Why Everyone Should Work Their Biceps for a Better Life

No matter your age or fitness level, regular exercise is beneficial for your physical and mental health. Alongside healthy eating, it’s the best gift you can give your body, but unless you already have a dedicated fitness regime, you probably haven’t given much thought to how important your biceps are in your day-to-day life. Seen as the powerhouse of our arms, they’re responsible for a lot of our whole-body wellness, and strong biceps not only look good, they keep us healthy too.

What are the biceps?

Before we start talking about training for the best-looking biceps, let’s take a look at this important muscle group in a little more detail. Biceps are more than just a gym goal, after all!

The biceps are a double-headed muscle responsible for much of the movement in our shoulder and elbow. These two parts are the Brachii and the Brachialis. The latter is a smaller muscle, while the Brachii is a group of two muscles, the short head and the long head. The Brachialis is often under-trained and neglected by people working out with bad form. You’ll see the biceps in action when you bend your elbow. They’re the dominant muscle of the upper arm. That’s why they’re important to work on, along with the ‘big four’, which include your chest, abs, back, and legs.

What do these muscles do for us?

Almost everything you do with your arms involves interaction with the biceps. From lifting to pushing, you need both strength and stability to get the job done. A lot of talk in the weight lifting industry is focused on looks, but think of how many times a day you bend your arms. They’re an important part of body function, too. From scratching your head, to typing, to picking up your dog or cuddling your kids, your biceps drive arm movement. They’re one of the first muscle groups to get weak as we age, and wrist fractures from falls where the arms could not catch their weight are frighteningly common in seniors. Ensuring that you have toned, trained muscles and the flexibility to do what you want, when you want, without pain or injury, is invaluable as you age. It will also help keep your bone density high, which reduces your risk of osteoporosis and reduces the chances of age-related falls and bone breaks, which can be fatal in older people.

Efficient arm exercise

Not only are your biceps one of the biggest muscle groups in the arm, but many bicep exercises are incredibly efficient. They work the range of motion of the arm, and have strengthening effects for smaller muscle groups. This means you can take your exercise anywhere with very little effort; all you need is a little imagination.

If you’re keen to get started today, here’s a great plan based on Bruce Lee’s training that gets results, and there’s plenty of others like it out there. All you need to do is find a plan you think you can stick to.