#Bicep curl full#

(Assuming that your macros are dialed in, and you’re eating right. Anytime you stress a muscle, it will respond by building itself back up to be bigger and stronger. Increased Upper Body Massīut it is nice if you can fill out your shirt, and the barbell curl can help if that’s your goal. Hey, not every benefit has to do with filling out your shirt. A stronger biceps is a more resilient biceps. Weak and underdeveloped biceps can cause grip issues, strain to the biceps, and in some cases muscle tears. The biceps are responsible for elbow flexion as well as supporting the grip muscles in pulls and loaded carries. Your biceps are moving the weight, but your hands, wrists, and forearms are supporting it All those secondary muscles will be taxed and you’ll have a crushing grip as a result. The barbell curl can be done to help improve grip and arm strength, both of which can impact pulling strength and performance. 4 Benefits of the Barbell Curlīelow are four benefits of the barbell curl that strength, power, and fitness athletes can benefit from. Lower that bar slowly.įorm Tip: Think about having your hands finish slightly in front of the body like you are giving inconspicuous low hanging high fives. Your muscle is still under a load, so there’s still an opportunity to breakdown muscle tissue in the biceps and build more mass. Lowering the barbell slowly (like to a count of two to three seconds) will tax more muscle fibers. The work doesn’t end when you get the bar up - that’s just half the exercise. If that means the bar is raised a little lower than what’s considered “normal” then that’s fine.įorm Tip: Actively flex your biceps throughout the entire movement, especially at the top. The goal here is about gaining a contraction. Find that spot, hold the weight there for a beat, and then find that spot again on your next rep. Really, curl until you feel your biceps contract the most. Curl the bar until it’s about an inch or two from the front of your shoulders. Seems obvious, right? Well, if you lift too quickly or raise the barbell past the point of contraction, you’ll miss out on the whole point of the exercise - to engage your biceps. Step 4 - Find the Contraction and Hold it Otherwise, you risk slouching forward and disengaging your biceps. The point of letting your elbows come forward a bit is to further isolate the biceps.įorm Tip: Think about squeezing your shoulder blades together and keeping your chest up. Remember to primarily curl with your biceps. Your shoulders will slightly - slightly! - come into to play when your elbows drift forward. Continue to curl up, focusing on not letting the shoulders come forwards.

Imagine yourself curling from a side view - your elbows should travel slightly in front of your torso. Instead of dragging the bar up the body, think about keeping the elbows slightly in front of the body at all times. This will help to activate the rest of your grip. Also, you’ll be tight and less prone to flaring your arms out or performing generally sloppy reps.įorm Tip: Squeeze the pinkies on the barbell, like you are going to snap the bar. Squeezing the bar will activate all of the muscles in your forearms and upper arm, which will generally activate the target muscles more.

the chest collapsing, and the biceps lacking width and fullness. This is something so few lifters do, and as a result, they flare their elbows out and leave a rep (or two) in the tank.

#Bicep curl full#

Be sure to pull the chest up high and keep the shoulders back to expose the full bicep to the load. The grip should be slightly wider than hip-width (can vary), with the palms facing away from the body.įorm Tip: A lot of lifters will let the shoulder get pulled forward, almost hunching forward. Stand erect with the shoulder blades down the back, chest up, and shoulder pulled back. There’s more nuance to it than one may think. Theoretically, the barbell curl is simple to do. Barbell Curl Set, Rep, and Weight Recommendations.Here’s what you need to know about doing the barbell curl - a tried-and-true size and strength builder for the biceps: Strengthening the biceps will carry over to those moves as well as help protect them from injury. The same is true for pull-ups, barbell rows, and more. Anytime your pull a heavy deadlift, your biceps are involved. The biceps muscle is a key player in most pulling exercises. (Ok, that’s the last car pun.)īesides looking good - because a pair of meaty arms are aesthetic - bigger biceps serve some practical functions, too. It’s true that you want to prioritize those compound moves in your workout split, but you may want to let barbell curls ride shotgun.

Biceps training may take a back seat to more popular strength moves like back squats, deadlifts, and overhead presses.