighs.

• Curl: Bend your elbows and curl your weights up towards your shoulders.

• Reverse: Resist your weight and bring your hands down to the starting position.

• Reps: Try 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps depending on desired results and skill level.

Hammer Curl

Hammer curls are a great way to target your biceps. This variation is similar to a traditional bicep curl, but you bring your hands to a neutral position at the top of the movement, rather than using a fully supinated (underhand) grip.

This curl variation allows you to work your biceps and triceps at the same time. The biceps and triceps are muscle agonist—agonists (muscles that serve opposite functions).

• Set-Up: Grab a set of dumbbells.

• Body Position: Stand with your feet hip-width apart, letting your weights hang down in front of your thighs.

• Curl: Bend your elbows and curl your weights up towards your shoulders.

• Reverse: Resist your weight and bring your hands down to the starting position.

• Reps: Try 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps depending on desired results and skill level.

Interested in growing your triceps too? These guides to tricep head development will help you apply these training techniques to the opposite muscles.

• Short Head Tricep Exercises
• Long Head Tricep Exercises

Narrow Grip Chin-Up

Chin-ups are a more are a great way to build up your biceps and back. To target the long head of your biceps, work on your chin-ups using a narrow grip.

• Grip: Once you find your station, lift your arms. Twist your palms inwards to face one another. Grasp the handles firmly. Brace your core muscles with your arms extended.
• Activation: Driving out of your back and shoulders, bend your elbows and activate your forearms to lift your body up and off the ground.
• Elevation: Keep your chest proud. Continue to follow through the movement until your chin comes into a line with your fists. Pull up slightly further through the chest. Aim to make contact with your chest to where the bar would hypothetically sit.
• Descent: Hold this position for a moment at the top. Next, slowly start to extend your elbows and lower your body back down to the starting position.

Be careful here not to drop or dump into your shoulders. If you don't control the movement here, you risk shoulder injuries on the eccentric (the “down”)  part of the move.

Preacher Curl

• Set-Up: Grab a weighted EZ bar or preloaded straight barbell. Set yourself up on a curl bench, placing the backs of your arms against the arm pad with your biceps and palms facing up. Bend your elbows to 90 degrees.

• Curl: Slowly bring your forearms down away from your body, lowering your weight so your forearms come flush with the lower part of the arm pad.

• Reverse: Engage your biceps to bring your elbows back to a bend. This completes one rep.

• Reps: Aim for 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps.

Incline Curl

The incline curl is an especially powerful exercise for recruiting bicep engagement. This variation on the classic barbell curl extends your range of motion.

• Set-Up: Sit down on an incline bench angled backward. The best incline bench angle is usually around 30 degrees. Grab a set of dumbbells for this exercise.

• Body Position: Keep your back flat against the bench, plant your feet firmly on the floor and engage your abdominal muscles. Let your arms hang by your sides. Here, your weights should move past the back of your bench, extending the range of motion for your shoulders.

• Curl: Contract your biceps and curl both dumbbells up toward your chest at the same time.

• Reverse: Bring your arms back to the starting position at your sides.

• Reps: Continue this move for 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps.

How do your biceps work?

To understand the biceps peak, it’s helpful to understand how biceps work in general.

The biceps brachii is a large muscle on the inside of your upper arm. This is one of the key areas in strength training where people hope to get increased muscle mass.

This type of muscle is a “two-headed monster.” That is, it has a short head and a long head.

Here come a lot of long words, so get ready.

The biceps short head originates from the coracoid process of your scapula (the shoulder blade).  The long head originates from the supraglenoid tubercle, also on your scapula. Here’s an image for reference.

The insertion point is the area where your muscle attaches to your bone. The biceps have two insertion areas: the radial tuberosity and the lacertus fibrosis (deep connective tissue on the inner part of your forearm).

Your body’s muscles have two parts: the middle part called the muscle belly and tendons on either end. When you flex your muscles, the shape that you see that gets bigger is your muscle belly.

Because of its double-headed structure, the bicep has two tendons that attach to the shoulder and one at the elbow.

Why do people want high bicep peaks?

For men especially, the bicep peak is a physical symbol of impressive strength.

Large and bulging biceps are the manifestation of years of hard work in the gym.

Bicep peaks don’t only show strength; they’re a status symbol too. This shows your ability to work hard and stay disciplined.

Not everyone can achieve amazing bicep peaks, so this signifier shows that you really put in the work.

Of course, you may train biceps a lot but suffer from bad bicep genetics.

Why can't I get a bicep peak?

If you feel like you’ve tried everything and can’t seem to get the high bicep peaks that you’re looking for, it may not be in the cards for you.

Training is just one ingredient in the recipe to great arms.

Your genetics are responsible for a lot of the way your biceps look. Don’t be discouraged if your peaks aren’t soaring to their highest heights.

You may simply have longer bicep muscle bellies. Although this bicep type isn’t known for their high peaks, they do have a filled-out look. Many people find this to be just as aesthetically pleasing in a different way.

Can you change your bicep peak?

The shape and insertion points of your biceps can’t be changed with training. These are pre-determined by your genes.

Genetics influence things like where your biceps insert on your arm bones, the length of your tendons, your capacity to put on muscle and your bicep shape.

Some people have long muscle bellies on their biceps. This type of muscle belly gives your arms a seamless and filled-out look when it comes to aesthetics.

If you value an over all harmonious look with good flow between the shape and size of your muscles, a longer muscle belly is an ideal shape.

High bicep peaks are usually more noticeable on short muscle bellies. This is because the rise of your bicep peak is less gradual, so it seems more dramatic in comparison to the rest of your arm.

Your genes don’t just influence your biceps. They play a major role in how other parts of your body look and work too. Learn more with these articles:

• Bad Shoulder Genetics
• Bad Calf Genetics
• Bad Chest Genetics

Bicep peak exercises with dumbbells

If you’ve only got a set of dumbbells, you’ve got all you need to start building bigger bicep peaks.

Many simple exercises that will target the long head of the biceps for peak growth can be done using only dumbbells.

• Dumbbell curls

• Hammer curls

• Cross-body hammer curls: This variation on hammer curls is one where you lift your hands across the body so your weights touch opposite shoulders.

Keep in mind that using dumbbells doens’t let you narrow your grip and lift with both hands at the same rate like a barbell would. This is a key consideration you should make when you think about bicep peak exercises.

Is the bicep peak long or short head-dependent?

The long head of your biceps sits on top of your biceps short head.

When we think of body composition, most people associate a developed long head with the height of your bicep peak.

The short head is more commonly associated with the width and thickness of your biceps through the middle.

Bicep peak genetics

Favorable bicep peak genetics usually involve high bicep insertions.

High bicep insertion refers to having a longer tendon before the muscle belly swells up. If you measure the bicep from the elbow, for example, this can create a bicep “gap.”

The length from the crook of your elbow to the swell of your bicep seems longer, making the muscle in comparison look shorter, with a higher peak.

This type of bicep looks like it starts higher up on the arm past the elbow than a bicep with a low bicep insertion, which starts to gain its shape near the elbow and increases in size at a more even rate.

Although some people view high insertions and short muscle bellies as “bad bicep genetics,” this bicep type is actually more beneficial to getting a high peak.

How to build a bicep peak: Tips to develop bicep peaks

Make your arms bigger

Peaks can only be built up to an extent.

To reiterate, the main factor that influences whether you can achieve high bicep peaks is your genes. However, to test whether or not you have the potential to see high bicep peaks, you have to make those muscles pop for all they’re worth.

Focus on exercises like:

• Dumbbell curls

• Cable curls

• Drag curls

• EZ bar curls

See which bicep curl variation you prefer. Using some sort of curl and working toward progressive overload each time you lift will help you put on overall mass in your arms.

Focus on long-head bicep exercises

In the context of improving your bicep peaks, you want to focus on exercises that target the long head of your biceps.

Long heads are associated with the bicep peak, while your biceps’ short heads determine the fullness of your muscles.

To target your biceps’ long heads, try exercises that work with a narrow grip. These can include:

• Narrow grip chin-ups

• Narrow grip pull-ups

• Narrow grip barbell curls

• Narrow grip EZ bar curls.

Summary

To best target your bicep peaks for growth takes a number of factors.

First off, you have to be genetically blessed with a body type that is inclined toward growing steep peaks.

Most of the way your muscles are shaped is genetically determined. The muscle bellies of your biceps (the meat of your muscles) may be longer or shorter on different people. This is dependent on your genes.

Muscle insertions, or the point at which your muscle attaches to the bone at a tendon can determine how your muscles peak.

High-insertion biceps have a tendency to look shorter, thus, they have higher peaks. If you can fit more than 2 fingers between the crook of your elbow and the swell of your bicep, you probably have shorter biceps.

This means your biceps may be ideal for building higher bicep peaks.

To work your biceps optimally for peak development, focus on exercises that hit the long head of the biceps. The long head is more associated with high peaks while working the short head will make your biceps look fuller.

Aim for exercises like dumbbell bicep curls, preacher curls, and hammer curls.

Chin-ups for biceps can also be effective. Make sure to use a narrower grip to stimulate the long heads of your biceps.

Take your workouts to their peak! The Flex App progresses as you do with plate tracking capabilities and auto progression.

References

Gorkovenko, A. V., Sawczyn, S., Bulgakova, N. V., Jasczur-Nowicki, J., Mishchenko, V. S., & Kostyukov, A. I. (2012). Muscle agonist-antagonist interactions in an experimental joint model. Experimental brain research, 222(4), 399–414. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-012-3227-0

Tiwana MS, Charlick M, Varacallo M. Anatomy, Shoulder and Upper Limb, Biceps Muscle. [Updated 2024 Jan 30]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519538/