4 Best Compound Bicep Exercises: Grow Your Arms

Did you know that you can get killer-looking biceps while also putting in work on other muscle groups at the same time? That’s the magic of compound bicep exercises!

These exercises are multi-jointed, which means they work multiple joints and muscle groups all at once. They are a great way of building overall body strength while still chiseling away those biceps you’ve always wanted.

In this article, we’ll understand compound bicep exercises: How they work, their benefits, how to incorporate them into your workout routine and the best exercises out there.

Compound Exercises Vs. Isolation Exercises

But first, let’s understand the difference between isolation and compound exercises.

Isolation exercise is the name given to exercises that only engage one muscle or muscle group at a time. They stimulate specific muscle groups individually and are usually done with the assistance of machines since they lock you into place and help you isolate the movement.

However, they can also be done with free weights in certain situations.

In contrast, compound exercises are those that engage several muscle groups at once and involve more than one joint.

These exercises usually have a primary muscle group they target, but their execution involves several others making them great for building overall body strength.

Compound exercises are frequently done with free weights (but can also be done with machines). Besides increasing strength, they help improve balance, posture, and body awareness, making them an excellent option for athletes who want to see an increase in overall performance.

How To Integrate Compound Exercises into Workout Routine

The best way to incorporate Compound Exercises into your workout routine is to do them first.

Since compound exercises are complex multi-jointed movements, they rely heavily on technique and proper execution to be effective and avoid injuries. Accordingly, you should do them early in your workout session when you’re feeling rested and focused so you can get the most gains out of them.

Isolation exercises should be done at the end because they are harder to mess up. You only need to focus on one joint at a time, and machines make it harder not to execute them with proper form even if you are tired.

The Best Compound Bicep Exercises

Whether you already have respectable-looking arms or are struggling with bad bicep genetics, here’s a list of the best compound bicep exercises that will take your arm gains to the next level!

1. Chin-ups

Similar to a neutral grip pull-up, a chin-up is a compound bicep exercise that uses only body weight. It consists of pulling yourself up on a bar until your chin surpasses it.

This exercise targets mainly your biceps and lats. t also indirectly engages several other muscles, such as your deltoids, traps, chest, and core muscles.

The chin-up is awesome because it doesn't require any gym equipment besides a bar where you can pull yourself.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Hang from the bar with your palms facing your body. This is called an underhand grip.
2. Stabilize yourself by engaging your core muscles. If you have trouble at the beginning, you can cross your legs for greater stability.
3. Pull yourself up while maintaining your body straight, the ideal execution should have little to no lateral movement.
4. Once your chin crosses the bar, hold yourself at the top for a couple of seconds and squeeze your back muscles
5. Slowly come down. It’s important that you don’t let your weight drop you with no resistance for maximum gains.
6. Repeat for the desired number of reps and rest.

Did you know it’s hard for most amateur athletes to do pull-ups? Learn why pull-ups are so hard.

2. Inverted Rows

The inverted row is a horizontal pull exercise. Just like the chin-up it doesn’t require any gym equipment other than a barbell making the set-up fairly easy and allowing it to be done almost anywhere.

This exercise targets mainly your back and biceps. Do you notice a pattern? That’s because both the biceps and the back muscles benefit from pull exercises.

Here’s a tutorial:

1. Lay under a low-height bar.
2. Grab it with your palms facing you to engage the biceps. Place your feet on the ground and keep your body straight.
3. Pull yourself up with your core braced until your chest touches the bar.
4. Slowly come down to the initial position.
5. Repeat for the desired number of reps and rest.

3. Underhand Pulldowns

The underhand pulldown is the first compound bicep exercise on our list that you’ll need gym equipment to perform, more specifically: the lat pulldown machine. Since it is a pull exercise, the underhand pulldown is going to target (you guessed it) your biceps and back muscles.

1. Select a challenging amount of weight and adjust your seat so your feet are firm on the ground and your knees are at a comfortable angle.
2. Sit down and make sure the thigh pads are holding your thighs in place for greater stability.
3. Facing the machine, grab the bar with an underhand grip and pull it towards your chest. Remember to keep your core engaged.
4. Slowly release the weight back to the starting position.
5. Repeat for the desired number of reps and rest.

4. Barbell Row

The final exercise on our list is the barbell row. If done with an underhand grip it is an excellent compound bicep exercise while still working on all of the upper body, especially the back. It can be performed with a barbell and plates and is fairly simple to execute:

Here’s the step-by-step:

1. Load up your bar with a challenging amount of weight.
2. Place your feet shoulder-width apart and lower the bar to about shin height. Do it by bringing your hips back and slightly bending your knees. Remember to keep your back straight.
3. With an underhand grip slowly pull the bar close to your chest while keeping your arms close to your body.
4. Lower the bar slowly.
5. Repeat for the desired number of reps and rest.

Final Thoughts

Start incorporating these exercises into your bicep day routine and you’ll see results throughout your whole upper body in no time. As it is with most things at the gym, consistency is key if you want to get the biceps you dream of!

One more thing to note: remember to always warm up before engaging in any kind of physical activity. This is one of the best ways to get the most out of your workout sessions and ensure you do not get injured.

Do you want to take your gym gains to the next level? Download the Flex App now and unlock personalized workouts, progress tracking, and a community that cheers you on. Get fit with Flex!