I Rank EVERY Biceps Exercise (Based on Science)

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In this video, Dr. Milo Wolf ranks popular biceps exercises and grades them in a tier list to determine the best and worst exercises.
References:
1. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37559...
2. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
3. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34616...
4. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22027...
5. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36828...
6. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34616...
7. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37559...
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#tierlist #scienceexplained #biceps
"I Rank EVERY Biceps Exercise, Based on Science"
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[@IckleChris]

The cutting sound added is so distracting, it's like being in a hairdressers 😅

[@lucastavares3518]

Yeah it's really annoying

[@Antoniombbsena]

Awesome video once again, but I have to agree on this 😂

[@IckleChris]

Yeah don't get me wrong good video, and the cut sound would be good far less frequently, the fact it's every few seconds is not good though

[@Snerdles]

I didn't even really notice until you mentioned it and then suddenly it was drilling in to my head like coach Greg selling a cookbook.

[@trschurr]

Turned the volume up so I can hear him better but oh wait. The annoying sound got louder. 😂

[@viktorpetkov8568]

Damn Doctor got a Chair. Next he is getting an assistant to write his prescriptions

[@viktorpetkov8568]

Btw, one more exercise that I have recently started to do is a cable concentration curl. You can sit on something and then lower the cable down to your calf level and do concentration curl. It is insanely hard at the bottom ( even a bit too hard if you also lean your body away from your arm) .

[@pillemcphilsen8529]

King in the castle, king in the castle.

[@GoodieWithaHoodie]

Curls for the girls, abbies for tha baddies

[@clinthajjar102]

PHD don’t write scrips

[@thedcsignal]

Hammer Curls??? You talk about reverse curls but not hammer curls??? Love your vids by the way!

[@imatthewryan4076]

hammers are trash tho. B-

[@agrlklarkemirenpanda660]

​@@imatthewryan4076lmao

[@gokukakarot1855]

@@imatthewryan4076trash? You must be new to the scientific community; “trash” isn’t how we gauge a movement

[@imatthewryan4076]

@@gokukakarot1855 language is fluid, like your sexuality.

[@Liamgane2]

Hammer curls with cable rope is goated.

[@deus6950]

Mike does the lying curls way differently than how you did it

[@mukulyadav6381]

Milo really loving the content streak youve been on. these videos are a gift .

[@ptw1422]

Really great vid! Need more like these for sure!

[@Pain53924]

I would argue the baysian curl deserves the S tier too. You can do it unilaterally. I have never had issues with stability. Focusing on elbow flexion, I never tend to cheat to complete a rep unlike the standard dumbbell curl. I feel you put too much emphasis on the stability aspect for this exercise. It's also time efficient compared to seated cable curl because a bench isn't necessary. Also both cables aren't available in my gym most of the time.

[@Flahtort]

I feel like Milo want not to turn it into thing where every second exercise is an s-tier.

[@edwisongogo6326]

Baysian curls are def S tier

[@overtonpendulum2071]

Another drawback of the Dumbell curls is that they have very high progression jumps.

[@hmq2007]

Excellent point!

[@karimnajid7190]

I hope you drop a series like this for different muscle groups and thanks for the knowledge 👍👍

[@Rohit_Shrivas_23]

Very informative, thanks 🙌

[@t0msula]

Another great video. You're basically my go-to PT by now. I'm sure your channel will blow up, just keep on grinding. Greetings from Finland

[@sandeshshetty8918]

Excellent! Please make more of these exercise ratings. Would love to see one for Triceps.

[@jgillerm]

This was a great video and tier list. Well done Doctor

[@avisoncino8665]

Can’t wait to see Rick “De La Stick” Del Hagen’s reaction to this video while his dogs fart and he frantically paces around waiting for his wife and daughter to get home… and abruptly end the video midway through when they ring the doorbell

[@saido3278]

I think it’s unfair to group chin ups (supinated grip) and pull up/pull down together. By far chin ups has more bicep activation compared to the other variations.

[@marcinkorczynski8418]

Fully agree, even siting supinated pulldowns are good for biceps

[@maxdavis2111]

I see where you’re coming from but pronated pull up/pulldowns give more strength on the biceps. So pronated is arguably better than supinated for bicep growth. Curious what Milo would say

[@Flahtort]

He addressed it in some previous video. He doesnt think that supination by itself cause more muscle growth.

[@dimoire]

Pronated and supinated grips have shown the same amount of growth, I think Menno had a video on this topic recently.

[@marcinkorczynski8418]

@@dimoire Thnks forr the info !

[@fatalSolo]

Milo, may I have your opinion on something. What I have been doing lately is a modified version of the laying dumbbell curl, instead of laying normally on the bench, you lay perpendicular on it and rest your arms on each side of your body. That way you completely eliminate the front delt limiting factor while still retaining the stretch on the biceps (It's basically a laying down Preacher curl). Thoughts?

[@dsiluiel]

Oh this sounds really good! I'll have to give this a shot. Only downside is it seems less stable since you'll be in a glute bridge/hip thrust position?

[@marley720]

I do this single arm, but only at a slight angle. It's great, I'll definitely try your meathod

[@xCQj2MwJ]

This is what I do too, it's great

[@ItRhymesWith]

@@dsiluiel arguably, yes, but I'll say that I've never really noticed this as an issue when doing dumbbell pullovers, which are probably harder than biceps curls.

[@fatalSolo]

@@dsiluiel in terms of stability I have had no issues. My one pet peeve with it, is that there is literally 0 tension in the shortened position, which is fantastic don't get me wrong, but the "ego" urge to do more reps than last time sometimes cause me to rest a bit too long in that 0 tension position just so that I can chase another rep- and another rep- and another... (but then again, that's a "me" problem and it's quite common with other exercises as well - DB flies)

[@worktool76]

Amazing Video :) could you please make more these kind of videos for other Muscle groups as for example triceps, forearms, lateral delts and so on? Thank you so much in advance :)

[@doggo64]

Isnt doing the bench cable curls with biceps beside the shoulder basically the same as biceps behind the torso according to the latest studies mentioned by you?

[@scott-88]

Need a part two. So many missing! Hammer curl, concentration curl, etc.

[@mrAngusGus]

@WolfCoaching regarding reverse curls and being restricted by elbow extensor strength, I agree. HOWEVER I think this can be offset by using a dumbbell or cable, and (starting in the stretch with pronated grip) supinating your forearm as you flex the elbow. This may increase involvement of Brach and BR but I think it's NBD because Biceps are also a forearm supinator. Thoughts?

[@tokimeki8746]

I love the preacher curl, and especially for how stable it is. I can push it harder than any other kind of curl and still be sure it's all biceps. I tried the bayesian curl, the reasoning behind it makes sense, but in practice I found reaching back awkward. I'll admit I haven't tried it sitting down, though.

[@TheJohnerro]

Do tier list for other muscle groups :)

[@Raj-zt6hf]

I have a question about the baysian curl. Ive heard some say to have the cable at arm length or like you've mentioned in this video, higher! why would anyone choose at arms length over putting it higher? Also Menno Henselmans does them differently than you do by not having the arm too back, this was shown on dr.mike isretel's channel. what are your thoughts on how he does them?

[@Sportbyscience-zr8yz]

good video, thank's, wait for other muscle groupe

[@FerintoshFarmsPhotography]

I just home gym it, so lately I do a month or so of barbell, then a month or so of dumbbell. My next investment is a decent bench.

[@GUITARTIME2024]

Don't cheap out on the bench. Heavy duty only.

[@mnakash77]

Im surprised the machine of preacher curl resistance profile is not optimal. I use it and never thought it is easier when the arm is stretched. I'll try to notice it in the next visit in the gym.

[@koob_]

I think he’s just wrong about that. The machine preacher at the gym I use is biased towards the bottom of the movement. Sort of a weird, sweeping statement to write it off completely as B tier.

[@all462]

Varies machine to machine

[@LucidStrike]

@@koob_ He said the strength curve is "usually", "frequently" suboptimal, which means he's acknowledging that it's optimal with SOME machines.

[@koob_]

@@LucidStrike I know, but I still think he should have expanded on that point a bit more because IMO a machine preacher curl with a good resistance curve might be the best biceps exercise overall. It’s incredibly stable, easy to overload, time efficient, and safe to take to failure (vs. dumbbells/barbell).

[@kidbrown2010]

"I'm surprised *you think* the preacher curl is not optimal" FIFY

[@Mapzulu1996]

Try the lying/slight incline bench curls with a bicep blaster to remove the front delts. Brace for an absolutely brutal force curve.

[@Bigborian92783]

What about dumbell curls using the arm blaster? I felt that had enormous tension in the stretch since it pushes your elbows in front of you and at the bottom the dumbells kind of hyperstretch your bicep

[@ndes0532]

You can eliminate the involvement of the front delts in the lying dumbbell curls by raising the back one level. It's still essentially flat but at least my arms no longer reach the floor even when I completely relax the front delts.

[@andrewmillar7798]

Great video! The lying preacher curl can be modified to remove the front delts if performed on a large soft box. bring your elbows to the edge of the box. Lying hammer curls are a variation i love. I would be curious to try a decline lying curl .

[@faithnfitnessguykk9569]

Since you asked, I'd like to know about the cable preacher curl. It is usually set up with a cable extending outward at about the same angle as the pad, relatively 45°. On the torque curve, the heaviest moment arm is about half way. I thought of it as a good way to protect the biceps tendon, but is it a good lengthened position exercise?

[@eduardobarbosa8291]

Hi Dr.Milo. I only have a bench, what angle should I put the bench to mimic the preacher curl? 45º? or 60º?

[@douglasauruss]

Trying to think how to do a lying bicep curl (or even a Bayesian curl) while supporting the upper arm so the delts aren't involved. You could put two more benches right behind your elbows. Everyone in the gym would love you for it. Thinking about how to build something for my home cable system for the Bayesian curls tho!

[@axlvanaudenhove6564]

When I did them, I didn't struggle with my delts though. Maybe you can swap the rep range around and see what works best.

[@Jaburu]

I do them since that video from Mike. never felt them challenging my front delts.

[@r3plicant47]

Preview image is Wolfer than last time

[@avichalsinghal4786]

Aren't flat bench preacher curls like you spoke about a while ago the same as lying dumbbell curls without the front delt isometric? Would those be S Tier?

[@Pain53924]

Flat preacher curls put the long head in less stretch compared to preacher curl and the lying curl.

[@Flahtort]

Because of lighting i thought that you beard become gray, Mr. Wolf

[@vincentvaleur3573]

Am I hallucinating or was there no mention of hammer curls in this video?

[@jasonrgriffin]

Do you ever look at specific muscles within a group? The biceps have 3 heads, but we only have best overall rankings. Do they all train the 3 heads similarly? Or should this be split into long head, short head, and brachealis?

[@MrCurlz]

Does armblaster usage equals to a preacher curl? Can it be a valid replacement? Cheers

[@nomongosinthaworld]

It’s a very solid option if you don’t have a preacher bench but will have a slightly different resistance profile

[@ctestare2625]

Incline preacher curl is also nice I’d say comparable to the bench cable curl.

[@eddiegrant58]

If starting biceps workout with incline hammer curl can I set the bench quite low in order to maximise tension in stretched portion of lift? Or could this result in injury? Maybe a more moderate angle is advisable for first exercise? I use relatively light weight due to weak and injured wrists.

[@JohnVKaravitis]

Do you have an opinion on the Hoist Roc It bicep curl machine?

[@1m2ogaming]

What's your opinion on Incline Biceps Curls with lengthened partials(How will they rank). I like them because they're easy to setup and always free and train the long head of the biceps more unlike preacher curl. Cables in my gym are used a lot so bench cable curl is not an option. And i like paired sets biceps triceps so prefer bilateral.

[@ambrelamaligne690]

A new study by kobayashi and colleagues released a few days ago shows that the preacher curl gives less biceps than the incline curl. On the other hand, it produces more brachialis. What do you think?

[@theDabbleandBabble]

what are your thoughts on drag curls doc??

[@GloriousCat]

Mostly agree with this ranking. Only thing I would take into consideration is that if you perform the Bayesian curl unilaterally stabilization becomes less of a problem and second in a lot of commercial gyms it's hard to find narrow cable towers + setting up a bench there can be difficult when there a lot of people in the gym and it takes time. So I would personally put both the preacher curl as well as the Bayesian curl performed unilaterally in S+ tier.

[@ziz971]

Nice Video! I hope you do these Videos for all muscle groups. But one question. Why you ranked the cable bench curl so high? You dont have so much tension on the stretch position when the cable is not high. i think on this exercise the tension is most when the arm is about 90degrees. I think this is a little bit the opposite to other exercises like dumbbell fly, dumbbell pullover and so on.

[@WolfCoaching]

You can set up the cables as high as you’d like! Ideally, creating a 90 degree angle between your forearm and cable at the start of the rep. This will increase tension in the stretch

[@ziz971]

@@WolfCoaching Thank you for your answer.

[@joseppebatman]

Where of the pelican ring curl 😮

[@samuelkebede585]

I think Dr Mike does the lying curls differently. You can reduce front delt involvement by keeping your hands lower than your body as you would keep your arm behind your body on Incline curls. Tried it the other day, never doing incline again😂

[@CH1C4N0444]

I actually like the Bayesian Curls more than the Cable Bench Curls, mostly due to the fact that it's so much easier to set up (I usually go during peak hours), but whenever the gym is super slow I do set up the Cable Bench Curl. My routine also only includes DB Preacher Curls and Bayesian Curls since I almost everywhere I go they're gonna be accessible and I'd rather just get more gains. Question, where would you rank Hammer Curls on this list?

[@harrygrossman4378]

Definitely agree with top 2, I do those all the time. What about db hammer curls?

[@freddym6643]

I know for us vain lads arm isolation is needed since compunds only don't hit the tricep and bicep that well. However, for people training only for health purposes, and who struggle going to the gym consistently at all, would you say that just doing the four upper body compounds is enough work for the arm muscles? Vert/hori push/pull

[@Ak-uj5jr]

face away cable curl?

[@omegaman_]

As Ben Yanes has mentioned,cable bar curls facing the weight stack will hit the concentric & facing away the eccentric stretch (cable between the legs, I do both back to back..

[@nomongosinthaworld]

Don’t listen to Ben Yanes ever

[@joojotin]

Also never listen Milo, both of those are dumbasses

[@Buchinator12]

Can you review the lying cable curl also known as the Rühl Curl ?(invented by Markus Rühl) You are lying flat on a bench with the cable stack facing towards your feet, meaning the most tension is applied during the stretched portion as well as the fact that the curl is intended to be above the shoulder joint meaning you will hit the long head of the biceps. Also, any reason you clumped all the pull up variants together instead of ranking supinated chinups separately? Not scientific at all but speaking from personal experience I have been using these as a heavy biceps compound exercise (in the same vein as a narrow grip upright dip for triceps) and I feel like these do a great job at getting my biceps sore

[@jjjjrrrr11111]

Can you please do this for glute excercises? So little info out there on where tension is put on the glutes in their lengthened position

[@MailManoL]

It seems to me like both the barbell curl and the bench cable curl has the greatest resistance when the elbow is in 90 degrees of elbow flexion and not in the stretched position. Shouldn't the cables be angled in another way for more resistance in the stretched position?

[@marley720]

I do the lying curl unilaterally, keeping my upper arm on the bench. That way i take out the front delt. I usually put it on the lowest incline just to make it feel better on my elbows

[@dav2807]

Is the preacher curl really that good because of the stretched position or is it rather because it has the best leverage in this position? Not every muscle can benefit from stretch?

[@rayjones4616]

I do reverse curls for forearms, the biceps are secondary to me.

[@avisoncino8665]

I think Meadow’s Curls should be on here: Super time efficient for any Pull/ Back & Bi’s session (just program them right after or before pulldowns and bring some dumbells to the lat pulldown station), plus they take the best parts of a Preacher curl and incline curl and meld them together. Definitely a staple bicep exercise for me at the moment.

[@rocksaw765]

Doesn't the bench cable curl have the same downside you mentioned for the lying cable curl in that it requires a constant isometric contraction of the front delts? I feel like they're pretty similar exercises only with slightly different resistance profiles.

[@rafaeldietrich8050]

Whats S tier for brachioradialis?

[@erilee84]

What about any variations of hammer curls for the brachialis

[@esembee7717]

Good to know my current bicep exercises aren't terrible, even if not necessarily optimal. It's mainly cable curls in the gym, which are supersetted with tricep pushdowns, then move to rope hammer curls for time reasons and easy incremental weight increases. At home, it's mainly preacher style dumbbell curls using an inclined bench and also get overlap with pull ups on gymnastic rings. I do high rep band curls (and pushdowns) as a warm up, but other than warming up my elbows and a bit of pump, maybe they aren't worth it?

[@Nitriikx]

Recently, I've started having some sort of transient radial neuropathy after doing lying dumbbell curls. For several minutes, sometimes even hours I will have numbness and tingling in my thumb, and a noticeable loss of extensor carpi control (wrist drop). I don't know what is causing it, has anyone ever had that ?

[@deadtoyou6660]

Concentration Curls? Where you rest your elbow on your thigh

[@LORDWARIO]

Imo the Machine Preacher Curl can go to S tier, by lowering the seat you lengthen the arms more so you have full tention even at the strech position as the weight do not touch down, and at least the machine I am using, it offers the same resistance throughout the whole movement. So I believe it checks all of the tickboxes here.

[@alvinkan3940]

What about supination???? This is also a strong action of bicep. I noticed both bayesian and seated cable curls were done in an already supinated position. If one used a short bar with a flange (so grip is not the limiting factor) rather than D handle, you can begin in a neutral position with more stretch and also have tension in frontal plane for supination

[@thesummoning14]

Where would you rank spider, hammer and zottman curls?

[@emancurovac7803]

The resistance profile on the machine preacher curl is an easy fix, literally just lean back a little and put the elbows a little higher on the pad, and the resistance profile fixes itself, so that it becomes heavy at the bottom to mid position, and lighter at the top

[@Gumikrukon]

7:29 and they say that *Menno* looks like GigaChad...

[@danielvidalmialoviez5763]

Ranked SOME biceps exercices. Boosting the algorithm. 😊

[@kobemop]

The bench cable curl would be better if there was elbow support, but I'd still go with the one-arm dumbbell preacher curls.

[@kobemop]

Personally I never get much of a "pump" out of bayesian curls or usually any other cable curls, probably because I have long arms or long forearms. Shorter guys may benefit from those types of exercises anyway.

[@kobemop]

The lying dumbbell bench curls aren't a great bicep exercise...

[@MrCurlz]

And what about overhead curls?

[@falaroth]

Funny enough, I started doing bench cable curls randomly like 2 months ago after trying to figure out a way to get a huge stretch in my biceps while curling. I've gained over half an inch on my biceps since then. Definitely my favorite (and most painful) bicep workout now lol

[@snake1625b]

For the machine preacher curl isn't the resistance uniform throughout the ROM even in the strerched

[@dr.jeremyschultz2860]

I'm not understanding the high ranking for the front double biceps cable curl. It has essentially no load on the long head at extension and to me seems to use a decent amount of delt contraction during the execution. But yet it's the highest ranked A tier???

[@migliore44]

i do the lying db curl on the floor... much better than on bench lmao

[@jayign7064]

If the laying bicep curl had some sort of arm suport so that only the biceps where involved in the exercise wouldnt It be the BEST exercise?

[@jayign7064]

(I think the ansmwer is yes, the stretch on this one IS insane)

[@thecompleteartform]

This guy is the science based Bradley Martin… “I’m 230” 😅

[@Thesinistereyes1]

I start with, Preacher Curls, then lying down curl for stretch and cable curls with V grip drop sets for pump. With this the shortened and Lengthen position are stretched so you can pump it with more blood. idk it could be bro science.

[@alzero4621]

Best hammer curl variations?

[@omegaman_]

Neutral hammer curls are for the forearms(brachioradialis) & cross body hammers are for the (brachialis) with a slight wrist twist out.

[@felipe367]

WhAt about hammer curl?

[@omegaman_]

Brachioradialis muscle.

[@felipe367]

@@omegaman_ I’m aware of that but wanted to get phd take on the exercise

[@SajaStoica]

What about curls with arm blasters?

[@citizengain]

How about the Seated Overhead Bicep Cable Curl ???

[@bay2michael]

This video looks very much (minus the F rank) like Jeff Nippard's videos on ranking Triceps, Quad, Chest and Back going back about 5 months. 🤔

[@terrastrike2026]

Bro got straight into the video no fluff

[@TheHybrid350]

Great

[@Tony_in_Montana]

What about hammer curls and concentration curls

[@noahmorginstin6922]

He’s from Belgium

[@Bigcheese6875]

What about the flat bench curl?

[@deansheppard1104]

4:30 how the hell does an Ez bar restrict the stretch and is less flexible then a dumbell on a preacher curl? This is just your opinion because you probably dont know how to properly lift the bar up to do the exercise , pull the study out where ez preacher curls are less effective then dumbbells ( which for sure wont become unstable after you get strong right , wink wink sarcasm )

[@glassofwater281]

Idk if it's just me but I feel like I've been getting really good results from just 2 direct bicep exercises 3 sets each

[@edwisongogo6326]

Nobody said u wouldnt

[@382u3uuej]

All I need is a cluster set of standing curls with dumbbells and another cluster of inclined dumbbell curls, you don't need a lot of direct biceps work since training back does half the job, in my case it takes 5 minutes because of the very short rest periods (20 seconds in between sets, around 2 or 3 sets per cluster)

[@bobnewkirk7003]

@@382u3uuej agree. Minimum dose stuff going around is 2-6 approaches to failure a week is all you need for most of your gains, with everything above giving increasingly decreased ROI. So hitting two different angles (L bias, S Bias) for at most a handful of sets should get you covered, especially if you are already programing compounds for back.

[@joshgillespiegillespie945]

If you do lying dumbbell curls on the Incline and scoot up the bench a bit you don't have any of the shoulder problem

[@TonyBabarino]

PS: I know Dr. Mike from RP did a video about the Lying Dumbbell Curl weeks ago, but it is likely inappropriate for most people considering the potential dangers on the shoulder (and perhaps cause issues on the Bicep Tendon at the Bicepital Noch on the Humorous?). To quote Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park "They spent some much time wondering if they could, they didn't think if they even should!" :)

[@paulshortall6734]

Generally agree BUT in terms of intensity it’s impossible to beat EZ / DB curls - can be really loaded and progressed

[@paska68]

I'm not trying to keep my arms parrarel to the bench like you do in the lying db curl. you should let your arms hang to the side like dr mike does it.

[@andrkara1]

spider curl: challenge in the contracted position 🤔

[@ms3ben]

Not the easiest set-up, but how about a cable preacher curl??