Muscle groups / Biceps
Biceps: exercises and weekly sets
Biceps landmark: 10 working sets a week on the Zyra Workouts dashboard — 5 exercises train it as the primary muscle and 7 credit it at half weight. The full lists, the counting rule and the related groups are below.
Also searched as: bis, biceps brachii.
Landmark and half-weight rule: Zyra Workouts dashboard defaults. Typical rest = the most common default rest among the primary exercises above (the catalog's per-exercise value; the app lets you override it).
Exercises that train biceps
Primary exercises credit biceps with a full set each; secondary exercises credit it with half a set. Open any exercise for its rep targets, progression step and alternatives.
Primary (5)
- Barbell CurlBarbell · ×1
- Dumbbell CurlDumbbell · ×1
- Hammer CurlDumbbell · ×1
- Preacher CurlBarbell · ×1
- Incline Dumbbell CurlDumbbell · ×1
Secondary (7)
- Bent-Over Row (Barbell)Barbell · ×0.5
- Single-Arm Row (Dumbbell)Dumbbell · ×0.5
- T-Bar RowMachine · ×0.5
- Lat PulldownCable · ×0.5
- Seated Cable RowCable · ×0.5
- Pull-UpBodyweight · ×0.5
- Chin-UpBodyweight · ×0.5
How secondary work is counted
The app credits every working set to the exercise's primary muscle in full and to each secondary muscle at 0.5. So a week's biceps total is primary sets × 1 + secondary sets × 0.5, and its coverage bar is min(total ÷ 10, 1). Warm-up sets are excluded before anything is counted. In the 4-day upper/lower template that comes to 6 + 0 = 6 for biceps, below the landmark.
In plain terms: a set of a big compound movement that merely involves biceps is worth half a set of an exercise built around it. This is the app's bookkeeping rule, not a measurement of anything — a way to make one number comparable across muscles. Check a planned week with the weekly sets calculator.
Frequently asked
How many sets a week for biceps?
The Zyra Workouts dashboard uses 10 working sets a week as the biceps landmark — the target its coverage bar for biceps fills toward (coverage = sets ÷ 10, capped at 100%). It is the app's default for reading a week, not a prescription; a coach or your own log can set a different target.
Which exercises train biceps?
5 exercises in the catalog train biceps as the primary muscle — Barbell Curl, Dumbbell Curl, Hammer Curl, Preacher Curl, Incline Dumbbell Curl. 7 more list it as a secondary muscle (Bent-Over Row (Barbell), Single-Arm Row (Dumbbell), T-Bar Row, Lat Pulldown, Seated Cable Row, Pull-Up, Chin-Up); each of their sets counts half toward the biceps total.
Do secondary exercises count toward biceps sets?
Yes, at half weight: every working set of an exercise that lists biceps as a secondary muscle adds 0.5 to the weekly biceps count, against 1 for a primary exercise. Reaching the 10-set landmark from secondary work alone would take 20 such sets. Warm-up sets never count.
Related muscle groups
Other groups in the upper body — pull region:
Compare all 11 muscle groups →
Guides for biceps
Track biceps sets automatically
Zyra Workouts counts every logged working set toward its primary muscle and half toward each secondary one, and shows this week's biceps coverage against the 10-set landmark on its dashboard. It is in development and not yet on the App Store.
Zyra is a training and nutrition tracking tool. Nothing on this page is medical advice, a diagnosis, or an individual prescription. The numbers are estimates from published formulas and the apps' own rules — consult a qualified professional for decisions about your health, and a coach for your training.