Curl Bar Workout - What Am I Doing Wrong ?

[UnatcoAgent]

Ok I started using my curl bar again tonight, just some very light lifting. I did 70 reps with just about 35 lbs (I'm not a big guy) to not shock my arm muscles. When I do them I stand with my feet shoulder width apart and lift the bar from rest straight down to a 90 degree angle in front of me. Afterwards it is not my bicepts that feel the workout but rather my forearms ? Any suggestions ?

 

[SoylentGreen]

Originally posted by: Magnum375
Ok I started using my curl bar again tonight, just some very light lifting. I did 70 reps with just about 35 lbs (I'm not a big guy) to not shock my arm muscles. When I do them I stand with my feet shoulder width apart and lift the bar from rest straight down to a 90 degree angle in front of me. Afterwards it is not my bicepts that feel the workout but rather my forearms ? Any suggestions ?

Your forearms are already fatigued.

 

[yobarman]

21's.... do 7 reps bring the weight up from the bottom to about half way, then do 7 of the halfway point to the top, then 7 full reps.

increase weight, repeat.

always keep your elbows stationary, they should never move, and you should never use your back to life the weight

 

[Sluggo]

Originally posted by: yobarman
21's.... do 7 reps bring the weight up from the bottom to about half way, then do 7 of the halfway point to the top, then 7 full reps.

increase weight, repeat.

always keep your elbows stationary, they should never move, and you should never use your back to life the weight

Try doing them with your back against the wall. Oddly enough when a few od us tried this at the gym, most guys could only do about 1/2 the weight they were doing before.

Your biceps work through the whole motion, you need to bring the bar to almost your neck to complete the movement.

 

[AndrewR]

That happens to me when I take a break and start using a barbell for curls. My forearms (actually right on top of the elbow, right?) catch up quickly, and it usually stops bothering me after a week or so.

If you want to hit the bicep exclusively, try a concentration curl.

 

[SnapIT]

70 reps is WAY to much, up the weight and lower the reps to 15 for warmup and 3-10 for workout sets...

Do full motion reps, from the lowest position (rest) to the highest you can lift...

As barbell curls is the mother of all bicep excersises i will not suggest you do other (concentration) excersises, you can't form what you don't have...

[edited for clarification]

 

[HarryAngel]

i always try to find exercises that will isolate the two heads (long and short) for the biceps. Finish with a generall volume building exercise.

 

[Rickten]

Originally posted by: Sluggo

Originally posted by: yobarman
21's.... do 7 reps bring the weight up from the bottom to about half way, then do 7 of the halfway point to the top, then 7 full reps.

increase weight, repeat.

always keep your elbows stationary, they should never move, and you should never use your back to life the weight

Try doing them with your back against the wall. Oddly enough when a few od us tried this at the gym, most guys could only do about 1/2 the weight they were doing before.

Your biceps work through the whole motion, you need to bring the bar to almost your neck to complete the movement.

yeah these are killer. Especially the last seven after your arms have fatigued from the first 14.

 

[SnapIT]

Originally posted by: HarryAngel
i always try to find exercises that will isolate the two heads (long and short) for the biceps. Finish with a generall volume building exercise.

The barbell curl does indeed isolate the two heads of your biceps, in fact, all biceps excersises are isolation excersises...

 

[dabuddha]

Originally posted by: Sluggo

Originally posted by: yobarman
21's.... do 7 reps bring the weight up from the bottom to about half way, then do 7 of the halfway point to the top, then 7 full reps.

increase weight, repeat.

always keep your elbows stationary, they should never move, and you should never use your back to life the weight

Try doing them with your back against the wall. Oddly enough when a few od us tried this at the gym, most guys could only do about 1/2 the weight they were doing before.

Your biceps work through the whole motion, you need to bring the bar to almost your neck to complete the movement.

yeah tell me about it. My friend mentioned it to me that I should stick my back against the wall and the first time i tried it, wow! I could really feel it then.

 

[SnapIT]

Regarding strictness and form... Have you noticed that the big guys almost always cheat? None of them will be standing with their backs against a wall...

Increased load means increased volume, to cheat increases the negative load which has been shown to be the most effective part of the excersise...

 

[Zormito]

Try putting a foot infront of the other ( say 8-9 inches, whatevers comfortable) then doing the exercise. I find if I'm standing straight up, it works the back muscles at the top of the exercise.

 

[desy]

The other way to increase the negative load is to go sloooowww
Not all the time but it works. I do it when the gym is empty though cause you only use about half of what you normally do!
I use a seven second lower helps you find muscles you didn't know were there and is easy on joints and ligaments.

 

[SnapIT]

Originally posted by: desy
The other way to increase the negative load is to go sloooowww
Not all the time but it works. I do it when the gym is empty though cause you only use about half of what you normally do!
I use a seven second lower helps you find muscles you didn't know were there and is easy on joints and ligaments.

Of course, when you cheat up those last reps, you should go slow on the way back...

No matter how much power you put into slamming weights at the positive part of the motion, you should always go slow on the way down...

 

[CPA]

Originally posted by: SnapIT

Originally posted by: desy
The other way to increase the negative load is to go sloooowww
Not all the time but it works. I do it when the gym is empty though cause you only use about half of what you normally do!
I use a seven second lower helps you find muscles you didn't know were there and is easy on joints and ligaments.

Of course, when you cheat up those last reps, you should go slow on the way back...

No matter how much power you put into slamming weights at the positive part of the motion, you should always go slow on the way down...

Give us an example of your count on the negative motion of a curl. Is it a count of 4 seconds, 3? What do you usually use?

 

[SnapIT]

Originally posted by: CPA

Originally posted by: SnapIT

Originally posted by: desy
The other way to increase the negative load is to go sloooowww
Not all the time but it works. I do it when the gym is empty though cause you only use about half of what you normally do!
I use a seven second lower helps you find muscles you didn't know were there and is easy on joints and ligaments.

Of course, when you cheat up those last reps, you should go slow on the way back...

No matter how much power you put into slamming weights at the positive part of the motion, you should always go slow on the way down...

Give us an example of your count on the negative motion of a curl. Is it a count of 4 seconds, 3? What do you usually use?

Heh, i have no idea, i never count, i just go with what's comfortable, except on the cheat reps, there i hold it until i can't hold it anymore, fighting it all the way down...

 

[Deeko]

70 reps? Why? Even if you want tone over size, 70 is way way too much. No more than 15 is necessary.

 

[AndrewR]

Originally posted by: SnapIT
70 reps is WAY to much, up the weight and lower the reps to 15 for warmup and 3-10 for workout sets...

Do full motion reps, from the lowest position (rest) to the highest you can lift...

As barbell curls is the mother of all bicep excersises i will not suggest you do other (concentration) excersises, you can't form what you don't have...

[edited for clarification]

Just for an alternate viewpoint, Muscle & Fitness recommends a minimum set of reps as 6, with their half pyramid being 12->8->6 reps. That works well for me, though I must admit I don't always make the 6 on the last set.

For me, the concentration curl is a good way to avoid hitting the forearm (brachiallis?) muscles which tend to fatigue before the bicep, especially if I've already done some other exercises that have worn them out. Obviously you want to start with a more compound exercise like the barbell curls, but a good way to fatigue the biceps completely is to hit them later with a concentration as well. Personal preference, I suppose.

One other thing on the 70 reps. While there are some people who use that many reps in their workouts (I know some climbers do monster sets like that to build endurance), you risk some good tendon and joint damage with overexertion. I read an article about Marcus Allen awhile back who said that he basically did hundreds and hundreds of push-ups every day (maybe even over a thousand -- it was insane) to build his upper body, and it obviously worked. However, the author stated that most people's joints would not be able to handle that kind of strain and would wear out.