Thread: Bicep Curls?

You shouldn't bring your arms up. If you bring your arms up, then you are in effect reducing the resistance. The lever arm distance is shortened when you raise the level of your upper arms. Do you want to do front raises, or do you want to do bicep curls?

Originally Posted by pumpthatiron

Sup guys,

I was reading an article on bodybuilding.com about biceps and I learned something interesting. The elbows are NOT supposed to move at all? They should be stuck to ur sides at all times? I saw a video and a guy said that you shouldn't bring ur elbows forward to bring the bar up to your chin but instead go as far as you can without moving the elbows. I have always brought the bar up to my chin by moving my elbows. What do you guys think?

Peace up

I would not get totally pyschotic about pinning your elbows to your sides, but you should not move your elbows...in other words they should remain stationery so that the stress stays on the biceps and is not shifted to the shoulders or other assisting muscles.

i totally agree..so does my bro (hes in muscle mag) ha

but that gives me an idea. What if you purposely moved your elbows forward just a bit, so to create a compound movement for biceps and shoulders?

well, sometimes I let my elbows come forward like you are describing. I mean, the biceps also help to do shoulder flexion (that is the reason we do preacher curls, to lock the shoulder into flexion) so I don't mind working the bicep not only at the elbow but at the shoulder too. It is a multi joint muscle. Do both ways IMO.

i found the website i was reading it on.

the video is http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/toddcurl.mpg

Is this how barbell curls should be done?

Originally Posted by P-funk

well, sometimes I let my elbows come forward like you are describing. I mean, the biceps also help to do shoulder flexion (that is the reason we do preacher curls, to lock the shoulder into flexion) so I don't mind working the bicep not only at the elbow but at the shoulder too. It is a multi joint muscle. Do both ways IMO.

Actually, I have heard of doing this with dumbells. I did some report on an article in Men's Health that mentioned running man's curls, where you do just that.

when doing preacher curls ( or any curls in general ) do u bring down the weight completely til tou bicep has no contraction in it... or do u bring it down a bit short of a non-contraction position.. do you know what i mean?
bringing your arms down completely til they hang down as opposed to bring them down a little bit before that.

just bringin this one back.. any responses??

When I do preacher curls I go down until they almost are resting.If you wanna make it harder try pausing and holding the weight halfway up when you are going up for 3 seconds and then complete the rep that will give you a good workout.

Originally Posted by j rizz

when doing preacher curls ( or any curls in general ) do u bring down the weight completely til tou bicep has no contraction in it... or do u bring it down a bit short of a non-contraction position.. do you know what i mean?
bringing your arms down completely til they hang down as opposed to bring them down a little bit before that.

I would say to keep some tension on the muscle through the entire set

When I do preacher curls, although it has been a while, I go all the way down. There is no reason to cheat yourself out of some of the range of motion.

nah...don't go all the way down... you release tension if you do. Stopping just short of all the way down, keeps constant tension...i've always found this to be more effective.

Originally Posted by CowPimp

When I do preacher curls, although it has been a while, I go all the way down. There is no reason to cheat yourself out of some of the range of motion.

I agree.

Originally Posted by ChrisROCK

nah...don't go all the way down... you release tension if you do. Stopping just short of all the way down, keeps constant tension...i've always found this to be more effective.

I really don't think it matter if the tension is lost for a split second. You're still fatiguing the muscle fibers, you're still creating overload, and you're still causing microtrauma to the muscle.

i guess it's a matter of preference. It also puts less stress on the elbows to not go to full extension...as well as the front delts...which are a "sore" spot for me...

I don't think you're supposed to go all the way down on preacher... close.. but not all the way.. you want to keep your bicep flexed and pumped and if you lock out you are causing a lot of weight to rest on your elbows...

Just like every other exercise... different people have different ranges but you want to keep the tension on the muscle the whole way through the rep.

I really don't think it matter if the tension is lost for a split second.

I think it'd be pest to try both methods. I used to reduce TUT to increase load by locking out or relieving the muscle of tension; I recently switched to lower weights and nonstop TUT and the difference is amazing.

Originally Posted by Duncans Donuts

I think it'd be pest to try both methods. I used to reduce TUT to increase load by locking out or relieving the muscle of tension; I recently switched to lower weights and nonstop TUT and the difference is amazing.

yeah, i switched to the nostop TUT in the lower rest portion of my workouts for the past 4 weeks. the differnece is incredible!

TUT means what exactly?

TUT= time under tension.

Originally Posted by P-funk

TUT= time under tension.

thnks all

I maintain the tension on certain exercises. For example, I never lock out my legs on the leg press, although I come close. That is a lot of stress on the kness. I don't really notice a difference, although I don't really pause in any other movements (Except maybe for the last repetition or two). I might lockout, but I also perform the exercises in a perpetual/rhythmic motion.

when u curl use just ur biceps..ur elbows should not move at all..

At high weights, locking out completely on bicep curls puts tremendous pressure on the tendons. I developed a serious case of tendonitis a few years back doing this...

As far as elbows go, if you're doing barbell curls, try to keep your elbows stationary, but don't freak out about it - that's what preacher curls are for. You're supposed to be able to do more weight with BB curls, and that's because you're arms aren't perfectly stationary.

If you're gonna do preachers, however, you're almost cheating yourself if you don't go almost all the way down. There are very few exercises that give such a wonderful stretch at the bottom.