If your goal is wide, well-defined biceps, targeting the short head of the biceps brachii is key. While you can’t fully isolate this inner portion of your upper arm, certain exercises emphasize it more effectively than others, especially when you focus on grip, elbow position, and range of motion.
In this guide, you’ll learn how to emphasize the short head of the biceps, why it matters, and the best exercises to help you build serious inner-arm thickness.
What Is the Short Head of the Biceps?
Your biceps brachii is a two-headed muscle with a shared function: flexing the elbow and rotating the forearm. It has:
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A short head, located on the inner side of your upper arm
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A long head, located on the outer/top side of the arm
The short head contributes to bicep width and fullness when viewed from the front. If you’re after arms that look impressive in a T-shirt, the short head deserves attention.
Can You Isolate the Short Head?
Not completely. The short and long heads converge into a single muscle belly, so they always work together. However, you can emphasize the short head by adjusting:
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Grip width: A wider grip places more stress on the short head
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Arm position: Holding your elbows in front of your torso increases short head activation
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Wrist position: A fully supinated (palms-up) grip recruits the short head more than a neutral or pronated grip
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Exercise angle: Curling with arms angled laterally or forward emphasizes the short head
These subtle adjustments can shift the load toward the inner arm without needing an entirely different workout plan.

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9 BEST SHORT HEAD BICEP EXERCISES
Ready to build your inner biceps? Here are the top exercises that emphasize the short head, with slight variations that can keep your progress moving.
1. Preacher Curls
Preacher curls keep your elbows fixed in front of the body, increasing tension on the short head while preventing momentum-based cheating.
Why it works: EMG studies confirm increased short head activity with this arm position.¹ Plus, the movement emphasizes the stretch phase, which is highly effective for muscle growth.
Variations:
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Barbell or EZ-bar preacher curls
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Dumbbell preacher curls (allows maximal supination)
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Cable preacher curls (smooth tension throughout)
How to do a preacher curl:
- Keep your upper arms in contact with the angled pad.
- Keep your upper arms stationary.
- Begin each rep with your arms straight but unlocked.
- Be careful to not overextend your elbows.
- Use a wide grip to better isolate the short heads of your biceps.
- In full control with focus directly on your bicep, curl the weight until your forearms are vertical.
- Maintain stress on the short heads throughout this exercise.
- Pause for a count at the top of the motion and focus on short peak activation.
- Lower the weight to its starting position in a low and controlled manner. Bring your elbow to full extension to allow for a fully loaded stretch of the bicep.
- Pause and repeat.

Try one arm barbell preacher curls if you are strong enough. This is a big time bicep builder.
Dumbbell

The great thing about dumbbells is you can also easily supinate your forearms to the max at the top of the range to really get that full contraction.
Cable

You can get an effective supination with a cable set up as well, and it’s easy on the wrists. Overall, we like to implement cable preacher curls just to give a different feel from the free weights.
Don’t have a preacher curl bench?

No worries, you can do single arm preacher curls on an inclined bench.
2. Wide Grip Curls
Widening your grip shifts more load to the inner bicep and forces the short head to work harder.
How to do it:
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Stand tall with feet shoulder-width apart
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Grab a barbell wider than shoulder-width with palms up
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Keep elbows close to your sides
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Curl with control, squeezing at the top and lowering slowly
Equipment options: Barbell, EZ bar, dumbbells, or cable machine with a wide-grip attachment.
3. Spider Curls
In spider curls, your body lies face down on a bench while your arms hang straight down. The elbow-forward position mimics preacher curls but allows a greater range of motion.
Why it’s effective: It removes momentum and forces a deep stretch and contraction.
Variations:
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Incline bench
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Preacher bench (facing the opposite way)
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Flat bench (for limited range)
Equipment: EZ-bar, barbell, dumbbells, or cable setup as seen in our bicep cable workout.
How to do spider curls:
Regardless of what bench you use, the form is the same...
- Place the bench at about 60˚ (or flat).
- Lying on the bench with your stomach pressed to the back rest.
- Position your arms so your triceps are on the top of the bench and your elbows are off the bench and facing the floor.
- Curl the weight up as high as you can while keeping your elbows pointing to the ground.
- Very slowly lower the weight down until your arms are fully extended, feel the stretch in your bicep.
- Pause and repeat.
EZ-Curl Bar
Flat

4. Concentration Curls
This exercise maximizes mind-muscle connection and short head activation through a combination of elbow support and supination.
Why it works: EMG studies show high activation during concentration curls due to isolation and deep contraction.²
Form tips:
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Sit on a bench with legs apart
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Brace your elbow against your inner thigh
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Curl slowly with a full range of motion, focusing on the peak contraction
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Twist the dumbbell slightly at the top for added supination
Alternative: Try hanging concentration curls (arms unsupported) to challenge your form and stabilizers differently.
How to do concentration curls:
- Sit upright on a flat bench.
- Spread your legs and plant your feet firmly on the ground.
- Grab a dumbbell in one hand.
- Rest the elbow of the active hand on the inner leg of the same side of the body.
- Let the dumbbell hang down freely between your legs without locking your elbow.
- Rock your body forward a little so you can see directly down your short heads.
- Slowly but powerfully, curl the dumbbell upward, stopping about 8 - 10 inches from your shoulder.
- Stop and hold the weight while twisting the dumbbell toward your face to maximally activate the short heads.
- Slow and controlled, lower the weight back to the start position.
- Hold a second there and then explode into the next controlled rep.
- Go for 8 - 12 reps until your arm feels like it’s on fire in the short heads but has not been injured. That’s when you’ll know you’re doing it right!
Hanging concentration curls

The dead hang bicep curl is similar to a concentration curl in that you can really hone in on your bicep and build a strong mind-muscle connection. The big difference is your body position and your elbow being free. As such, it’s going to stress the muscle differently.
You might think it allows for more cheating, but actually the hanging position removes the ability to use your back and shoulder for assistance, and as long as you focus on keeping your elbow fixed, the hanging positioning is fantastic for maximizing the load on the bicep.
5. Inner Bicep Curls
This is a great exercise for building the thickness of your bicep because it targets the inner bicep, which is your short head. The arm position works in a similar way as the wide grip, but it really takes supination to an even higher degree since you are using dumbbells and the way your shoulders are positioned automatically fires up the short head.
Just move your arms and wrist to his position now without weight and you will see your inner bicep contract.
How to do inner bicep curls:
- Grab a pair of dumbbells and stand up straight.
- Positioning your elbows to your sides and bring your forearm out laterally with your wrists supinated.
- Brace your core and really focus on your biceps as you curl the weight up. Keep your forearms supinated as you curl up.
- Squeeze at the top as much as you can and then slowly lower the weight back down while keeping your elbows fixed.
- Pause at the bottom to feel the stretch and repeat.
Inclined

You can also do this on an incline bench.
Cable Machine
You can do this exercise using a cable machine too.
You can even do it from a high angle, where your elbows are held up at shoulder level and out directly to your side and you curl toward your head.
Both are very effective at building that bicep girth.
6. Incline Supinating Curls
The incline curl is one of the best bicep exercises of all, so we had to include it here. It’s great for both the long and short head.
For the short head specifically, make sure you are using a supinating grip. As you curl up, you need to really maximize the supination. And on the negative, hold the supination (keep your wrists turned outward) so that you can keep tension on the short head the entire time.
You are really going to feel some serious tension in your biceps with the incline supination curl.
How to do incline supinating curls (with emphasis on the short head):
- Place the bench at about 45-60˚. It will not be as low of an incline as an incline bench press, which is 15-30˚.
- Lying your back against the bench and plant your feet into the ground.
- Hold the dumbbells with your wrists turned out and your arms fully extended to the sides.
- Curl the weight up while keeping your elbows fixed in place. As you curl up, really try to keep your wrists rotated outward (supination).
- Squeeze the heck out of your biceps at the top, pause, and then slowly lower them all the way down.
- Don’t stop short, let your arms come to full extension to maximize the stretching tension. Pause, then repeat.
Alternating

Alternating arms each rep is a good way to concentrate on one side at a time. This can help you hone in on and fix muscle imbalances.
Flat

You can also try with a flat bench.
7. Supine (Lying) High Cable Curls
This is another example of how you can switch things up to add some variety to your training. It may seem redundant, since we already have other exercises with elbows held in front of the body, but actually it’s not.
You are going to definitely feel a difference with how your biceps are activated when doing a lying high cable curl versus the other exercises that also have your elbows out in front of your body. It’s excellent for optimizing both stretching and contraction tension. Just give it a try and you will see. It’s going to absolutely annihilate the short head.
How to do a lying high cable curl:
- Place a flat bench under the cable machine.
- Attach a flat bar to the cable pulley and set the pulley to a high position.
- Hold onto the with an underhand grip and then lay on the flat bench, straighten your spine, and plant your feet firmly on the floor. Grip width should be about 8 to 12 inches apart.
- With your elbows held straight up (upper arm kept vertical), curl the bar toward the top of your head.
- Hold the bar at your chin for a count.
- Slowly and purposefully allow the bar to go back up while keeping your elbows pointing up. Try to bring your arms to full extension to feel the stretch.
- Pause for moment, and repeat.
Related: Best Cable Arm Exercises
8. Chin Ups
The chin up is obviously more than just a bicep exercise, it’s one of the biggest bang for your buck bodyweight exercises you can do. But in terms of the biceps, it’s stellar for targeting the short head and building big biceps. As such, you can hit your short head bicep and a ton of other upper body muscles at the same time.
The reason chin ups are better for your biceps than pull ups is that you have a greater range of motion in your elbow. With pull ups, you are shortening the range of elbow flexion, thus isolating your lats more, whereas chin ups you are fully extending and flexing your elbows each rep, which is basically a bodyweight curl.
Related: Pull Ups vs Chin Ups Muscles Worked
If you have back and arm day separate, this is a great way to hit the muscle twice in one week. As studies show, hitting muscle groups twice a week is best for hypertrophy, especially when you are a beginner to intermediate lifter.
As for grip width, you can go narrow or shoulder width. Both are great for the short head of the bicep. Narrow should be a little easier, which means you can try to add some additional load by wearing a weighted belt. But, save that only for when you are truly ready, which we’d say is when you can do 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps.
How to do chin ups:
- Place your hands on the bar with your palms facing you.
- Allow your body to fully hang from the bar.
- Retract your shoulder blades to take stress of your shoulders, then brace your core and flex at the elbows to pull your body up toward the bar.
- Try to go all the way up so your chest is right next to the bar or even touching it. Ideally, you want to maximize elbow flexion. At the very least, get your chin above the bar.
- Pause for a second at the top, and slowly lower down to the starting position.
- Repeat.
Weighted Curls

Assisted Curls

9. Bodyweight Curls (With TRX, Bed Sheet, Towel or Rope)
We wanted to add this one in just in case you are stuck at home without any equipment or even a pull up bar. With just a bed sheet, towel or some kind of rope, you can perform bodyweight curls.
It's a creative way to hit your biceps, but you need to be careful.
This one uses a bed sheet wedged into the top of a closed door. Basically, you are going to curl your body to standing from a backward leaning position. The more you lean back, the harder it’ll be.
As you can see, this one involves keeping your elbows out in front of you, so it’s good for the short head of the bicep.
How to do bodyweight bedsheet curls:
- Wedge a bedsheet into the top of a door or some fixed and study object up above.
- The bedsheet should be coming down at angle toward you while holding it with your arms straight out and your body leaned back.
- Your upper arms should be parallel with the floor and your body leaned back (make sure the bedsheet is secured so you don’t pull it out and fall back on your butt and potentially hit your head).
- From here, using your biceps, curl your body to an upright position.
- Slowly bring your body backward until your arms are fully extended and repeat. Be sure to feel the tension in your biceps as you come backward.
BE SAFE. Only do this if you are sure your set up is firm and fixed. Give the bedsheet or rope a strong tug to make sure it doesn’t come loose mid curl or else you will end up falling backward.
Inverted Row:
If you have a safe set up for inverted rows, that’s another great option for your biceps. Plus, you can work your back muscles at the same time!

Prepare to maximize your gains with our exclusive 12-week hypertrophy training program. Choose between a 4 or 5 day training split and gain 2-12 pounds of muscle over 90 days...
Anatomy Recap: Short Head vs. Long Head
Feature | Short Head | Long Head |
---|---|---|
Location | Inner upper arm | Outer/top upper arm |
Shape | Wide and flat | Slim with higher peak |
Functions | Elbow flexion, shoulder stabilization, adduction | Elbow flexion, abduction, internal rotation |
Both heads work together during curls, but smart programming can bias tension toward one or the other.
Here is a pic of the muscle and where the heads attach:
Why You Should Emphasize the Short Head
Focusing on the short head helps:
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Add width and thickness to your arms
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Improve front-facing symmetry
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Balance the long head’s peak development
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Boost performance in pulling and carrying exercises
Well-rounded biceps are more than just beach muscles—they support better posture, shoulder stability, and strength in compound lifts like rows and pull-ups.
The best biceps workout finisher: Bicep 21s
SHORT HEAD BICEP TRAINING TIPS
Follow these tips when training your biceps and you will be on your way to building some serious guns.
1. Training Volume
Aim for 8–12 working sets per week targeting the short head. You can spread this volume across multiple workouts or condense into a dedicated arm day.
Avoid overtraining—too many sets in one session may hinder recovery.
2. Rep Ranges & Load
Cycle through rep ranges to stimulate growth from all angles:
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Low reps (5–8): Heavy weights for strength
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Moderate reps (8–15): Best for hypertrophy
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High reps (15–20): For endurance and pump
Example structures:
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5 sets of 5 reps, 2 min rest
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3 sets of 8–12 reps, 60–90 sec rest
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4 sets of 12–15 reps, 30 sec rest
3. Training Past Failure
Pushing past failure can accelerate gains. Try forced reps, drop sets, or simply squeeze out an extra rep when possible—but not every set.
Use proper form until true failure, then allow slight momentum only for the final reps. Don’t compromise safety or risk joint stress.
4. Variety
For isolation exercises like bicep curls, rotating variations week to week helps prevent stagnation.
Example 4-week cycle:
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Week 1: Incline Supinating Curls, EZ Bar Preacher Curls, Wide Grip Curls
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Week 2: Concentration Curls, Inner Bicep Curls, Spider Curls
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Week 3: Lying High Cable Curls, Preacher Curls (cable), Chin-Ups
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Week 4: Spider Curls, Dumbbell Curls, TRX Bodyweight Curls
5. Mind-Muscle Connection:
Don’t just lift—contract. Move slowly, keep tension throughout the rep, and focus on the muscle working, not the movement.
Key cues:
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Fully supinate at the top of each curl
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Lower the weight slowly for better eccentric loading
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Avoid swinging or using momentum
If you’re not feeling the burn deep in your biceps by the end, slow down and lighten the load to re-engage the target area.
Now it's time to learn about the Best Long Head Biceps for Huge Peaks.
Final Thoughts
You can’t fully isolate the short head of the biceps, but you can definitely emphasize it. The exercises above—paired with smart programming and attention to technique—will help build the inner arm thickness that rounds out a well-developed bicep.
Focus on elbow positioning, grip variation, and control in your curls, and you’ll start to see results. And remember, muscle growth happens from consistency, not just one killer arm day.
More Bicep Related Content:
- The Ultimate Biceps Workout
- Dumbbell Biceps Exercises
- Average Biceps Size | Building 15-19 Inch Arms
- Bodyweight Biceps Exercises
- Biceps Stretches
References
- Signorile, Joseph F., et al. “Electromyographic Activity of Selected Trunk and Arm Muscles during the Performance of the Bench Press.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, vol. 9, no. 3, 1995, pp. 175–180. doi:10.1519/00124278-199508000-00001.
- Oliveira, Leonardo F., et al. “Biceps Brachii EMG Activity during the Biceps Curl Exercise Performed with Three Different Hand Positions.” Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, vol. 8, no. 4, 2009, pp. 532–538. www.jssm.org.
Garett Reid
Author