9 exercises to tone and strengthen your biceps

Welcome to Start TODAY. Sign up for our Start TODAY newsletter to receive daily inspiration sent to your inbox — and join us on Instagram!

Did you know that your biceps are crucial for many upper-body movements that include lifting, pulling and carrying? Strengthening these muscles can significantly improve your functional strength making everyday tasks easier while also giving them a toned and muscular appearance.

Bicep exercises often engage other muscle groups such as the shoulders and forearms. By regularly strengthening the bicep muscles you can help prevent injuries by improving muscle balance and stability. Whether you are a beginner or an advanced lifter, there are numerous exercises and curl variations that can be performed to keep your workout challenging and effective.

Biceps workout with dumbbells

Bicep curl

Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart. Engage your core, so that you’re balanced throughout the move, and softly bend your knees. Holding one dumbbell in each hand (I recommend starting with 5-pound weights), relax your arms so that they hang at the sides of your body. Make sure your palms are facing forward. Keep your shoulders back and down. Bend at your elbow to curl the dumbbells up toward your shoulders. Make sure to keep your elbows hugging the sides of your body. Lower both weights back down slowly. Exhale while lifting the weights, and inhale when you lower them down. Repeat for 10 repetitions.

Hammer curl

Stand with your feet hips-width apart. Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your arms at your sides and your palms facing in toward your body. Lift both weights up toward your shoulders, keeping your elbows glued to your sides. Slowly lower both arms back down. Repeat 10 times.

Zottman curl

Perform a bicep curl, keeping your elbows hugged into your sides and raising the dumbbells up toward your shoulders. When the dumbbells reach shoulder height, rotate the wrists and dumbbells so that the dumbbells face out, then lower the arms back down to your sides. Repeat 10 times.

Curl to press

Stand with feet hip-distance apart. With one dumbbell in each hand, bend at the elbows bringing the dumbbells up to your shoulders for a bicep curl. Once you reach your shoulders, rotate your palms so that they are facing away from your body and push the weights up toward the ceiling into a shoulder press. Gently bring your arms back down to your shoulders and rotate the palms back toward your body before lowering down to the starting position. Repeat 10 times.

Alternating curls

Perform the bicep curl, but with one arm at a time instead of curling both weights up together. Curl the right arm up first, and then lower it down. Then curl the left arm up and lower it down. Alternate for 10 reps.

Reverse curls

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold one dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing the back of the room. Imagine you are doing a bicep curl, but with your palms facing down toward the ground. Pull the weights up toward your shoulders and chest, like you would for a bicep curl, stopping when they are parallel to the floor. Lower them down to the starting position. Repeat 10 times.

Dumbbell 21s (bottom, middle, top)

Begin standing with your feet hip-width apart. Hold a dumbbell in each hand with arms resting on your thighs and palms facing away from your body. Raise the weights to a 90° angle and back to the starting position for 7 reps. On the 7th rep, remain at the 90° angle and move the weights up to your shoulders and back down to the 90° angle for 7 reps. On the 7th rep, lower the weights back down to your thighs and perform 7 bicep curls with full range of motion.

Concentration curls

Begin in a seated position with legs open. Hold a dumbbell in your right hand and rest your right elbow on the inside of your right thigh, with your arm hanging straight toward the floor. In a controlled movement, slowly curl the dumbbell up toward your chest. Pause at the top for 2 seconds and, while maintaining control, slowly lower the dumbbell back toward the floor. Repeat 10 times and then switch sides.

Cross-body hammer curl

Perform the hammer curl, but with one arm at a time. Instead of curling both weights up together, curl the right arm up first, touching your left shoulder, and then lower it down. Curl the left arm up, touching your right shoulder, and then lower it down. Alternate for 10 reps.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com