Resistance Bands for Bicep Curls: Ultimate Biceps Workout
In this post we want to show you how to use resistance bands for bicep curls during your arm workout for bigger and more defined biceps.
To maximize bicep growth, it’s useful to do isolation curls from various angles – and for this, resistance bands have many advantages over using free weights.
Using resistance bands to do bicep curls lets you vary the angle of resistance by altering the anchor point of the band, as we’ll show you in this post. If you’re only using free weights for your arm workout, this is not possible.
Here are 3 reasons you should use resistance bands for bicep curls:
- With elastics, the resistance level will increase the further the band is stretched. This ensures that your muscles will encounter the highest resistance when they are in their strongest position (i.e. more extended).
- With bands you can add resistance to any movement, from any angle. This makes it easy to do various kinds of banded curls which isolate either the short head or the long head of biceps (more on this later).
- Unlike weights, resistance bands are easy to chuck into your bag and take with your anywhere so you never miss a workout.
Best resistance bands for bicep exercises
For doing bicep curls, there are two types of resistance band which stand out:
#1 Resistance Loop Bands
Resistance loops are extremely versatile because they can be easily anchored to a fixed point, either by stepping on one end of the loop or attaching it to an object. This will let you do bicep curls and other exercises from various angles.
See our ultimate loop band workout for 50 of the best exercises you can do with this band.
#2 Resistance Tubes
Resistance tubes come with foam handles which make them super comfortable to use. They also include a door anchor which lets you attach them to any doorway.
Check out our complete guide to resistance tube exercises.
How to do bicep curls with resistance bands
As you can see in the below image, it’s easy to use either of the two kinds of exercise bands for doing standing bicep curls, where your upper arm stays vertical, in line with your body.
All you need to do is step onto the middle of the band in order to anchor it, and then perform bicep curls in the same way as you would with a dumbbell. You can do this either one-handed or with both hands:
To get the full benefit of your resistance bands biceps workout, it’s best to add a couple of other variations to this exercise to vary the angle of resistance.
One variation is to attach the band in front of you so your upper arms are angled slightly forward and you’re pulling the band back towards your chest.
The other variation is to attach the band behind you (as shown below). Here the direction of pull will be from back to front:
Since both kinds of exercise bands are easy to attach to an anchor point, they’re the perfect tool for doing bicep exercises at home or in the gym.
Two different ways resistance band curls target your biceps:
Normal standing bicep curls, in which your upper arms are vertical, will target your whole bicep muscles evenly. But with the band attached in front of you, this changes the emphasis of the exercise, targeting the short head of the bicep (which is on the inside of your arm).
When you attach the band behind you, this emphasizes the long head bicep more. You should perform all three curl variations if you want to get the best results from your banded bicep workout.
When you use resistance bands, there are an infinite number of possible sub-variations you can do by changing the position of the band. This lets you keep your muscles guessing with different angles of resistance.
Here’s a video from our YouTube channel for some more ideas on training with resistance loop bands:
Check out our online shop for the best resistance bands for biceps exercises.
