What is the short head bicep?

The short head of the biceps is a muscle located in the inner part of the upper arm. It is responsible for helping you move your arm and rotate the forearm. We will be focusing on the best short head bicep exercises that will beef up your biceps!

Exercising this muscle leads to many benefits for your overall fitness and health. One of the main benefits is that it can improve the strength and tone of your upper arms. This can help you perform everyday tasks more easily. Examples include lifting bags of groceries and carrying a heavy suitcase.

Another benefit of exercising the short head of the biceps is that it can help improve the stability of your shoulder joint. Strong biceps keep the shoulder in proper alignment, which can reduce the risk of injury.

In this article, we will look at the anatomy of the short head biceps, then cover the best exercises to specifically target this muscle. Finally, we will list a few mistakes that beginners make when targeting the short head of the biceps.

The anatomy of the short head of the biceps

The biceps muscle has two parts called heads – The short head and the long head.

Short Head

Short head is located from the tip of the coracoid process of the scapula. In simpler words, it’s the medial part of the upper arm.  

The short head of the biceps is what gives the biceps its thickness and helps to shape the arm.

Long Head

The long head is located from the supraglenoid tubercle of the scapula and passes through our shoulder joint to the upper arm through the intertubercular groove in the humerus bone.

The long head of the bicep is known as the bicep “peak” since it’s the lateral or outer part of the upper arm.

Function of the Bicep

When the biceps muscle contracts, it helps to flex the elbow and rotate the forearm upwards (supination). It also stabilizes the shoulder joint.

In a previous article, we covered the BEST exercises that target the long head of the biceps.

The best short head bicep exercises

Now, let’s get into the core part of this week’s article. Here are the best short head bicep exercises that will provide a wider and thicker bicep appearance. These exercises will help strengthen, add mass, tone up your upper arm for a proportional look.

1. Standing Dumbbell Curl

Yes, I’m bringing you back to basics. The standard dumbbell curl is one of the best exercises to hit the short head of the bicep.

Performing this slowly and developing that mind-muscle connection is the key to gaining the maximum benefits.

Here is how to perform this properly:

1. Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing forward and your arms by your sides.
2. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your knees slightly bent.
3. Slowly curl the dumbbells up towards your shoulders, keeping your elbows close to your body.
4. Pause at the top of the movement and then slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position.
5. Repeat for 3 – 4 sets of 8-12 reps.

Pro tips:

Remember to contract your core and keep your upper body still during this exercise. Focus more on lifting the weight of your biceps instead of using momentum.

If you want maximum bicep short head involvement, slightly twist your wrists so that your pinky is pointing towards the ceiling. You will feel a deeper bicep contraction.

You could also do partial reps to increase the tension on your biceps. Simply curl the weight up to your shoulders and lower the weight until your elbows are at a 90-degree angle. Pause for a moment and repeat.

This will keep the short head of the bicep involved throughout the whole movement.  

2. Spider Curl

Spider curls are a great short head bicep exercise to emphasize on the short head of the biceps. In fact, any bicep exercises that involve the arms in front of you will focus more on the short head of the bicep.

This is because the bicep’s short head will not cross the shoulder joint which will decrease the long head activation.

Let’s see how we can correctly perform this exercise.

1. Set up the bench at a 45-degree angle.
2. Grab a pair of dumbbells and lie face down on the bench with your torso pressed on the bench and arms hanging down in front of your body.
3. Keeping your elbows locked and your upper arm stationary, curl the weight up as far as possible.  
4. Squeeze the biceps at the top of the movement and slowly reverse the movement.
5. Repeat for 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps.

Pro Tips:

Perform this exercise late in your bicep workout after you’ve completed the heavy weight exercises. This is a great finisher.

When you reach the top of the movement, twist your wrists slightly so that the pinky is pointing upwards. This will further engage the short head to a high degree.

3. Concentration Curl with Supination

Concentration curls are one of the best short head bicep exercises out there. It’s a simple and effective exercise to build both long and short heads.

However, studies have proven that supination and flexion help increase short head activation. Hence, starting in a neutral grip and then supinating when curling up will increase short head involvement.

Here is how to perform this exercise the correct way:

1. Sit on a bench with your feet flat on the floor.
2. Grab the dumbbell with your right hand in a neutral grip.
3. Rest the upper part of the right arm on the inner part of your right thigh.
4. Slowly curl the weight up moving just your forearms.
5. Pause at the top of the movement and slowly reverse the movement.
6. Repeat for 8-12 reps and switch arms. Aim for 3 sets on each arm.

Pro Tips:

Make sure your elbow is rested on your inner thigh and is locked into position. This will prevent swinging and use momentum to complete the exercise.

Perform this exercise slowly in a controlled manner to maximize tension on the short head of the biceps.

4. EZ Bar Preacher Curl

The use of an EZ bar is to help alter grips to target different parts of a muscle. In this case, using a slightly wider grip will emphasize more on the short head of the bicep.

Preacher curls is one of those bicep exercises that is highly effective in targeting the short head however is generally performed incorrectly.

So, how do you perform this?

1. Sit on the preacher bench and adjust the height so that your upper arm is rested on the padding in front of you.
2. Hold the weight with a supinated and wide grip keeping your upper arm rested on the padding.
3. Keep your back straight and curl the weight up until your forearms are vertical and perpendicular with the floor.
4. Pause and slowly reverse the movement.
5. Repeat for 3 – 4 sets of 8-12 reps.

Pro Tips

Go with lighter weights for this exercise and perform this in a slow and controlled manner to increase tension on your short head.

Have a slight bend in your elbows when you start the movement to avoid any bicep tear injuries.

Using a wider grip will target the inner or shorter head whereas a closer grip will work the long head.

5. Chin-Up

Chin-up exercise often gets ignored and overlooked even though it is one of the best exercises to include into your bicep workout.

Not only does this exercise build and develop your biceps, they also improve grip strength, posture and appearance.

If you’re a beginner, perform them regularly. Once you get a little more advanced in your training, you can add weight onto you making the exercise harder but more effective.

Here is how to perform this movement:

1. Grasp a pull-up bar with your palms facing towards you and your hands shoulder-width apart.
2. Pull your body up towards the bar.
3. Lower your body back to the starting position.
4. Repeat for 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps.

Pro Tips:

When doing pull-ups or chin-ups, many people experience lower back pain. The main reason is because they keep their feet bent behind them. In fact, this is what is considered as “correct form”.

However, make sure you keep your feet straight out in front of you to avoid hyper extending your back.

Also, make sure you start the movement from a “dead hang” with your arms straight. If you can’t perform the chin-up, try performing “negative chin-ups”. This means using a support to start the movement with your chin above the bar then slowly going back down.

6. Standing Cable Curl

Another great variation of the standard dumbbell curl. Using cables has been shown in many studies to be safer and provide more and consistent tension compared to free weights.

Here is how to perform this exercise correctly:

1. Stand facing a cable machine and attach a straight bar to the cable.
2. Hold the bar with your palms facing forward and your hands shoulder-width apart.
3. Curl the bar up towards your shoulders.
4. Pause for a moment and slowly reverse the movement.
5. Repeat for 3 sets of 8-12 reps.

Pro Tips:

It’s very easy to apply momentum when performing this movement. Make sure your torso is stationary and your elbows are at a fixed position.

Go slow to increase the tension applied onto your muscles.

Be sure to completely straighten your arm at the bottom to fully stretch your biceps which is the key to muscle hypertrophy.

7. Wide Grip EZ bar Curl

Like the dumbbell curl, the wide grip EZ bar curl follows the same concept, however it will allow you to use heavier weight.

Although this exercise isn’t hard to perform, most people do not perform this correctly. The most common mistake is to use a heavy weight then swing your torso and use momentum to complete the movement.

This takes tension of the biceps and may increase the risk of injury in the lower back. Make sure you stand tall and contract your abdominal to keep your torso stationary.

Here is how you perform this exercise properly:

1. Hold the EZ bar with a supinated grip and your hands wide apart.
2. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your knees slightly bent.
3. Curl the bar up towards your shoulders.
4. Pause for a moment and slowly reverse the movement.
5. Repeat for 3 – 4 sets of 8-12 reps.

Pro Tips:

Make sure you extend your arm fully at the bottom of the movement to get that deep stretch in your biceps.

You could also use the normal barbell however some people find that it causes pain on your wrists. I find that the EZ bar causes less strain on the wrists.

However, if you do experience pain in your wrists or have had wrist injuries before, do NOT perform this movement.

Common mistakes when doing short head bicep exercises

Not keeping elbows close to the body

During the exercises, it’s important to keep your elbows close to your body, as this will help target the short head of the biceps. When the elbows are flared out, the emphasis is taken away from the biceps and shifted to the shoulders.

Using too much weight

One of the most common mistakes that people make when doing short head bicep exercises is using too much weight. This can cause you to lose proper form, which can lead to injury. Make sure to use a weight that you can comfortably lift with proper form.

Not engaging the core

Another mistake people make is not engaging their core. This can cause your lower back to arch, which can cause back pain. Keep your core tight and engage your abs during the exercises.

Using too much momentum

Using too much momentum can make the exercises easier. However, this can cause you to use less muscle and rely more on swinging the weight. From now on, go for a slow and controlled movement to really engage your biceps.

Takeaway message

Learning how to exercise the short head of the biceps is important to grow this muscle and benefit from its lifting power. Ideally, you would separate the exercises that target the long head and the short head of the biceps. This way, you won’t overlook either of them.

We hope that this article managed to highlight the best short head bicep exercises, as well as the common mistakes made by beginners.

As always, stay Fit & Healthy and I will see you guys’ next week!