Barbell Curls, Anyone?

william bad butt

Level 6 Valued Member
Once a week I'll grab light DB's and do some sets of 10 of hammer curls. 25 and 35lb DB's. I just copy my workout partner (aka my wife) and it keeps my heart rate elevated in between DB overhead presses and other exercises. Almost like aerobics or Heavy Hands. I think it helps prevent elbow pain and also helps the eccentric pull down on my bench press (floor press).
 
watchnerd

watchnerd

Level 6 Valued Member
william bad butt said:
Once a week I'll grab light DB's and do some sets of 10 of hammer curls. 25 and 35lb DB's.
Click to expand...

Similar, and pretty much the same weight (albeit in KG), although I'll do different curls different weeks -- concentration curls, hammer curls, standing curls, Zottman curls.

1 RM calculator seems to give me really off results for curls, though.
 
Hardartery

Hardartery

Level 5 Valued Member
Boris Bachmann said:
Like I said, I'm not arguing w. you, but their 'argument' was NOT that you use your arms to lift the stones (which anyone who's ever lifted a stone knows would be ridiculous), just that they were engaged very strongly to secure the stones to the body statically.
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I get what you're saying, it's just a technique mistake. And not uncommon. The squeeze should be more pecs with an upper back contraction to haul it up. Engaging the biceps tends to cause the stone to roll out, and can be a good way to tear one. It's like curling the arm on a Deadlift because your grip is going.
 

Boris Bachmann

Level 6 Valued Member
Hardartery said:
I get what you're saying, it's just a technique mistake. And not uncommon. The squeeze should be more pecs with an upper back contraction to haul it up. Engaging the biceps tends to cause the stone to roll out, and can be a good way to tear one. It's like curling the arm on a Deadlift because your grip is going.
Click to expand...
Right, or a clean. I get it. I have a 150lb slam ball and lifting that sucks in general - over engaging the bi's is a sure fire road to a very bad day.
 

Ricky01

Level 6 Valued Member
At opposite ends of the spectrum I have enjoyed Poudstone curls ie sets of 50-100 reps with an empty bar....

I have also enjoyed bottom of goblet squat curls ie hold a KB by the horns - drop to the bottom of a prying squat and with elbows inside knees perform curls.
The action of moving the weight away from the body in this positon and your core musculature having to counter balance (whilst you control your breathing) the weight has previously left my abdominal area very aware of a session.

Richard
 
watchnerd

watchnerd

Level 6 Valued Member
william bad butt said:
hammer curls. 25 and 35lb DB's.
Click to expand...

If we'll allow me to be a dorky pedanthole for a moment:

I thought the hammer curl worked the brachioradials more than the biceps?

dumbbell-hammer-curl-1.jpg


Although, in fairness, the title of the thread isn't specific to biceps...
 
watchnerd

watchnerd

Level 6 Valued Member
Ricky01 said:
At opposite ends of the spectrum I have enjoyed Poudstone curls ie sets of 50-100 reps with an empty bar....
Click to expand...

I've never heard of Poundstone curls before

Looking at YouTube videos, is it just a high rep empty barbell curl?
 
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william bad butt

Level 6 Valued Member
watchnerd said:
If we'll allow me to be a dorky pedanthole for a moment:

I thought the hammer curl worked the brachioradials more than the biceps?

dumbbell-hammer-curl-1.jpg


Although, in fairness, the title of the thread isn't specific to biceps...
Click to expand...

Hmmmm.... I dont actually do hammer curls then. From the bottom to halfway it is a hammer curl. Then around halfway I rotate so I finish as a bicep curl.

Eric
 

Boris Bachmann

Level 6 Valued Member
It's the hanging arm that makes it an Arnold curl vs. a concentration curl. edit - fwiw, I don't know the difference between a Zottman curl and hammer curl.
 
watchnerd

watchnerd

Level 6 Valued Member
Ricky01 said:
At opposite ends of the spectrum I have enjoyed Poudstone curls ie sets of 50-100 reps with an empty bar....
Click to expand...

Okay, I tried these.

I couldn't come even close to 100 reps.

I crapped out at 35, took a rest, and then did another 20, and then I was done.

It was definitely a pain tolerance test.

But in terms of a biceps pump, I've had bigger puffitude from BFR sets using 5 kg dumbbell following the typical 30 seconds rest between sets of 15-10-10-10-failure using 225 mg cuff pressure.
 
watchnerd

watchnerd

Level 6 Valued Member
Admittedly, I am not the person to come to for expert advice on curls.

But I was reading this article on Art of Manliness about curls..

www.artofmanliness.com

Bro Basics: How to Do a Bicep Curl

Here at AoM, we’re big proponents of doing strength exercises that give you the most bang for your buck. That means we advocate for compound barbell lifts that allow you to work the most muscles possible, lift the most amount of weight, and get all-around strong. We’re talking deadlifts, squats...
www.artofmanliness.com www.artofmanliness.com

...and it had this picture....

barbell_curl.jpg


So when you're curling in (your own) squat rack, is the bar supposed to come all the way up to your eyes?

Because I can't go that high without getting my delts involved, too.

The text says:

"Bringing the bar to eye level will ensure you also work the top part of the bicep near your shoulder."

Something smells anatomically / biomechanically incorrect about this -- I thought the bicep only had 2 (bi) head, short and long heads, not top and bottom heads.

anatomy-of-your-biceps_infographic-1-700xh.jpg
 

Antti

Level 9 Valued Member
Only two heads, yes.

The biceps does have a role in shoulder flexion as well. Important enough? Who's to say.

It's like the triceps, the long head passes the shoulder and works on it too. So if you want to work on it fully you should have some exercises where it's not just about the elbow joint.

The eye level thing is an exaggeration to me.

I wouldn't worry about having the delt get involved a bit
 
watchnerd

watchnerd

Level 6 Valued Member
Hmmmm.

Here are the "strength standards" for the barbell curl:

strengthlevel.com

Barbell Curl Standards for Men and Women (kg) - Strength Level

Tables of barbell curl strength standards for men and women. Find out how strong you are compared to other lifters at your bodyweight.
strengthlevel.com strengthlevel.com

Surprisingly, for a lift I almost never do (until this week, I can't even remember the last time I did any barbell curls), I'm almost at "Intermediate Lifter" for my age / weight.

Supposedly.

At first I thought the data most be bogus, but there are 916,000 barbell lifts logged.

Still feels off, though...

Maybe some cheap and easy gains to be had in a lift I've never bothered to try to progress before?
 
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