Curls For Biceps: A Different Take On It

[Joe Pietaro]

By Joe Pietaro
09-09-2014

When it comes to a muscle like the biceps, proper form trumps everything, including the amount on the barbell or dumbbells. Pride has no place in the gym, especially when you are working a body part that requires as much as the biceps.

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Take whatever weight you were using before this (dumbbell curls) and drop it five or 10 pounds. So for example, you were using 35-pounders for your first set last week. Grab the 25s now and it doesn’t matter if you’re doing them standing or seated – this goes for everything. Bang out a nice slow set of 15 reps in each arm (alternating curls). Now take the 30s and do 12 reps, the 35s and do 10. Get the idea? Once you can use strict form and get to the ‘high’ number (in this case, it’s 15 reps), don’t go up from Set 1 to Set 2.

Also, no more sitting around in between sets checking your twitter feed. Leave the cell phone in the locker unless your wife is nine months pregnant! A one-minute rest period is enough to take here, hence the reason why you’re not going crazy with the weight.

If you’re swinging your arms to get the final few reps done, that weight is too heavy for you. The key here is to use a full range of motion, get the blood rushing to the muscle and not allow it to rest long enough before doing it again. Those days of doing four reps with 75s just so you can say what your max is are over. That’s bullshit and you know it.

There are numerous movements for bicep curls that you should follow this same program with, such as:

- seated alternate curls
- standing alternate curls
- one-arm incline curls
- one-arm Scott bench curls (using the flat ‘front’ side to curl down to)
- standing barbell curls
- concentration curls (do NOT lean on your leg & let your arm hold the weight the entire time)
- cable curls
- Scott curls

If you’re feeling up to it, you can add some other intangibles in, such as drop sets, half reps following the full set, etc.

Written by Joe Pietaro for MuscleMecca.com - Copyright © 2014 MuscleMecca.com