Improve your form and build bigger guns!
The barbell curl. You se it being done all the time, but you almost never see it done correctly. Nate Green, C.P.T., a trainer in Whitefish, Mont., explains how to curl for maximum gains.
1. Grab the bar with an underhand, shoulder-width grip
Let your arms hang down so that the bar nearly touches the top of your thighs (allow your elbows to keep their natural bend). Retract your shoulders and keep them square with your hips — your head, shoulders, and hands should make one straight line. Keep your elbows close to your sides and your knees straight
2. Keeping your upper arms stationary, curl the bar toward your chest.
Squeeze your biceps at the top. (Don’t allow your elbows to move forward - it decreases the amount of tension on your biceps and transfers it to your shouldrs.) Lower the weight slowly until your elbows are almost straight. That’s one rep. As you perform reps, do not generate momentum by leaning back to swing the weight up.
When should I do curls?
Curls are the icing on the cake - not a meal on their own. If you you’ve been training for less than a year, forget ‘em and focus on compund exercises such as the chinup to work your biceps. “I only let my clients curl after they can perform 10 body-weight chinups,” says Green. At that point, you should have enough arm and upper-back strength to load serious weight onto the bar for curls. Your biceps will grow much faster than if you were to start curling as a beginner.
Improve your form and build bigger guns!
The barbell curl. You se it being done all the time, but you almost never see it done correctly. Nate Green, C.P.T., a trainer in Whitefish, Mont., explains how to curl for maximum gains.
1. Grab the bar with an underhand, shoulder-width grip
Let your arms hang down so that the bar nearly touches the top of your thighs (allow your elbows to keep their natural bend). Retract your shoulders and keep them square with your hips — your head, shoulders, and hands should make one straight line. Keep your elbows close to your sides and your knees straight
2. Keeping your upper arms stationary, curl the bar toward your chest.
Squeeze your biceps at the top. (Don’t allow your elbows to move forward - it decreases the amount of tension on your biceps and transfers it to your shouldrs.) Lower the weight slowly until your elbows are almost straight. That’s one rep. As you perform reps, do not generate momentum by leaning back to swing the weight up.
When should I do curls?
Curls are the icing on the cake - not a meal on their own. If you you’ve been training for less than a year, forget ‘em and focus on compund exercises such as the chinup to work your biceps. “I only let my clients curl after they can perform 10 body-weight chinups,” says Green. At that point, you should have enough arm and upper-back strength to load serious weight onto the bar for curls. Your biceps will grow much faster than if you were to start curling as a beginner.