Bicep workouts with cables: The 3 Best Cable Bicep Exercises

Big, strong biceps not only look good but also help you with other weightlifting exercises as well as everyday activities.

But what are the best biceps cable exercises? How should you program biceps cable machine workouts?

In this article, we will discuss how to program your bicep cable workouts and provide step-by-step instructions for how to perform the following cable biceps exercises:

How you should structure your arm dumbbell workout in terms of reps, sets, and dumbbell weights depends primarily on your fitness level and primary training goals.

If your goal is hypertrophy (muscle growth), strive to perform three sets of each exercise, using loads that are 70 to 85% of your 1RM for 8 to 12 reps.

Bicep workouts with cables: The 3 Best Exercises
Here are some of the best exercises to add to your bicep cable workouts:

#1: EZ Bar Cable Machine Bicep Curls

ou can use any attachment handle that you prefer, but most people find the EZ-curl bar attachment to be the most comfortable for this exercise.

Ultimately, EZ-bar curls are a good variation of standard cable curls because turning your wrists inward using the grip pattern on the EZ-bar targets different muscle fibers in your biceps.

Plus, the EZ bar is more ergonomic for your wrists and elbows.

Here are the steps to perform this biceps cable exercise:
Set the cable pulley at the lowest setting.
Stand upright with good posture facing the cable machine, about one to two feet back from the cable anchor point.
Grip the EZ-bar using the inner angled grips so that your hands are turned inward, somewhat facing one another, and are positioned slightly closer than shoulder-width apart.

Slowly curl the bar up all the way and then back down, making sure to use control so that gravity is not doing the work on the eccentric (lowering) portion with the weight stack.
Lower the weight all the way back down to the straightened position so that you are maximizing the full range of motion and not “cheating“ by only going 95% of the way down before beginning your next rep.

#2: Cable Hammer Curls
Although most people perform hammer curls with dumbbells, you can also perform this bicep exercise with a cable machine.

The benefit of hammer curls is that you can maintain a neutral grip position, which is typically more comfortable on your elbows and wrists, allowing you to lift more weight.

To perform this cable machine biceps exercise, you will want to use the double handle attachment so that you can use a neutral grip.

Here is how to perform this biceps exercise with cables:

Set the cable pulley at the lowest setting with the double D handle attachment clipped in.
Stand upright with good posture facing the cable machine, about one to two feet back from the cable anchor point.
Grip the double handle D attachment so that your palms face one another.
Lock your upper arms and elbows against your torso.
Curl up by bending your elbows and moving just your forearms and hands up towards your chin.
Slowly lower back down.

#3: Unilateral Negative Cable Bicep Curls
This is a great biceps cable exercise for mass.

Studies have found that the eccentric portion of an exercise, which is when you are lowering the weights, is most impactful for hypertrophy (muscle growth).

Therefore, this cable machine biceps exercise focuses primarily on the lowering portion of the exercise.

What is unique about performing this bicep exercise on the cable machine is that you will perform a bilateral curl for the concentric portion, allowing both arms to help you lift up the weight, but then you will do a unilateral eccentric contraction.

This means that you will only lower the weight with one arm.

The weight that you choose should exceed what you can typically curl when doing single-arm biceps cable curls or dumbbell curls.

Because the concentric portion of the exercise is harder, you are using both hands to help you get the weight up, which will be very easy, but then you will have a very heavy weight to slowly lower down.

Our muscles are typically stronger in the eccentric portion of the exercise, so by splitting up the movement with the bilateral assist and then the unilateral lowering portion, you can safely maximize the muscle-building training stimulus.

Conclusion

Whether you are an athlete or just trying to reach your fitness goals, an ultimate cable chest workout can help you take your workout to the next level. With the right technique and dedication, you can improve your muscle mass, strength, and definition. So, don’t be afraid to push yourself and give this challenging workout a try!

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