1 Unconventional Bicep Curl Variation
Same Exercises = Same Results
The majority of guys that're failing to build up their biceps continue to perform the same exercises over and over again.
The barbell bicep curl and the standing dumbbell bicep curl.
Don't get me wrong, these are great exercises IF they are performed with perfect form.
As soon as weight becomes the priority swinging, flared elbows and little to no contraction becomes all too apparent.
Instead of continuing down this path why not change to a bicep curl variation that forces you to perform it with correct form?
Give This Uncoventional Bicep Curl Variation A Try...
The lying incline bench barbell curl is one of the best bicep exercise in terms of pure isolation and negating momentum.
Both standing and seated barbell and dumbbell exercises are susceptible to momentum, swinging and poor form - utilizing a lying barbell curl eliminates the ability to lean back and swing.
Here's How To Do It...
Lay stomach down on an incline bench adjusted to roughly a 45 degree angle, hold a barbell at arms length down in front of you.
Maintain the position of your upper arms while you proceed to curl the weight up, contracting the biceps.
At the top of the movement pause and squeeze this contraction for 1 second.
Slowly lower the barbell back down until your arms are extended once again.
Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Don't Make These common Bicep Curl Mistakes
Swinging
Every guy in the gym wants to swing around heavy weight on biceps, I get that.
As I said earlier – if you want to build big arms you’re going to have to lift heavy, HOWEVER form always have and always will take priority over the weight being lifted.
The bottom portion of a bicep curl is without a doubt the hardest portion of the movement, and when lifting too heavy many gym-goers attempt to swing backwards or hip thrust to attempt to move the weight.
Using momentum to move the weight takes tension off the bicep, doing you no good.
If you’re swinging and swaying your back on every repetition you’re also placing your lower back at a high risk of injury – not good.
Pick a weight that’s heavy for you to perform with good form, save the cheat curls for Arnold.
Not Contracting The Biceps Correctly
The whole point of the biceps curl is to contract and overload the muscle - if you're performing the repetitions too fast and not taking the time to squeeze at the top you're not going to see much in terms of strength or size gains in your biceps! Take the time to hold for the count of 1 second at the top of each repetition before lowering the weight back down to a dead hang.
Arm Training Frequency Too High
it didn’t take me long to realize that training my arms every single day wasn’t getting me very far in terms of results given all the effort I was exerting.
Train smart.
The biceps act as the secondary muscle group when we’re training back, and the triceps act as the secondary muscle group when we’re training chest.
Training chest, back and one dedicated arm day per week (or triceps and biceps split up onto seperate days instead) is more than enough to build big, strong arms.
More isn’t always better – if you’re training frequency is any higher than this you may very well be hindering your own progress, like all other muscle groups the biceps and triceps require time to recover.