As a beginner you might be having a lot of questions. How much to train, how often to train, what exercises to do for your biceps? In this beginner bicep workout guide I will answer all your questions and give you complete workout plans for maximum results
What You Need to Know About Your Biceps Muscles
Before getting into the details of beginner biceps workout, we need to have a basic understanding of biceps muscle. This is important because it helps you understand how to train your biceps muscle better.
Biceps is a small muscle that is there on the front portion of your upper arm. The muscle between your shoulder and forearms.
Biceps is a two headed muscle, the long head and the short head. There is another muscle called brachialis, which is technically not part of the biceps. But it is important to train brachialis as well because it makes part of your upper arm and gives your biceps a powerful look!
The biceps or the biceps brachii muscle has following functions
- Elbow flexion : when you curl your forearm towards your shoulder
- Supination : when you rotate your arms
- Shoulder assistance : biceps muscle also assist in some shoulder movements
How to know that you are a beginner
In terms of training if you are someone who has less than 6 months of workout experience you can call yourself a beginner.
In some cases if you have more than 6 months of experience but if you don’t understand the basics or exercise or training techniques, you’d still be a beginner.
Difference between beginner, intermediate and advanced
Being a beginner or intermediate or advanced, depends on some factors like your
- Lifting experience
- the amount of weight you can lift
- your understanding of proper form a technique
Beginners usually lack one of the above things.
If you have limited lifting experience – less than 6 months, you are a beginner
If you don’t have enough strength and you cannot lift your bodyweight in compound exercises like squat or deadlift – you are a beginner
Even if you have a lot of experience but you train with improper form or technique you should still go back to beginner workouts
How to train your biceps as a beginner
When training for biceps here are few things you need to keep in mind as a
- Form first – stay clear from heavy weights. During your beginning months it is important to focus on technique and proper form. If you develop poor technique early on, it will be very difficult to change it later on.
- Slow and controlled reps – this goes for all categories of lifters. Especially for beginners you want to develop a solid mind muscle connection. And this is possible only if you feel every single rep.
- Don’t train your arms more than twice a week – I’ve seen a lot of beginners hitting arms almost daily. Don’t do it. training arms once or twice a week is ideal for beginners
Beginner biceps building exercises
Now that you understand basics of biceps and how to train as a beginner, i am going to share best beginner bicep exercises
- Barbell curls
- Cable curl
- Ez bar curl
- Incline curl
- Preacher curl
- Chin ups
- Concentration curls
Beginner biceps workout
I am going to share 3 different beginner biceps workout plans. These plans are created with beginner level in mind. they will help you build strength and muscle mass in biceps
Beginner Biceps Workout Plan A
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Standing Barbell Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
| Seated Alternating Dumbbell Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
| Cable Rope Hammer Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
Beginner Biceps Workout Plan B
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Incline Dumbbell Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
| Preacher Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
| Hammer Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
Beginner Biceps Workout Plan C
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Concentration Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
| EZ-Bar Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
| Reverse Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
Beginner biceps workout with dumbbells
If you have only dumbbells available, you can try this beginners biceps workout with dumbbell
Beginners biceps workout with dumbbell Option A
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Alternating Dumbbell Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
| Incline Dumbbell Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
| Hammer Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
Beginners biceps workout with dumbbell Option B
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Standing Dumbbell Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
| Seated Dumbbell Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
| Concentration Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
Beginners biceps workout with dumbbell Option C
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Preacher Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
| Reverse Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
| Hammer Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
Beginner biceps workout at home
Beginner biceps workout at home Plan A
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Standing Alternating Dumbbell Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
| Hammer Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
| Seated Dumbbell Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
Beginner biceps workout at home Plan B
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Incline Dumbbell Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
| Concentration Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
| Reverse Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
Beginner biceps workout at home Plan C
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Bodyweight Rows (Table Rows) | 3 | 8-10 |
| Standing Hammer Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
| Seated Alternating Dumbbell Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
Beginner biceps workout for females
Here is a beginners biceps workout that you can do.
Beginner biceps workout for females Plan A
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Alternating Dumbbell Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
| Hammer Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
| Seated Incline Dumbbell Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
Beginner biceps workout for females Plan B
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Seated Alternating Dumbbell Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
| Standing Hammer Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
| Concentration Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
Beginner Bicep Building Tips
I’ve trained a lot of beginners and I know that they make a lot of mistakes when training their biceps. I am going to share some useful tips for you
- You should train your biceps 2-3 times a week. Less than 2 is not enough and more than 3 times is too much.
- You should lift moderately heavy weights. Any weight that allows you to do 10-12 reps in a challenging way is good. If the reps are too easy then increase the weight. If the reps are too difficult, decrease the weight.
- Lifting tempo should be slow. You should always be doing slow and controlled reps.
- Focus on negatives. Negative is the portino when you are working against gravity. this portino really helps in building biceps strength and size.
- Take time to learn and understand the technique of each exercise. Make every rep count.
- Try to increase the weight slowly – biceps is a small muscle so don’t try to lift too heavy
Beginner biceps workout faq
You are a beginner and I know that you would have a lot of questions. lets address them
How do you train your biceps for beginners?
Train width, moderate weight, and slow controlled form. You should train your arms 2-3 times per week as a beginner.
What bicep exercises should I do first?
As a beginner, you should always start your workout with an isolation exercise. This will help you squeeze the muscle and build proper mind muscle connection. Cable curl, preacher curl, and concentration curls are good exercises.
Should beginners train biceps?
Yes, beginners should train their biceps. A lot of people say that beginners get a lot of arm workout from back workout. But this is a mistake, if you ignore biceps training, you may end up having inferior biceps development
Is 2 days enough for biceps?
Yes, for beginners 2 days of biceps training is enough. Make sure you are doing your exercises with proper form, moderate weight and in a slow controlled way.
Is 20 minutes of biceps enough?
That depends on the way you train your biceps. If you know how to isolate the muscle and push it hard enough then 20 mins are sufficient. For most people 20 mins are not enough to train the biceps.
Can I build biceps without weights?
Unlikely. You can only build a limited amount of strength and muscle mass with bodyweight. After a point your arms will stop growing.
How to increase arm size?
Proper exercise selection, proper technique, right progression, sound nutrition, and recovery. This is what you need to increase arm size.
Beginner biceps summary
I was a beginner once and I wanted the results and I wanted them right away. But my 2 decades of lifting has taught me one thing. Good things in life come with patience. Take your time, learn proper technique, push yourself in the gym, eat good food and see your biceps grow!