Five Exercises for Building Stronger Biceps

Want to get stronger at locking off between holds, underclinging, and moving through steep terrain? While it’s a great idea to focus on climbs that work these types of movements, doing a few tailored bicep exercises on and off the wall will help you build strength safely and efficiently. Here are five exercises perfect for supporting climbing-specific strength in the biceps (long and short heads of the bicep brachii) and the brachialis, a smaller muscle that sits under your biceps. Three of these exercises focus on curls and two focus on lock-offs. Choose two exercises (ideally one curl and one lock-off) to perform on one of your weekly strength training days.

Bicep curl

This is probably the most classic exercise that comes to mind when thinking about biceps training. Start by standing with your legs hip-width apart (or sitting on a bench) holding a dumbbell in each hand with a nearly straight arm. Your palms should be facing each other. Curl the dumbbell upwards toward your shoulder, keeping your elbow close to your body and your upper arm static above the elbow. As you perform the curl, the dumbbell should rotate so that your palm turns to face upward at the top of the curl. In this end position, be sure to squeeze your biceps, and then lower the weight back down in full control.

Throughout the exercise, keep tension in your shoulders (retract your scaps), abs, and glutes. Keep your posture erect and do not cheat the lift with your shoulders or a hip swing. Perform four sets of six reps per arm. Alternate arms as you go through the reps.

Hammer curl

This exercise is very similar to the bicep curl – the only difference is that you’ll be using a different hand position. Instead of ending the movement with your palms facing upward like you do in the bicep curl, with the hammer curl, your palms will remain facing each other for the entire duration of the curl. There is no twisting action of the dumbbell – the movement mimics the swinging of a hammer.

The two exercises complement each other well because they focus on strengthening slightly different parts of the arm, with the hammer curl focusing predominantly on the long head of the biceps and the brachialis. For the hammer curl, follow all the instructions above for the bicep curl but do not rotate the dumbbell as you lift the weight. Perform four sets of six reps per arm.

Reverse curl

In the reverse curl, you do a bicep curl with a reverse grip – your palms facing downward rather than upward. Using this pronated grip targets not only the biceps and brachialis, but also the brachioradialis, a large muscle on the top of the forearm important for grip strength. For this exercise, follow the instructions for the bicep curl above, but use a reverse grip. Also focus on keeping tension in your wrists – keep them straight and do not allow them to bend. Perform three sets of eight to 10 reps. Reverse curls are way more difficult than bicep curls so be sure to reduce the weight accordingly.

Two-arm lock-offs

To perform a series of two-armed lock-off holds, you need a bar (or hangboard). Starting with your feet on the ground (or standing on a box/platform to reach the bar), hold the bar with your arms shoulder-width apart and your palms facing away from you. Enter a position where you create a 160° bend at the inner elbow between your upper arm and forearm. Engage your shoulders and core and then lift your feet off the ground. Hold the 160° bent-arm isometric hold for 10 seconds. Perform three reps of 10-second holds.

Next, perform the lock-offs with a 120° bend in your arms, again for three reps of 10-second holds. Finally, perform the exercise using a 90° bend for three 10-second reps. If this protocol is too easy for you, consider adding weight to a harness or try holding the lock-offs for 15 seconds or more.

Pause and hover bouldering

It can be a useful exercise to train lock-offs on the wall. In this interesting bouldering workout, you’ll refine your lock-off technique and strength by performing a series of three-second hand hovers over holds before you latch them. Some of these lock-offs will be deep, with an acute bend in the elbow. Others will be shallow, with an elbow bend of 120° or more. The position may be directly overhead, diagonally out from the body, or in a side-pull position. Others might be in funky orientations such as a gastons or underclings. Training this variety of real-world climbing positions helps build bomb-proof shoulders and strong biceps while also refining technique.

The exercise is also great for building confidence in static movement. Gym climbers often have a tendency of moving dynamically from one hold to the next. In general, gym holds are big and grippy, perfect for taking advantage of momentum from hold to hold. Climbing outdoors often requires much more static technique. Hand and foot holds are often much smaller on real rock, requiring slower, more precise movements.

Here’s an outline of a typical 25-minute three-second hover bouldering workout:

1. Choose a boulder problem that you think would be possible to send statically. You can use your gym bouldering wall, spray wall, Kilter Board, or Moon Board. The moves should contain no mandatory dynos, big throws, or lunges. Aim for a problem between six and nine moves long.
2. As you climb the problem, before grasping any new handhold, hover your hand a couple of centimeters about the new hold. This will force your non-hovering arm to hold a unique lock-off position.
3. While holding this three-second hover, keep your shoulders engaged and your core tight. Consider your optimal body and foot position to make the hover feel easier.
4. Climb the problem three times, resting two minutes between reps.
5. The goal of the workout is to perform three reps of three different problems. Rest two minutes between reps and five minutes between problems.

If the workout feels too easy, try harder problems at your next training session, particularly ones on steeper terrain. If the problems feel too difficult, try using open feet or lower V-grade problems on less steep walls.