We rely on our arm muscles for tons of daily tasks, from opening doors to carrying groceries, so squeezing in a quick biceps workout to strengthen these important players is always a smart choice—especially since this muscle group can easily get neglected.
“Most of us probably need to strengthen our biceps,” Francine Delgado-Lugo, CPT, co-founder of Form Fitness Brooklyn, tells SELF. A big reason for that is because of all the time many people spend sitting at keyboards or scrolling on smartphones with their arms bent. This locks the biceps into a shortened position and doesn’t give the muscles the chance “to lengthen and contract as they ought to for optimal health and strengthening,” Delgado-Lugo explains. Basically, they often don’t get the chance to move through their full range of motion, also known as mobility.
Weak biceps can translate to weak grip strength—a key indicator in overall health, according to research. Studies link higher grip strength to lower risks of chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes. The solution: A quick-yet-effective biceps routine you can do as a standalone workout or tack onto your regular gym sessions to give your arms, specifically your biceps, the attention they deserve.
The below workout, which Delgado-Lugo created for SELF, does just that. With four dumbbell exercises that’ll ignite your upper arms, it’s “a full-on focus on the biceps,” she says. And you don’t need much time to get it done. It takes about 10 minutes (plus or minus, depending your pace), making it a realistic addition to any routine.
First up in the workout is the bent-over row, a classic compound strength move. While the main driver here is your back (more specifically, your lats), your biceps play an important supporting role in helping to pull the weights toward you. Pulling exercises like this are super functional, since they mimic the way we actually use these muscles in everyday life, like by opening a door or bringing an object closer to us, Delgado-Lugo explains.
