Long Biceps Head: Anatomy, Biomechanics, and Targeted Exercises

How do you flex your long biceps?

To specifically emphasize the contraction of the long head of your biceps brachii, focus on exercises that involve shoulder extension, positioning the elbow behind the body, which pre-stretches this head and increases its activation during elbow flexion.

Understanding the Biceps Brachii Anatomy and Function

The term "biceps" refers to the biceps brachii, a two-headed muscle located on the front of your upper arm. Understanding its anatomy is crucial to selectively target its different parts.

• The Two Heads:
  • Long Head: Originates from the supraglenoid tubercle of the scapula (shoulder blade), passing through the shoulder joint. Because it crosses the shoulder joint, its position relative to the torso significantly impacts its activation.
  • Short Head: Originates from the coracoid process of the scapula, which is a bony projection also on the shoulder blade.
• Primary Actions: Both heads converge to insert into the radius bone in the forearm. Their primary functions are:
  • Elbow Flexion: Bending the elbow (e.g., bringing your hand towards your shoulder).
  • Forearm Supination: Rotating the forearm so your palm faces up (e.g., turning a doorknob clockwise with your right hand).
• Long Head Specifics: Due to its origin on the scapula and its path over the shoulder joint, the long head plays a more significant role in:
  • Shoulder Flexion: Lifting the arm forward.
  • Shoulder Abduction: Lifting the arm out to the side.
  • It is also uniquely positioned to be stretched when the arm is extended behind the body, which is key to emphasizing its activation.

Biomechanical Principles for Targeting the Long Head

Targeting the long head isn't about isolating it completely (which is nearly impossible due to shared function), but rather about creating conditions that maximize its contribution to the movement. This relies on the muscle's length-tension relationship. A muscle can generate more force when it's slightly stretched before contraction.

• Shoulder Position is Key:
  • Shoulder Extension (Arm behind the body): When your arm is extended backward, the long head of the biceps is put into a pre-stretched position. This pre-stretch increases its mechanical advantage and activation during subsequent elbow flexion. This is the primary mechanism for emphasizing the long head.
  • Neutral Shoulder (Arm at your side): Standard curls engage both heads, but without specific emphasis on either.
  • Shoulder Flexion (Arm in front of the body): While the long head assists in shoulder flexion, positions like preacher curls (where the arm is fixed in front) tend to shorten the long head at the shoulder, potentially reducing its mechanical advantage compared to the short head during the curl.
• Forearm Position: While supination (palms up) is crucial for overall biceps activation, it doesn't specifically differentiate between the long and short heads. However, maintaining supination throughout the movement ensures the biceps brachii is doing the primary work, rather than the brachialis or brachioradialis.

Key Exercises to Emphasize the Long Head of the Biceps

To specifically target and flex your long biceps, incorporate exercises that place your arm in a position of shoulder extension or otherwise leverage its unique anatomical path.

• Incline Dumbbell Curls:
  • Execution: Lie back on an incline bench set at a 45-60 degree angle. Let your arms hang straight down, fully extended, with dumbbells in hand and palms facing forward (supinated). Curl the dumbbells up towards your shoulders, focusing on squeezing the biceps, then slowly lower them.
  • Why it works: The incline position places your arms behind your torso, stretching the long head of the biceps at the shoulder joint. This pre-stretch enhances its activation during the curl.
• Spider Curls:
  • Execution: Lie face down on an incline bench (again, 45-60 degrees), letting your arms hang straight down towards the floor. Hold dumbbells or a barbell with palms supinated. Curl the weight up, squeezing your biceps, then slowly lower.
  • Why it works: Similar to incline curls, this position keeps your arms slightly behind your body, stretching the long head and maximizing its recruitment.
• Drag Curls:
  • Execution: Stand upright, holding a barbell or EZ-bar with a supinated grip. As you curl the weight up, keep your elbows tucked tightly against your sides and actively "drag" the bar up your torso, almost scraping your shirt. The elbows should stay behind the bar throughout the movement.
  • Why it works: By keeping the elbows pulled back, you maintain a degree of shoulder extension, which helps to keep tension on the long head. This exercise minimizes anterior deltoid involvement and focuses intensely on the biceps.
• Cable Curls (Stepping Back):
  • Execution: Set a cable pulley to a low position. Stand a few steps back from the machine, allowing your arm to extend slightly behind your body at the start of the movement. Perform a standard cable curl, focusing on the contraction.
  • Why it works: Stepping back from the cable machine creates a similar effect to the incline curl, placing the long head under stretch at the beginning of the movement.

Optimizing Your Biceps Training for Long Head Development

Beyond exercise selection, several principles will enhance your ability to flex and develop your long biceps.

• Full Range of Motion (ROM): Always aim for a complete stretch at the bottom of the movement and a full contraction at the top. This ensures maximum muscle fiber recruitment and promotes hypertrophy.
• Controlled Movement: Avoid swinging the weight or using momentum. Focus on a slow, controlled eccentric (lowering) phase, which is crucial for muscle growth and minimizes injury risk.
• Mind-Muscle Connection: Actively think about squeezing your biceps, particularly the outer (long head) portion, throughout the movement. This conscious effort can increase activation.
• Proper Warm-up: Before heavy biceps work, perform a few sets with light weights to prepare your muscles and joints.
• Progressive Overload: To continue building strength and size, gradually increase the weight, repetitions, or sets over time.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

To effectively target your long biceps and prevent injury, be mindful of these common pitfalls:

• Using Too Much Weight: This is the most common mistake, leading to poor form, reliance on momentum, and reduced activation of the target muscle. It also increases the risk of tendonitis or tears.
• Relying on Momentum: Swinging the weight uses your back and shoulders, taking tension off the biceps. Keep your torso stable.
• Ignoring Full Supination: If you're not fully supinating your forearm (palms up) when performing curls, you're not fully engaging the biceps brachii, as forearm supination is one of its primary functions.
• Neglecting Other Biceps Heads and Arm Muscles: While focusing on the long head is good, don't forget to train the short head, brachialis, and brachioradialis for balanced arm development and strength. Hammer curls, for instance, are excellent for the brachialis and brachioradialis.

Conclusion

Flexing and developing your long biceps head specifically involves understanding its unique anatomical attachment and leveraging biomechanical principles. By incorporating exercises that pre-stretch the long head through shoulder extension (like incline dumbbell curls or drag curls), you can maximize its activation during elbow flexion. Remember to prioritize proper form, controlled movements, and a full range of motion to effectively target this muscle and achieve balanced, strong arm development.