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A Diagram of the Best Bicep Stretches
Lace your fingers behind your back and raise your arms as high as you can.
Grab the inside edge of a doorway and rotate away from it to stretch that arm.
Face a corner with your hands behind you, palms on the wall, and lean forward.
Hang from a pull-up bar with your palms facing away from you.
Grab jungle gym straps with an underhand grip behind you and walk forward.
1. Arm swings or rotations
Do this dynamic bicep stretch to warm up before a workout. Stand up straight and lift your arms up straight out at your sides. Move your arms in vertical and circular motions at the same time to do arm rotations. Or, hold your arms out straight in front of you at shoulder height with your palms facing down. Swing your arms back behind you, then back to the front to do arm swings.
Dynamic stretches use controlled motions to improve your flexibility and range of motion.
Dynamic stretches are better for your muscles when they’re cold, or when you haven't done any exercises yet. Other types of stretches are better for when your muscles are warmed up, such as after lifting weights.
2. Behind-the-shoulder stretch
Do this easy stretch post-workout to aid recovery and prevent soreness. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and lift both your arms straight up at your sides with your palms facing the floor, until they’re even with your shoulders. Press your arms back as far as you can and rotate your hands so your palms are open. Squeeze your shoulder blades together to deepen the stretch and repeat for 30-45 seconds.
You can do this before a workout to loosen up your biceps too, but hold the stretch for 3-5 seconds instead of 30 seconds.
3. Behind-the-back stretch
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Try this stretch before or after a workout or when your biceps are sore. Stand up and interlace your fingers behind your back. Keep your hands near the base of your spine and straighten out your arms. Lift your arms up as high as you can until you feel a stretch and hold the position for up to 1 minute.
Repeat this stretch up to 3 times or move on to a different stretch. Do whatever feels best to you!
Whalen adds, “Keep your arms straight, your shoulders back, and lean forward. It can stretch your pectoralis minor and biceps. [This is] the primary stretch for biceps.”
4. Doorway stretch
Do this to relax your biceps and relieve tightness from poor posture. Stand in front of any doorway with your back to the opening. Reach one of your arms behind you and place your open palm against the inside edge of the door frame. Turn the other side of your body away from the arm, continuing to press your palm against the door frame, until you feel your bicep stretching. Hold this for up to 30 seconds, then repeat the move for the other side.
Move your arm lower on the frame to get a higher stretch or higher on the frame to get a lower stretch.
You can also use a column to do this stretch if there isn’t a doorway nearby.
5. Flat wall stretch
Use this stretch to relieve tightness in your biceps, delts, and pecs. Stand near a wall and press one of your palms flat against the surface of the wall at about shoulder height. Slowly turn the other side of your body away from the wall until you feel the stretch and hold the position for 30 seconds. Repeat this with your other arm.
Experiment with moving your hands up and down on the wall until you find the spot that makes you feel like you’re getting the best stretch.
6. Wall corner stretch
This stretch is similar to a wall stretch, but targets both arms at once. Stand in the inside corner of a wall, facing the corner. Straighten both arms out at shoulder height and place both your palms against the wall to your left and right. Move further into the corner until you feel your biceps being stretched. Hold this position for up to 30 seconds and repeat it 2-3 times.
Feel free to experiment with the height of your hands to find what feels best for your biceps.
7. Seated stretch
Use this stretch to target your frontal shoulders, chest, and biceps. Sit down on the floor with your knees bent and your feet flat. Place your hands on the floor behind you with your fingertips pointed backwards and your arms straight. Slowly move your butt forward, away from your hands, until you feel a stretch in your biceps. Hold the stretch for about 15 seconds.
If the floor doesn’t feel comfortable, place a yoga mat, a towel, or a blanket underneath you.
Variation: From the starting position, lift your hips and butt off the ground so you’re in a tabletop position (as if you’re about to crab walk). Hold for a few seconds, then return to the starting position and repeat.
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7. Pull-up bar hangs
A hanging bar stretch targets pretty much your whole upper body. Grab a pull-up bar firmly with your palms facing away from you, about shoulder-width apart. Hang with your arms straight for up to 15 seconds. Repeat this up to 3 times to really stretch your muscles out.
If you can’t reach the pull-up bar, stand on a step, a chair, or a bench to grab it.
You can do this with any kind of bar if you don’t have a pull-up bar available, such as the monkey bars at a playground.
8. Half-kneeling stretch
This stretch utilizes a table or another flat surface to stretch your biceps. Stand facing away from a flat, elevated surface, such as a table or desk. Place the backs of your hands behind you on the surface, so your palms are open and facing up. Get into a half-kneeling position, or a lunge position, and hold the stretch for 30 seconds.
To get into a half-kneeling lunge position, place 1 foot in front of you and bend down so the thigh of your front leg is straight out in front of you and the knee of your back leg is touching the ground.
As an alternative to the half-kneeling position, squat down until you feel a stretch in your biceps.
Variation: Start on your knees and place your hands on a chair or desk behind you. Lean forward without sliding your hands to get a similar stretch.
10. Jungle gym strap stretch
Do this stretch if you have jungle gym straps or other cables. Whalen recommends attaching the jungle gym straps to a sturdy exercise machine or exercise bar so the handles are hanging at the bottom. “Grab those handles with an underhand grip and walk out forward so your arms are straight [behind you]. Keep your shoulders back and your fingers pointing away from you. Experiment with the angle” to find the best stretch for you.
Hold for up to 1 minute. Repeat 2-3 times for a deep stretch.
This stretch loosens up your biceps as well as your shoulders and chest.
11. Wrist rotations
Try this stretch to relieve stiffness in your wrists, forearms, and biceps. Stand up tall and bend your arms 90 degrees at the elbow. Keep your elbows tucked into your sides and open your hands so your palms face each other. Slowly rotate your wrists until your palms face upward, hold, and then return to the starting position. Then, rotate your wrists so your palms face down, then return. Continue rotating slowly for about 30 seconds.
You can do both arms at once, or one at a time.
12. Seated pec stretch
Do this stretch at your desk to target your biceps and chest. Scoot to the front edge of your chair, then grab the edge of the seat with the arm you want to stretch (or hook that arm around the back of the chair—whichever is most comfortable). Then, rotate your upper body away from your arm to stretch it out and also open up that side of your chest. Hold for 15 seconds and repeat on the other side.
Whalen adds that “grabbing a surface and then rotating outward stretches mainly the chest, but you also get the bicep, too.”
In this newsletter, I shared 12 of the best bicep stretching exercises to relieve pain. These exercises don't take much time and will help you make progress every day, as long as you keep them in mind.
Artemus Vazhui