bicep curls

Dear All,


I find when exercising my biceps and trying to contract my bicep with my left arm I seem to be getting more tension in my forearm and I don't seem to be able to do too much about that. It seems I'm working my forearm and it's getting more tension than my bicep.

I've tried experimenting with the angle of my wrist (back or forward) and that seems to do something but I was wondering if anyone's experienced something similar or has any ideas?

warmly

Richard

Re: bicep curls

Rich

Barbell curls are 'ok' but for me they seem do be ineffectual for the same reasons that you have outlined Rich. I think this is because of the locked position of the wrists/elbows/shoulders alignment. My solution was to start to work with dumbbells and this seems to avoid most of these problems.

Another question - do you roll your wrists at the top of the movement? I don't know if that bothers your forearms, but it does for me. My other thought would be how tightly you're grabbing the bar. Try to relaxing my grip and this seems to work a little.

I’ve also drop the weight I was using on the curls and concentrate on rows, close grip pulldowns and wide grip deadlifts in an attempt to get stronger arms.

The other practice of curling I have started experimenting with is using a fitball and a dumbbell weight slightly heavier than I could curl for 3 reps. With the triceps and body hugging the ball start in an up position and slowly extend the weight down. As the weight is heavier than what could be curls for more than a couple of reps, you will probably have to help the up movement with the other hand supporting the weight. The philosophy of this movement is rather than a contracting effect on the bicep, extending the arm under load has a more direct impact on the bicep – and the forearm seems to be less in play.

Re: bicep curls

Yes, Rich, this is quite common, as Balaprana pointed out, and also as he pointed out, work the negative to bypass this problem.  More on a technique for that in a moment.

The problem you point out is one of the reasons I do very little barbell or bentbar (ez bar) curls.  While it looks good to knock out 100 pound barbell/bentbar curls, it is ineffective and really makes it easy to cheat on form. 

Regardless of the bell (dumb or bar), most references will say the movement at the top of the curl - push forearm into bicep and hold for a moment at the top of the movement - is the best way to tweak that bicep.

I have found that most hammer grips also work the bicep more than the forearm.  Standing or sitting hammer curls are good, so are standing cross-body curls.  You can use a low pulley as well, with the rope attachment.  Start at the bottom of the movement with a hammer grip on the ropes, and twist hands into standard bar-type grip and out at the top of the movement, and this grip/movement flexes the bicep all through the movement.

An exercise I have been doing the last week or so also isolates the bicep in a curl.  Use a low pulley with a stirrup grip.  Face away from the machine, start with grip all the way at the top (as in a standard movement), then curl down and up.  As your central nervous system gets accustomed to this movement, you can max the weight to where it takes both hands to get the weight up, then resist slowly down - believe me, you will find the biceps worked more than forearms with this technique.  If you find anywhere through the movement forearms are being worked more than you wish, then twist your hand to a hammer grip.

Finally, working the forearm is not necessarily bad, since it is a total arm movement. I work the entire arm - yes, the entire arm gets stronger and bigger, and not so much a pronounced upper arm to impress everyone at the gym, but in time the total arm and total body strength are both fun to live with and seemingly get noticed.  Also, the brachial connecting bicep and forearm is one of the more common injuries, so working forearm (total arm) is goon in this respect.

Oh, I nearly forgot another technique.  You can work forearm to exhaustion (with forearm curls) prior to working full arm curls, and your body will then naturally not default to using forearms on curls.  You will need to decrease weight, but - I'm all about lower weights and perfect form in my personal routines, and am a big fan of lower weight / perfect form (so once again Balaprana gave good advice).

Hope all of this helps.

Peace through Strength

Christopher

Re: bicep curls

You guys rock!!!

I'll toss in another dimension although I'm fundamentally in agreement with all of your suggestions - changing exercises, working negatives, lighter weights, training the full arm, strick form - seriously you guys rock!!

Balaprana brought up an excellent point that I wanted to highlight and flesh out - he mentioned trying to relax the grip as much as possible.

I can't stress the wisdom within this suggestion. Relaxation is essential if you're truely going to explore your personal boundaries to pain, intensity and strength.

Part of the process of strength training is first building the nervous systems ability to coordinate movements and literally learn how to engage all of the muscle fibers you actually do have, only then do you get to the next phase which involves building strength, power and size depending on how you're training.

In order to evolve one's training beyond more conventional stages, you must learn how to hold just the right amount of tension in your supporting and secondary muscles so that you can optimize your intensity into the muscle group your actually training.

This is largely accessed through refining one's mental game. You can't just go grab a weight and give it your all. You must refine your concentration and thus your nervous system to be more sophisticated in how your body exerts itself.

So again, when Balaprana suggests exploring with relaxing the grip as much as possible, there's tremendous depth into what he's pointing at. Only when you learn and train yourself to build incredible amounts of strength amidst calm and relaxation will you even have a sense of your larger potential.

This doesn't magically happen though, it takes practice - one rep at a time. Keep working it. Practice, Practice, Practice…

Enjoy your training!
Peace
Rob

Re: bicep curls

wow! thanks guys!, i gues I don't have much more to say about that, just time to practice!

Re: bicep curls

Another techniqe that I stumbled upon the other day, as I always experiment and change up routines.

With an easy bar, sit at a bench.  Keep elbows on thighs, and curl up, then back down.  It seems like a “1/2” curl, but puts less stress on the forearms, isolates the biceps, and since it is a 1/2 stroke, you can normally handle more weight.

Oh, and I forgot to mention in my last post on this subject - generally speaking, 90 percent of forearm problems in curls is due to grip.  Try techniques that use open-hand grip, or try loosening your grip.

Peace through strength,
Christopher

Re: bicep curls

Excellent! I was just looking on here before doing some curls so I'll try this out. Thank-you.

Re: bicep curls

It's inevitable that the forearm muscles will be worked when performing bicep exercises.  If you don't have strong forearms you won't have strong biceps.

Variety of exercises is the most important thing, try the preacher bench with either dumbells or barbells.