Compound pulls let you handle more weight, accumulate more high-quality reps, and train the elbow flexors in the context they actually matter, chin-ups, rows, and pulldowns. The key is choosing variations that force the biceps to work instead of letting your lats and grip steal the whole set.

Start by biasing supinated or neutral grips, keep your elbows driving down and back rather than flaring, and use a controlled eccentric. If you finish sets feeling it only in your forearms or upper back, adjust your grip, tempo, or range.

Here is a simple way to program this without turning arm day into a circus. Pick one vertical pull and one horizontal pull that both train elbow flexion hard. Run them for 3 to 5 sets each in the 6 to 12 rep range, leaving 1 to 3 reps in reserve, then add one higher-rep finisher if your elbows tolerate it.

Good compound bicep exercises include chin-ups, neutral-grip pull-ups, V-bar pulldowns, supinated pulldowns, underhand cable rows, inverted rows, and hammer-grip rows. From there, sprinkle in a couple compound curl-row hybrids like cable drag curls or Zottman curls when you want extra bicep bias without losing the “big movement” benefit.

In the full guide, I break down 11 compound bicep exercises, how to do each one so the biceps actually get the stimulus, and how to slot them into training for bigger, stronger arms.

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