Biceps · Cables · 30 exercises

Bicep workouts with cables

A cable bicep workout: the cable keeps tension at the top of the curl, where dumbbells go easy.

Curls are the whole story for the biceps, but not every curl does the same job. Curls with your arms behind your body (incline curls) train the biceps at a long stretch, curls in front of it (preacher and concentration curls) load the bottom of the movement, and hammer curls bring in the brachialis and forearm.

A cable keeps tension on the muscle through the whole range, including the ends of a movement where a dumbbell goes slack, and moving the pulley up or down changes the angle of resistance. Cables make it easy to add a little weight at a time.

Cable bicep workout

Straight bar, rope and overhead — three angles from one pulley.

Cable Curl
Sets
3
Reps
10–12
Rest
90 s
Cable Hammer Curl (With Rope)
Sets
3
Reps
12
Rest
60 s
Cable Overhead Curl
Sets
3
Reps
12–15
Rest
60 s
Preacher Curl (Cable)
Sets
3
Reps
12
Rest
60 s

Can’t do one of these?

Machine taken or training somewhere else? Each of these has substitutes that work the same muscles.

Tips

Keep your elbows still. If they drift forward, the shoulders start lifting the weight.
Take two to three seconds to lower each rep. The lowering half is where much of the growth stimulus is, and it’s the part people rush.
Train the biceps after your back, not before. Rows and pull-ups need the biceps fresh to pull heavy.
Step far enough from the stack that the weight never touches down between reps; that keeps the tension on the whole set.

Run this workout in SPLYT

Every exercise here is in SPLYT’s library. Save the workout as a template, log your sets on iPhone or Apple Watch, and next time your weights are already filled in from what you lifted.

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30 biceps exercises with cables

Every one links to step-by-step instructions and a demonstration. Swap any of them into the workouts above.

All biceps exercises →

Questions

How many biceps exercises can you do with cables?

SPLYT’s exercise library has 30 biceps exercises you can do with cables, including Cable Curl, Cable Overhead Curl and Preacher Curl (Cable). Each one links to step-by-step instructions and a demonstration.

How many times a week should I train biceps?

Two or three times a week, with six to ten direct sets in total. Pulling on back days already trains them, so they don’t need a huge amount of extra work.

Do hammer curls work the biceps?

Yes, though they shift more of the work to the brachialis, under the biceps, and to the forearm. Doing both kinds of curl builds a thicker arm.

Are cables as good as free weights?

For building muscle, yes. Free weights let you go heavier on the big lifts, while cables keep tension through the whole movement. Most good programs use both.