Who doesn’t want massive biceps that can crack a walnut?

In this post, we discuss the short head of the bicep muscles. Then, we cover the exercises you can use to build those coveted inner biceps.

Let’s start with a little anatomy.

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Biceps Anatomy

Your biceps aren’t just there to help you look great in a tank top. They play an essential role in many upper body movements and exercises.

The more official name of the biceps is the “biceps brachii.” The biceps brachii have two heads (hence the “bi” in the name): the long and short heads.  The heads of the biceps support various upper arm movements. Both heads originate from different spots on the shoulder blade. Both also insert at different points on the forearm.

The heads of the biceps work together to flex the elbow joint and supinate (rotate palms up) the forearm. The biceps also assist in stabilizing and flexing the shoulder joint.

Long Head

The long head of the biceps originates deeper on the shoulder blade. It has a medial insertion point on the forearm.

If you’re looking in a mirror, the long head is the part of the bicep on the outside of your arm farther from your torso. It’s sometimes called the outer bicep for this reason.

The long head is more active in exercises that involve shoulder extension. A pull-up, hammer curl, or an overhead press will have greater long-head activation.

Short Head

The short head of the bicep is located closer to the shoulder and has a lateral insertion point on the forearm.

The short head is also known as the inner bicep. If you’re looking in a mirror, the short head is part of the bicep closer to your torso.

Back Exercises and Movements

The biceps are also heavily involved in back exercises. Back and bicep exercises are often programmed on the same day due to the bicep’s role as a secondary muscle group in back exercises.

The back and biceps are the primary movers in the body’s pulling movements.

A Technique to Help Target Your Short Head

Rotate: This is a purely anecdotal recommendation that has worked for me. I don’t know if any studies have tested this, but here it goes.

To better activate the inner bicep (short head), I rotate my pinky finger toward my body while squeezing the muscle at the top of the lift.

Try this technique with dumbbell concentration curls, superman curls, and standard bicep curls to see if you feel greater activation of the short head.

Bicep Exercises

Though you can apply greater activation to the short head of the bicep with specific exercises, all curling movements will incorporate both the short and long head of the muscle.

Concentration Curls

The concentration curl is a great way to target the short head of the bicep.

How to Do Concentration Curls

• Sit on a bench or elevated flat surface. Hold a dumbbell in your left hand with a supinated grip.
• Place your elbow against your left thigh. Curl the dumbbell toward your chest, keeping your elbow against your thigh.
• Squeeze your bicep at the top of the movement.
• Lower the dumbbell to the starting position to ensure you use a full range of motion.
• Complete all reps on the left side before moving to the right.

Preacher Curl

The preacher’s bench is designed to force the elbows into a stationary position. Bodybuilding champion Larry Scott popularized this exercise, which is why it’s sometimes called the Scott curl. This position can help isolate the short head of the biceps.

How To Do Preacher Curls

Preacher curls are performed on a preacher’s bench. You can also do single-arm preacher’s curls with a dumbbell or kettlebell using an adjustable weight bench if you don’t have a preacher’s bench available. If using an EZ bar, try a slightly wider than shoulder-width grip to help emphasize activation of the short head.

• Sit at the preacher bench with your upper arms resting on the pad. Hold the EZ bar, dumbbell, or kettlebell with your arms fully extended.
• Curl the weight up toward your shoulders.
• Lower the weight back to the starting position.

Wide Grip Chin Up

Wide grip chin-ups are an excellent bodyweight exercise for a killer short head bicep workout.

How to Do Wide Grip Chin Ups

• Grab a bench or step stool if you cannot reach the bar standing below it.
• Grip the bar with a wide grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width, with your palms facing you (supinated grip).
• Allow yourself to hang from the bar with your arms extended. If your feet touch, bend your knees.
• Keep your eyes up toward the bar. This will help to keep your spine aligned and prevent you from hitting your head/chin on the bar as you explode upward.
• Pull upward until your chin is above the bar. When pulling, imagine pulling your chest to the bar.
• Keep your core tight. This will help prevent swinging like a pendulum as you raise and lower yourself.
• Lower yourself in a controlled fashion to the full extension of your arms.
• Repeat.

Superman Curl

You’ll need access to a cable machine or functional trainer. High cable curls, also called superman curls, are an excellent exercise to isolate the short head of the bicep.

How To Do Superman Curls

• Stand in the middle of a cable machine with the arms set out wide, slightly above shoulder level. Hold a handle attachment in each hand.
• Extend your arms and rotate your elbows down to supinate your hands.
• Curl the handles toward your head. Keep your chest up, chin up, and eyes forward.
• Squeeze your biceps.
• Reverse the movement.

Wide Grip Barbell Curls

Wide-grip barbell curls can activate the short head of the bicep to a greater degree than a neutral grip.

How to Do Wide Grip Barbell Curls

• Stand up tall with your shoulders back and your eyes forward. Feet shoulder width apart. Grip a barbell with an underhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width.
• Keep your elbow stationary. Lift the barbell to your chest.
• Squeeze your biceps at the top of the movement.
• Lower the barbell back to the starting position.

Alternating Curls

Don’t discount the standard alternating curl in focusing on the short head of the bicep. All curls are going to work the short head to a degree, including alternating single arm curls.

How to Do Alternating Dumbbell Curls

• Stand up tall with your shoulders back and your eyes forward. Place your feet hip-width apart. Grip a dumbbell in each hand like you’re holding a suitcase.
• Keep your elbow stationary. Lift one of the dumbbells, rotating it as you lift so that your palm faces your body at the end of the range of motion.
• Squeeze your bicep at the top of the movement.
• Reverse the movement to return to the starting position.
• Repeat on the other side, alternating arms each rep.

How to Do Seated Dumbbell Curls (Dumbbells)

• Sit on an upright bench with your shoulders back against the bench pad and your eyes forward. Place your feet hip-width apart. Grip a dumbbell in each hand like you’re holding a suitcase.
• Keep your elbow stationary. Lift one of the dumbbells, rotating it as you lift so that your palm faces your body at the end of the range of motion.
• Squeeze your bicep at the top of the movement.
• Reverse the movement to return to the starting position.
• Repeat on the other side, alternating arms each rep.

Drag Curl

The drag curl is one of the most underutilized bicep exercises. If you’ve never tried this exercise, put it at the top of your priority list.

How to Do Drag Curls

• Stand up tall with your shoulders back and your eyes forward. Place your feet hip-width apart. Grip an EZ curl bar or kettlebells with a neutral, underhand grip.
• As you curl the bar up, pull your elbows back.
• Squeeze your biceps at the top of the movement.
• Reverse the movement by bringing the elbows forward as you lower the weight.

Spider Curl

Spider curls are a great exercise for focusing on the short head of the bicep.

How to Do Spider Curls

• Set an adjustable bench to an incline position, about 45 degrees.
• Hold a dumbbell in each hand.
• Lay in a prone position on the bench with your chest and rib cage flush against the bench.
• Curl the dumbbells toward your shoulders.
• Reverse the movement.

How to Include Short Head Bicep Exercises into Your Routine

Whether you follow a full body, upper-lower, or bodybuilding split, you should include bicep training in your routine.

Incorporate short head bicep exercises into your routine 2-3 times weekly. Allow 48 hours of rest between sessions so your biceps can recover.

Full Body: You will likely only do one bicep exercise per training session for a full-body routine. Most full-body routines are completed 3-4 times per week. So, you will complete 3-4 bicep exercises over the course of a week.

Upper Lower: An upper/lower split pairs upper body exercises on one day and lower body exercises on another.

Most upper/lower splits involve 4-6 training sessions per week. That means you can easily incorporate 3-5 biceps exercises in a week’s training period.

Bodybuilding Split: Bodybuilding splits are broken into 2-3 body part-focused workouts. Chest/tris, back/biceps, and shoulders/legs is the most common bodybuilding split.

These splits usually include 3-6 training sessions per week. On a back/biceps day, you could complete 3-4 bicep exercises in a single workout.

Other Things to Consider with Bicep Training

Warm-Up: A warm up is always a good idea before taking on any resistance training. A warm-up that includes 10-15 minutes of light cardio and light preparatory work is a great way to reduce the risk of injury and prepare the body for heavier lifting.

Proper Form: Good form and technique are essential to any exercise. When targeting the short head of the bicep, it’s necessary to use appropriate form to activate the muscle and prevent injury.

Progressive Overload: If you want bigger arms and a stronger body, progressive overload training is critical. Gradually increase the weight as you get stronger. When you reach a point where you can’t increase the weight, increase the rep range. When you can no longer increase the reps, add another set. 

Chins: Chin-ups are difficult. They are more taxing than a bicep curl and far less fun. But they work. Chin-ups are an excellent way to target the short head of your biceps if you don’t have a lot of equipment.

Don’t Overdo It: People love training biceps. There’s something about an arm pump that is unlike any other. Training biceps at the expense of other muscle groups can lead to muscular imbalances.

Short Head Bicep Exercises Conclusion

Train arms the same way you train anything else. You don’t need to train them daily for your arms to grow.

You also don’t want to risk injuring your bicep. If you don’t believe me, google bicep tear videos, you will be terrified to over train biceps ever again.

Ready to apply that bicep training to a fun and challenging outdoor sport? Give rock climbing a try with our Rock Climbing Strength Training Guide for beginners.