3 Steps to Wider Biceps

Bicep Anatomy & Physiology

Before we get into how to get wider biceps, it’s vital to understand the basics of bicep anatomy. The “bi” in bicep means there are two muscle heads on the front of your arm.

The illustration below shows the short and long heads of the bicep. Growing the short head adds width to the inner bicep, while the long head adds width to the outer bicep and gives the bicep more “peak.”

In addition to the two heads, there’s a third muscle called the brachialis. Technically, this muscle is separate from the bicep, but its function is similar to the long head.

In real life, it’s difficult to differentiate the different bicep muscles unless you’re extraordinarily lean. Still, a basic understanding of their physical structure allows you to tailor your training to elicit the desired response.

Frequently Asked Questions

Next, let me give you quick answers to some of the questions that may have brought you here.

Why are my biceps skinny, not wide?

You might lack biceps width for various reasons, including age, experience, or body type.

First, it could be that you’re just young and haven’t had time to train your muscles for growth. Or you might have an ectomorph body type that makes you naturally skinnier than most people.

But these reasons don’t mean you can’t have wider biceps! Often, people simply need guidance on tailoring their workout routine for arm growth.

Do bigger biceps make you stronger?

Generally speaking, a bicep muscle will get stronger as it increases in size. However, it is also possible for your biceps to get stronger without significant changes in volume.

Therefore, you must customize your workout routine to prioritize growth instead of just getting stronger.

Which bicep head gives width?

The short head of the bicep is generally thought of as the one that contributes most to arm thickness. While the long head is associated with bicep peak, and the brachialis is often overlooked completely.

However, you must train and grow all three of these muscles to make your biceps wider!

How to Get Wider Biceps

In the following sections, I’ll teach you how to get wider biceps using strategic training methods, specific exercises, and a custom workout routine. First, let’s walk through the resistance training best practices for bigger arms.

1. Training Tips for Wider Biceps

Increasing bicep size and width requires a different approach than traditional strength training. Instead, it’s best to implement hypertrophy training methods to focus on muscle growth rather than overall strength.

Four key training variables for muscle hypertrophy are weight, rep range, intensity, and exercise selection. And I’ll explain how to adjust each variable for increasing bicep width next.

2. Best Exercises for Wider Biceps

It can be confusing to think about all the possible body positions and how they affect which bicep muscles get used. That’s why I compiled a list of the best exercises for the inner and outer bicep width.

1. Traditional Bicep Curls
2. Preacher Curls
3. Concentration Curls
4. Spider Curls
5. Seated Cable Curls
6. Hercules Curls
7. Zottman Curls
8. Hammer Curls
9. Incline Hammer Curls
10. Cross-Body Curls
11. Reverse Curls
12. Cable Rope Curls
13. Drag Curls

The first 6 exercises on this list primarily target the short head of the bicep. While the last 6 exercises hit more long head and brachialis. And Zottman curls work all three heads.

Now let me walk you through how to do each exercise to get wider biceps.

Traditional Bicep Curls

The traditional bicep curl is one of the most common arm exercises. It’s a simple movement and enables you to lift a significant amount of weight for those lower rep sets.

In addition, you can do this exercise with a standard barbell or an EZ bar. Use an underhand grip and hands shoulder-width or slightly wider to target your inner arm.

Next, let me show you the best exercises for building the long head and brachialis muscles that add girth to your outer bicep.

Hammer Curls

With hammer curls, your hand is between supination and pronation – a neutral grip. As a result, your palms face inward through the whole exercise, and the dumbbell looks like the head of a swinging hammer.

Dumbbells give you the option to perform this exercise in an alternating fashion, one arm at a time. This isolation helps you focus on muscle contraction and learn the exercise.

But you can also simultaneously perform hammer curls with both arms, also called a double hammer curl.

Incline Hammer Curls

Seated hammer curls are identical to standing hammer curls, except you perform the exercise while sitting on a bench. As a result, you reduce momentum from the rest of your body, which puts more load on the bicep.

Another variation of seated hammer curls involves leaning back on an incline bench. The incline dumbbell curl puts more load on the outer biceps and brachialis.

Cross-Body Dumbbell Curls

Another way to change your forearm position is by angling your arm across your body on single-arm curls. For example, during a standing dumbbell curl, you would curl the weight up and towards your sternum while keeping your elbow at your side.

You can accentuate the outer bicep and brachialis more by performing this exercise with a neutral or hammer grip.

Reverse Curls

You perform reverse curls with a pronated grip where your palms face down for the entire exercise. In other words, an overhand grip on a barbell or EZ bar.

Also, make sure you keep your elbows pinned at your sides to isolate the biceps and brachialis muscles.

Cable Rope Curls

The rope attachment is excellent for training the outer biceps and brachialis because it keeps your hands neutral during curls. In this way, rope curls are similar to hammer curls or cross-body curls.

I like doing drop sets with this exercise because it’s quick and easy to change the weight between sets. And the added intensity helps increase bicep width.

Drag Curls

Drag curls are a variation where you pull the weight up towards your armpits against the front of your body. Essentially, you’re curling the weight close to your body instead of away from your body.

This subtle change in form is similar to incline curls, where your elbows move behind your torso. And that’s what brings the outer bicep and brachialis into play.

3. Wider Biceps Workout

Now you know the best exercises for wider biceps. But you might be lost on assembling those exercises into an ideal bicep workout for width.

So I will give you an example workout and explain how to program these exercises in terms of frequency and sets/reps.

Wider Biceps Workout Frequency

The first thing to establish is how often you train your biceps. Of course, the answer depends on your experience and goals.

For beginners or people who can only work out a few days a week, a total body 3-day split works well. That means you would do a couple of biceps/brachialis exercises each workout three times per week.

More advanced lifters might work single muscle groups in each workout with a 5-day or 6-day split. This routine is called the bro split workout, which works excellent for growth (despite the name).

In that case, you would work your arms for an entire workout once or twice a week. And you want to include at least a couple of brachialis exercises in those workouts.

Wider Biceps Workout Sets

As you already know, growing your biceps requires using weights you can handle for 6-15 reps per set. But you might not know how many sets to do per workout.

For max hypertrophy, you should generally aim for 3-6 sets per exercise. And each bicep workout should include 3-5 exercises. So that’s around 9-30 total sets for biceps in a workout.

Beginners can target the lower end for workout volume. At the same time, advanced lifters should use more volume.

Wider Biceps Workout Example

With all this in mind, a bicep-width-focused arm workout starts to take shape. Here is an example using some of the exercises and techniques you just learned.

Remember, you should use a combination of different arm angles and hand positions. And make sure you include some intensity techniques to make it more challenging!