One of the most popular exercise ever performed has to be a Bicep Curl. Yet, 90% of new & advanced lifter still perform this exercise wrong. Today I want to show you how to Set up & Execute a Proper Bicep Curl.
Set up the exercise by having your arms lay fully extended by your side. Palms facing upwards.
You'll want your upper arms to be perpendicular to the ground, or slightly in-front of the body
Stabilize your upper back & shoulders by slightly pulling them back.
With your upper arms fixed in place, Curl the weight upwards.
Cue: Think of Smashing your forearms into your bicep.
Gravity is going to play a huge part in this exercise. Since you are using free weights the resistance profile (where the exercises is hardest) is going to be dependent on gravity.
Gravity pulls everything straight down. So you want your upper arms inline w/ gravity. This way, as you curl upwards all tension stays on the biceps.
Due to Gravity there will be no resistance at the bottom (when your arms are fully extended). When your forearms reaches 90 degrees, This is when you'll have the most amount of resistance on the bicep. Why? Because, this is when the weight is furthest from the moment arm (Your entire arm is the “moment arm". The Elbow is your pivot point). As you curl the weight past 90 degrees. Resistance drops off. This is due to the weight getting closer to the moment arm.
What is a “Moment Arm” exactly?
Think of it this way, A “moment arm” is like a lever. Your elbow acts as the pivot point. The further away the weight is from the pivot point. The more resistance added to the working muscle.
At the start of the movement. The weight is inline w/ the Moment arm. Also called “stacking the joints”, there is no resistance on the target muscle.
As you Curl the weight upwards around your elbow. The weight gets further away from the moment arm.
Once your forearm reaches around 90 degrees. This is when the most resistance is applied to the working muscle.
Reason: weight is furthest from the moment arm.
As you continue the curl bringing the weight up past 90 degrees the weight will start to drop off.
Can you guess why?
Because the weight is getting close to the moment arm. Thus making the resistance drop off.
Hear me out!
This doesn't mean its not beneficial to curl past 90 degrees.
However if you want to get the most our of your curls. Be sure to curl up to / past 90 degrees!
Thank you reading today Blog post. I hope you found some value, & be sure to checkout the other post to keep learning!
Have a great rest of your day. I'll see you next time!