Ah, biceps curls. In all likelihood, this is the exercise that first prompted you to set foot in a dimly-lit, musky weight room all those years ago. Sure, since then, you've learned that the biceps is basically a vanity muscle, and that the hours you spent diligently cranking out 40 sets of curls in a single afternoon probably did your 14-year-old frame more harm than good, but still, the exercise will always have a soft spot in your heart. Since variety is the spice of weight training, though, we asked some fitness pros for a few new exercises that you could try instead. Don't worry, your guns won't disappear overnight if you try these. We promise.

Idalis Velazquez: Tempo biceps curls. Ditch the traditional biceps curls and perform five eccentric curls—that is, lower the weight slowly during the negative phase, and then curl it back up at normal speed. After five repetitions, hold the curl position at the top of the motion for five seconds, and then complete five reps at a faster pace.

Ben Booker: Hit the EZ bar. Biceps curls using a straight bar is hard to beat, but it's important to switch up your grip regularly, too. Use the the EZ curl bar's inside grip one day, and outside grip the next. Also, if you don't already do so, perform biceps curls using dumbbells instead of barbells, which incorporates a forearm workout into the movement, too.

Robin Arzon Band curl. Band exercises encourage the development of explosive concentric force. Gripping tight on the handle of a resistance band, curl your arm slowly to 90 degrees and hold that mid-movement position for ten seconds. Then, finish the curl, exploding through the rest of the movement to the top.

Jay Cardiello: Box jump chin-ups. Place a box between 12 and 24 inches high directly under a chin-up bar. Grasp the bar with palms facing you, using a chip-up grip. Keep your feet flat on the box and your elbows slightly bent. Lower your hips toward the floor in order to allow your knees to fully extend. Then, quickly jump off the box, pulling your chin up and over bar. Repeat this movement as many times as possible in 30 seconds.

Gideon Akande: Reciprocal curls. Your arms might be two trains passing in the night, but they're both headed to Gainsville. (Sorry.) Set up as if you were performing regular dumbbell curls, but lift only one arm at a time. When one arm is at the top of the curl, begin lifting with the second arm while you lower the first one, like so. Your core will work to fight the natural rotation of the torso, and the change in pace will minimize cheating due to momentum.

Alexia Clark: Miniband curl extension. Place your hands on the inner side of a miniband, straightening your arms at the bottom and keeping tension on the miniband. Alternate by curling each arm up to shoulder level, keeping your elbow pointed down at the ground. (Alexia kindly demonstrates for us here.) Incorporating resistance into both positive and negative movement of the curl like this engages both your biceps and triceps.

Watch Now:Three Workout Myths, DebunkedJay Willis is a staff writer at GQ covering news, law, and politics. Previously, he was an associate at law firms in Washington, D.C. and Seattle, where his practice focused on consumer financial services and environmental cleanup litigation. He studied social welfare at Berkeley and graduated from Harvard Law School... Read more