Short Head of the Biceps Brachii

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The biceps, as they are commonly known, is a shortened term used to describe the biceps brachii, which is located at the front of the upper arm. Biceps in Latin means ‘two heads’, and brachii ‘of the arm’.

The short head of the biceps brachii is the inner head of the biceps brachii, which is located at the front of the upper arm.
The biceps brachii is an important muscle for bodybuilders as they are a popular muscle which are flexed during many poses on stage.

Many sports include the involvement of the biceps brachii and elbow flexor muscles during actions such as pulling and grabbing in contact sports. Development of the biceps brachii and brachialis is also integral for balance and strength of the elbow for people who participate in sports where overhead actions such as hitting and throwing are involved.

Exercises that require flexing at the elbow will recruit the biceps brachii, and these exercises can be viewed in the exercise section to the right.
The biceps brachii also is recruited during the supination of the forearm. This makes the dumbbell curl with a supinated grip an effective exercise for the biceps brachii.
It should also be noted that the biceps brachii is also recruited during some shoulder movements.

The biceps brachii will be stimulated by rowing and pull-up exercises that require elbow flexion during the movement. Some people opt not to directly isolate the elbow flexor muscles with many isolation exercises, but instead rely on stimulation via compound movements that require the elbow to flex. The Pull day on a three day Push, Pull, Leg split will recruit the biceps brachii effectively, just via the rowing and pull-up compound variations, and maybe one elbow flexor isolation exercise to finish off, such as biceps curls.

For those wishing to isolate the biceps brachii and other elbow flexor muscles effective isolation exercises can be viewed to the right.

For hypertrophy 6-12 reps will likely yield the best results, providing optimal time under tension, adequate stimulation for sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, and acute response to anabolic hormone concentrations, compared to that of lower rep ranges.
If however strength and power is the primary goal then the elbow flexors will likely be best stimulated via rowing and pull-up movements, where 1-5 reps can be incorporated more successfully. Lower reps don’t always suit isolation movements, as form may suffer, and increase chances of injury where excess load is often placed on one or two joints.