10 Best Short Head Bicep Exercises For Your Workout

If you have landed on the page looking for a short head bicep workout, you must be well aware of the bicep anatomy.

For those who are not, the bicep brachii has two distinct heads- short head bicep and long head bicep.

While the long head is located on the top part of the arm the short head sits on the very front part. It is the short head that forms the main muscle that gives the biceps their width.

If you wish to increase the size of your biceps and make them appear wider, stronger and bulkier than ever before, you should really focus on exercises that target the short head bicep.

The best way to work on your short head bicep is to add variations and perform a full range of motion to activate the most amount of bicep muscle.

Here are 10 best short head bicep workouts that will give you your desired bicep thickness.

10 Best Short Head Bicep Exercises

Here is the 10 best short head bicep exercise that will give you fuller, stronger, bulkier short head biceps:

Wide Grip Barbell Curls

Barbell curls are one classic short head biceps workout. The wider grip of the barbells activates your short head biceps and helps your biceps appear wider and fuller.

Why is it important?

A wide grip barbell curl targets the inner biceps or the short head bicep. The grip should be well off the shoulder width. As one lowers down the barbell, it puts the weight directly onto the short head of biceps, which breaks down maximum muscle tissue to build muscle mass.

This exercise will help you build bigger and fuller biceps, improve your grip strength, and will allow you to lift heavier weights.

Instructions:

• Step 1: Hold your barbell with an underarm grip. Your hands should be placed well outside your shoulder width.
• Step 2: Stand straight, keep your elbows tucked, chest up, and curl the barbell all the way up until it reaches the chest.
• Step 3: Pause at the top, keeping a tight grip on the barbell, then slowly lower it down in the starting position. Don’t let the weight fall down in front of you.
• Step 4: Complete 8 reps.

EZ Bar Preacher Curl

Incorporating a preacher curl into a short head bicep exercise brings a lot of benefits that don’t come with conventional bicep curls. You will need an EZ curl bar and a preacher bench to perform this.

Why is it important?

Preacher curls keep the biceps engaged throughout the entire movement. It targets the short head muscle rather than shifting the onus to the shoulder & back.

The zig-zag pattern of an EZ curl bar allows you to grip it without fully supinating your arms, which maximizes your force into negative movement. As you get full control over negative movement, you can feel every muscle tear. It helps to build muscle faster and improves grip strength.

Note: Do preacher curls with a little wider grip to impart more load on short head biceps

Instructions:

• Step 1: Rest your elbows on a preacher bench, sneak forward with your triceps touching the top of the bench. Don’t rest your armpit on the bench. It will put pressure on the shoulder, which can cause an injury.
• Step 2: Garb the EZ bar with a supinated grip. Your hands should be placed wider than the shoulder grip.
• Step 3: Look straight, keep your chest up and curl the EZ bar towards your face while keeping your triceps locked in a position.
• Step 4: Curl the barbell back down to the bottom of the movement. Pause and squeeze your biceps as hard as you can. Then pull it all the way up with full power.

Floor Bicep Cable Curl

Floor bicep cable curl is a true short head bicep workout. Lying on the floor pulling the curl bar ensures full use of the biceps.

Why is it important?

No legs, no arms to help you lift means more power to the biceps ripping more muscle fibers. It’s a challenge for the newbies. Lying cable curl, when done correctly, strengthens the biceps better than most other bicep exercises. One needs to perform a full range of motion with a slightly wider grip to increase the size of the short head of the bicep.

Instructions:

• Step 1: Grab a curl bar and attach it to a pulley machine. Put the pulley machine all the way down and set up your weights.
• Step 2: Lay down on the floor, support your legs on the pulley machine. Hold the curl bar with a supinated grip, place your arms shoulder-width apart or wider.
• Step 3: Pull your shoulder back, brace your abs, now elevate your elbows a bit in front of the hips.
• Step 4: Once in place, curl the bar all the way up to the shoulders without moving your elbow. Then return back to the starting position.

Dumbbell Concentration Curl

Concentration curls are an excellent exercise to activate short head bicep. They are called so because it allows you to concentrate on weight and the muscle you are training to help expand and shape the short head bicep.

Why is it important?

Supination and flexion of the hands during a dumbbell concentration curl shift the tension towards the short head muscle. It inhibits the involvement of leg and upper back muscles, making it a good exercise for your short head bicep workout. The hand position is the key to get maximum activation of the targeted area. It is increased further towards the top of each rep.

Instructions:

• Step 1: To start with the exercise, sit on a workout bench or chair, keep your chest up, feet on the ground, and spread your legs.
• Step 2: Now, grab a dumbbell with your palm facing forward and rest your elbows on the inner side of the thigh. As you are resting your elbow, curl the dumbbell all the way towards your chest.
• Step 3: Curl back down in the starting position, ensuring that your elbows are locked in place.
• Step 4: Once you finish your reps on one side, switch to the other arm and do the same.

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Spider Curls

Spider curl can be performed on an inclined bench or a preacher bench. Performing a spider curl with a little wider grip can be more challenging than it looks, which is why many lifters skip it. However, they are still one of the best short head bicep exercises you can consider incorporating in your training regime if you want a bulging short head bicep.

Why is it important?

Spider curls work similarly to the preacher curl. Both exercises require you to hold the weight with an underarm grip that targets the inner bicep.Wide grip spider curls are one of the most effective bicep workouts because they don’t allow any surrounding muscle to help you pull the weight. So, your short head bicep does all of the work, which increases its effectiveness even further.

Instructions:

• Step 1: Take your position on an incline bench, keep your elbows stationary and make sure the upper arm is straight.
• Step 2: Grab a curl bar or dumbbells on both hands and begin to lower your arm until it’s fully extended.
• Step 3: Bring it back all up to the starting position and repeat. Remember not to use heavier weights. If you have to put your shoulders into the movement, it’s too heavy.

Reverse Curl

Reverse curl is a simple yet effective exercise to pump your forearm &short head bicep. You can do a reverse curl with a regular barbell, EZ curl barbell, or dumbbells.

Why is it important?

Reverse curls primarily target the forearms. Also, it’s the simplest form of exercise for the short head of the biceps. It can help you achieve bolder and stronger biceps & forearms. It greatly improves muscle power grip strength while performing standard bicep curls.

Instructions:

• Step 1: Approach a regular barbell or an EZ curl barbell with your palms facing down. Your hands should be placed shoulder-width or wider.
• Step 2: Once held in place, contract your core and curl the barbell up towards your chest, squeezing your bicep muscles.
• Step 3: Keep your elbows in front of your hips and away from the torse. Make sure you are only moving your arms, and your elbows are locked in position.
• Step 4: As you reach the chest, pause for 2 seconds, then curl down slowly to the starting position. Repeat.

Hammer Curl

Hammer curl is a classic exercise for advanced bicep development. Though it can be performed by beginners, it’s most preferred by lifters who are looking forward to huge biceps peaks,

Why is it important?

Hammer curls are best known for activating bicep brachialis. Though hammer curl mainly targets the long head bicep, it’s also a great form of exercise to hit the short head bicep. By simply alerting the hand grip position, you can create a different strain to bulk the inner bicep muscles and forearm.

Instructions:

• Step 1: To begin with hammer curl, hold the dumbbells in each hand perpendicular to the floor, similar to a hammer ( this is why it’s called hammer curl.
• Step 2: Relax your shoulder, and make sure your elbows are locked in position.
• Step 3: Bring the weight down slowly, pause, and then back up to the chest.

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Cable Rope Hammer Curl

This is another bicep exercise to impart more load on short head biceps. The best part of using a cable is that you can add more weight as you exercise to overload your bicep.

Why is it important?

It’s another form of hammer curl that targets the inner bicep muscle. It primarily focuses on the long head muscle, but it’s also an excellent exercise to heat up the short head muscle as well. Attaching the cable to the rope provides you better flexibility to concentrate on the bicep curl for a more focused contraction.

Instructions:

• Step 1: When performing a cable hammer curl, hold the rope with your palm facing you.
• Step 2: Stand straight, keep your shoulders back and torso locked in position. Your elbows should be still, and make sure your body doesn’t move during the exercise.
• Step 3: Pull the rope up until the forearm touches the biceps. Focus and squeeze your biceps.
• Step 4: Bring the rope back to the starting position. Make sure you are only moving your forearms. Your upper arms should be stationary.

Zottman Curl

This bicep exercise is one of the most popular short head bicep workouts. It was named after George Zottoman. The American bodybuilder who gained worldwide recognition because of his massive biceps. If you wish to have bulging biceps like Zottooma’s, try Zottman curls.

Why is this important?

This old-school bicep exercise targets both the bicep brachii and brachialis. It’s a full bicep workout. This means they are not only effective at bringing out beautifully curved short head biceps but are also time-efficient. You can perform Zottman curls when you don’t have time but want an effective full bicep exercise.

Instructions:

• Step 1: Hold your shoulder straight, fully extend your arms and keep elbows close to your body. Start with holding the dumbbells on each side and palms facing each other.
• Step 2: Now rotate your palms outward-facing you and start curling upwards until they reach the shoulder. Keep your elbows locked in position and upper arm still while moving the dumbbells.
• Step 3: Once you reach the shoulder, rotate the curl downward. Now curl the dumbbells down while keeping your elbows in position and your upper arm straight. Repeat the recommended number of reps.

Chin-ups

While chin-ups are an excellent exercise to train your back, they also target those inner biceps and are considered one of the potential short head biceps exercises.

Why is it important?

Chin-ups are a compound exercise that targets different muscles of the back and chest while emphasizing the bicep brachialis. These can be a great short head bicep exercise when you keep the grip space narrow. The key to using chin-ups to their full potential of building short head muscle is to bring your chin up over the bar.

Instructions:

• Step 1: Grip the chin-up bar tightly underhanded. Your palms should be facing you. Make sure the bar is high enough so that your feet don’t touch the ground.
• Step 2: Strengthen your core keeping your head and your shoulder straight. Lift off the ground and cross your legs.
• Step 3: Now, try to pull your chin over the bar. As you reach the top of the bar, hold your position for some time. Now bring yourself down slowly. If you want to increase the effectiveness, hold a narrower grip.

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Short Head Bicep Workout

If you want maximum muscle ripping and faster muscle growth, you must perform the recommended number of reps. The reps may vary from person to person, depending on their endurance. But, here is a workout plan that will provide you with assured results.

The Bottom Line

Working on your short head bicep will allow you to shape your upper arm and make them appear bigger and stronger. You can increase the weight and reps recommended to increase the outcome but take it slow.

Maintaining the right postures while contracting on the targeted muscle will help you achieve a massive bulk with time.

Remember to train your triceps as well to balance the proportions of your arm muscles and add an aesthetic appearance to them. Hope this article was helpful.