When people know you workout, they often want to ‘sample’ your results. Guess what body part they want to see?
Yes, your bulging biceps.

So you’d better learn to work them correctly if you want maximum bicep growth.

Standing alternate dumbbell bicep curls are one of the best exercises to really stimulate growth in the biceps. You’ll soon have to buy some new t-shirts as your biceps are going to be exploding through your old ones!

A note on form before we start. You should allow a slight ‘swing’ in this movement. Keeping your back straight throughout is unnatural for standing dumbbell curls. This inhibits the amount of weight you can shift and can leave you prone to back injury. So allow your upper body to rock backwards on the upward portion of the rep and slightly forward on the negative part of the rep.

Watch the video then read the instructions below…

(1) Getting Into Position

1. Keep your feet shoulder-width apart providing a sturdy base
2. Take a firm, commanding grip of the dumbbells
3. Hold the dumbbells at your side, with your palms facing outward – away from your body
4. Allow your spine to be tilted forward slightly

(2) Concentric Part of the Repetition

1. Take a deep breath in
2. On exhaling, curl one dumbbell at a time, leaving the other arm stationary
3. Shift your back to an upright position while curling upwards
4. Fully contract the bicep but do not raise the dumbbell past the point where tension leaves the bicep
5. It should take 1-2 seconds to get to the top of the movement

(3) Eccentric Part of the Repetition

1. Start to lower the weight with a slow, smooth motion.
2. Allow your upper body to fall slightly forwards as is natural for this movement
3. It should take 2 seconds to lower the weight back to the starting position
4. Allow this arm to ‘hang’ while you focus on the other arm. Don’t keep tension on this bicep while you work the other one. This prematurely fatigues the biceps, meaning you’ll perform less reps and experience less muscle growth.

Now curl the other arm as in step 2. Alternate back and forth until you reach failure between 8 and 12 reps.

If you can do more than 12 reps, make a note to increase the weight on this set for your next bicep workout.

Note: Some people recommend that at the start of the movement, the dumbbells should be at your side with your palms facing each other. Then you curl one dumbbell at a time rotating your palm forward as you lift the weight. However, I find this twisting motion leaves the wrists more susceptible to injury (it happened to me a long time ago) and takes some of the stress off the bicep at the bottom of the movement.

For full bicep stimulation and to remain injury-free, work your bi’s in the form outlined here.

Stay Motivated!

Mark McManus

If you're new here, please download my free workout and diet book and start transforming your body today!. Thanks for visiting!

Related posts:

1. EZ Bar Curl - Video Tutorial
2. Standing Front Dumbbell Raises - Exercise Video Tutorial
3. Incline Dumbbell Bicep Curls - Video Tutorial
4. Dumbbell Lateral Raise - Exercise Video Tutorial
5. Build Big Biceps With This Workout

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