{"id":872415,"date":"2026-10-06T05:04:31","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T05:04:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/872415\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T05:04:31","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T05:04:31","slug":"arms-wont-grow-trainer-shares-3-must-do-bicep-exercises-to-build-sleeve-splitting-arms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/872415\/","title":{"rendered":"Arms Won’t Grow? Trainer Shares 3 Must-Do Bicep Exercises to Build Sleeve-Splitting Arms"},"content":{"rendered":"

First impressions are everything, and biceps<\/a> are no doubt one of the first muscle groups people tend to notice on a well-built physique. Strong arms stand out with that “pop” factor, no matter if you’re shirtless at the pool or filling out the sleeves of a humble T-shirt. While training this muscle group really comes down to a few basic exercises, being picky with which ones you choose can make a difference in how effectively you build strength<\/a> and size. Certain bicep exercises may be more effective than others depending on where they place your arms or how much control they allow throughout each rep, for instance.<\/p>\n

“I always train the biceps with the shoulder both flexed\u2014elbow in front\u2014and extended \u2014elbow behind the hips\u2014to target both heads of the bicep,” says Joel Gustin, a personal trainer at Life Time<\/a> in Westminster, Colorado. “Each of these exercises trains a different shoulder position, so together they make a well-rounded hypertrophy and strength-focused bicep day.”<\/p>\n

Below, Gustin shares his top three biceps curl variations to help you build a stronger and bigger set of biceps.<\/p>\n

Related: The 6 Muscles Women Find Most Attractive (And How to Build Them, According to a Personal Trainer)<\/a><\/p>\n

The 3 Best Bicep Exercises, According to a TrainerHow to Do Incline Dumbbell Curls<\/p>\n

“Growth happens in the lengthened position,” he says. “Throw your feet up on a dumbbell if clearance is an issue, and always do this exercise in front of a mirror to watch those filthy pumps in your biceps.”<\/p>\n

\"Incline<\/p>\n

Grab a bench and set it at an incline around 45 degrees.<\/p>\n

Take a pair of dumbbells, sit on the bench, and lean back into a reclined position, dropping your elbows to your sides so you feel a good stretch in your biceps.<\/p>\n

Curl both arms all the way up, concentrating on the squeeze at the top.<\/p>\n

Control the eccentric as you lower to the bottom.<\/p>\n

How to Do Single-Arm Dumbbell Preacher Curls<\/p>\n

“With a dumbbell in one hand over the preacher pad, you can take this movement past failure and FORCE a few reps using your other hand. Focus again on connecting with your bicep as you complete full range-of-motion reps,” Gustin says.<\/p>\n

\"Single-Arm<\/p>\n

Single-Arm Dumbbell Preacher CurlGetty Images<\/p>\n

Sit at a preacher curl bench and position your upper arm against the pad, with your armpit near the top edge. Hold a dumbbell in one hand with your palm facing up and let your arm extend toward the floor.<\/p>\n

Curl the dumbbell toward your shoulder by bending your elbow, keeping your upper arm stationary.<\/p>\n

Slowly lower the dumbbell until your arm is nearly straight, maintaining control rather than letting the weight drop.<\/p>\n

How to Do Barbell Curls<\/p>\n

“I’m a bit old school, and this one is about as old school as it gets. Full range of motion, no swing, a controlled lowering, and mind-muscle connection throughout. It isn’t fancy or pretty, but it’s been used in the gym for decades because it gets the job done,” Gustin explains.<\/p>\n

\"Barbell<\/p>\n

Stand with your feet about hip-width apart and hold a barbell with an underhand grip. Let the barbell hang at arm’s length in front of your thighs, keeping your elbows tucked close to your sides.<\/p>\n

Bend your elbows to curl the bar toward your shoulders, keeping your upper arms stationary.<\/p>\n

Slowly lower the bar back to the starting position.<\/p>\n

Related: A Military Fitness Coach Reveals the High-Rep Pushup Challenge That Builds Military-Grade Chest and Arm Strength<\/a><\/p>\n

Experts\"\"<\/p>\n

This story was originally published by Men’s Journal<\/a> on Oct 1, 2026, where it first appeared in the Fitness<\/a> section. Add Men’s Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"First impressions are everything, and biceps are no doubt one of the first muscle groups people tend to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":872416,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[367638,367640,337,97,367639,10612,367641],"class_list":["post-872415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-bicep-exercises","tag-biceps-curl","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-joel-gustin","tag-personal-trainer","tag-reclined-position"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=872415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/872416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=872415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=872415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=872415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}