Your bicep and tricep work outs

[z1ggy]

Post your bicep/tricep work outs here. I need some new exercises because I feel like I am hitting a plateau. Give name/description of the movement and the number of reps and sets you do.

 

[TallBill]

You're going to have a tough time getting to much response on this forum compared to a bodybuilding forum. I do between 4 and 12 sets of bicep work and about 4-12 sets of tricep work per week and have seen my arms grown from 16" to nearly 17" in the last 15 months. In the previous year they went from 14.5" (when i started) to 16". Also, I try for 8 reps per set. If I'm increasing weight I'll do 3x6 and build up to 3x8.

I suspect that the future growth of my arms will be a lot slower. Anyways, in a typical week I'll do biceps/back together and chest/triceps together. I do deadlifts (or varients) and other back work on a 3rd day, and squats and various legs on a 4th day. If I can squeeze in a 5th day I'll do arms/shoulders. This is my current rotation anyways. It's not definite and changes all the time.

Some things I'll do for biceps:

Preacher curl, bb curl, lying cable curl, rope hammer curl, db hammer curl. I'm about to start trying hammer preacher curls too, which supposedly builds the brachialis and "widens" your biceps.

I also do a lot of rowing and hammer grip pullups which help bicep growth.


Some things that I'll do for triceps:
Skullcrushers, dips, tricep pushdowns, overhead rope tricep extensions, db tricep extensions.

Indirectly they get some work from chest workouts.

 

[Deeko]

I already know exactly what the responses to this thread will be....

 

[KoolDrew]

I don't have "bicep/tricep workouts." They are both hit from heavy push/pull compound movements and followed by 1-2 higher rep movements. For example, for triceps (which obviously isn't the only muscle group targeted) -- Bench (5x5 or 3-4x6-8), DB Shoulder Presses (2-3x10-12), and Tricep Extensions (1-2x12-15). For biceps -- Rows, Chins, Curls.

How something is incorporated into your routine will depend on a lot of things though. Rather than just thinking of new exercises to add, you'd be much better posting your whole routine up.

 

[Eomer of Aldburg]

I work my triceps and biceps individually on different days. I tend to focus on one muscle group per day and destroy them. Here is what I do for my triceps:

Weighted Dips (+60lbs) 3 sets x 7-8 Reps (after 3rd set loose the weight and continue with just body-weight until burned out)
Tricep cable Push down with the rope 3 sets X 8-9 Reps with about 55lbs (Form over weight, keep the triceps right in close to your body)
Dumbbell Tricep overhead extension 3 sets x 10-12 Reps I do 60lbs. I would do more but it sometimes gives me elbo pain so I stick with higher rep and lower weight.
Cable Incline Triceps Extension 2 sets x 6-7 reps around 57.1lbs (weird increments on that machine) Drop set each set of the weight 2 times so 1 rep has 7 +7 +7 =21 reps for that one set.

Biceps:

Alternating Dumbbell Curls 3 sets x 6-7 reps, I do 45lbs each hand
EZ curl preacher curl close grip 3 sets 7-9 reps, 2 x 25lbs + 25lb bar = 75lbs.
Standing Cable curl with wide grip. 2 sets 7-8 reps . Drop set each set twice so it looks like 8 + 8 +8 or 7 +7+7 reps
Incline dumbbell curl 3 sets x 6-7 reps, 30lbs
Lastly Reverse barbell curl 3 sets x 6-9 reps 40lbs straight bar.

Bill Davey is one of my favorite bodybuilders and these are some of his tips. Depending on your goal, mine is building muscle not toning so I emphasize Going very heavy and making sure that those 6-9 reps take everything out of you but keeping the form flawless. Hopefully this helps

1. GO HEAVY----- OR GO HOME.
2. CHANGE YOUR WORKOUT EVERY THREE WEEKS.
3. TRAIN ONE MUSCLE GROUP PER SESSION.
4. MAKE EVERY REP OF EVERY SET COUNT.
5. WHEN YOU THINK YOU CAN'T TO ANY MORE REPS IN A SET, DO TWO MORE.
6. KEEP WEIGHT TRAINING SESSIONS TO ONE HOUR MAXIMUM.
7. ALLOW FIVE TO SEVEN DAYS BEFORE TRAINING MUSCLE GROUP AGAIN.
8. LEARN EACH MUSCLE GROUP'S RANGE OF MOTION -- AND WORK THAT MUSCLE THROUGH THAT FULL RANGE OF MOTION.
9. STRIVE TO DEVELOP NEUROMUSCULAR CONTROL.
10. DON'T NEGLECT SPECIFIC ROTATOR CUFF EXERCISES.

 

[KoolDrew]

3. TRAIN ONE MUSCLE GROUP PER SESSION.

:roll:

 

[Eomer of Aldburg]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

3. TRAIN ONE MUSCLE GROUP PER SESSION.
7. ALLOW FIVE TO SEVEN DAYS BEFORE TRAINING MUSCLE GROUP AGAIN.

:roll:

http://www.bodybuilders.com/davey.htm
You may not agree with his views but they have worked great for me because everyday I lift I do Cardio and if I did a generic arms Bicep + triceps day I would be in the gym for 2+ hours instead of 1 1/2 to 1 45 minutes. Giving my muscles the increase time to rest allows me to really hit them hard again and they really do need 5-7 days to recover if you hit them hard.

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: Eomer of Aldburg

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

3. TRAIN ONE MUSCLE GROUP PER SESSION.
7. ALLOW FIVE TO SEVEN DAYS BEFORE TRAINING MUSCLE GROUP AGAIN.

:roll:

http://www.bodybuilders.com/davey.htm
You may not agree with his views but they have worked great for me because everyday I lift I do Cardio and if I did a generic arms Bicep + triceps day I would be in the gym for 2+ hours instead of 1 1/2 to 1 45 minutes. Giving my muscles the increase time to rest allows me to really hit them hard again and they really do need 5-7 days to recover if you hit them hard.

lol, and his sample split is nothing like what you posted. We can learn 2 things from this.

1. Different workouts will work differently for different people.
2. Changing your workouts over time will be highly effective.

 

[Eomer of Aldburg]

I agree tallbill

 

[KoolDrew]

Working one muscle group a session and waiting a week to hit that muscle group is a terribly inefficient way to gaining mass for naturals. Since I've already hit on it in detail in the past, I'll just copy and paste something I wrote from a topic here a while ago.

More volume is not the answer. This is another problem (in addition to the countless other ones I've mentioned in other topics) I have with the typical 1x a week approach. Since people are working on a single muscle group that day they feel the only way they get a good workout is by adding more volume, by either adding more repetitions of a given exercise or by adding more exercises.

As everybody already knows, our bodies suck at doing two things at once. Gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time is just one example. One most people don't think about is storing glycogen and building muscle tissue, which generally do not occur at the same time. If there's a glycogen shortage that's going to be your bodies first priority - restoring glycogen, not building muscle tissue.

What does that have to do with anything? Well, the higher the volume, the more you deplete glycogen stores. So after such training your body repletes glycogen first, and works on protein synthesis second. With low volume, you can stimulate increases in protein synthesis but without depleting glycogen. This is why low volume, heavy weight, and more freuquency (think PL-style fullbody training) is so effective. Low reps don't deplete nearly as much glycogen since you rely more on the ATP/CP energy pathway.

Also, for hypertrophy to occur you want ribosome and mRNA activity to be elevated and STAY elevated in the target muscles. Training a muscle group once a week does not accomplish this as research has clearly shown they (along with increased protein synthesis) return to normal in about 36 hours, which means it's best to train each bodypart probably about every 48 hours (since every 36 hours would mean training different times of the day). Increased frequency would obviously mean a decrease in volume per training session as well.

Those, in addition to reasons I've outlined in the past, is why the typical 1x a week bodybuilding routine is not the greatest idea. The only exception is the genetic elite with a crap load of drugs (aka bodybuilders), since they are able to store glycogen and synthesize protein well, meaning they can do a lot more volume per session and get a lot more out of it. For the average individual without drugs, they'd see much better results on a routine with less volume and higher frequency, with emphasis on compound lifts.

This is why routines like Starting Strength, Bill Starr's 5x5 or even a solid upper/lower split are so effective. Low volume, high frequency training optimizes tension overload (which is different than fatigue), ensures incoming calories go towards protein synthesis, and ensure mRNA and ribosome levels are elevated and STAY elevated.

Bryan Haycock on frequency...

In order for the loading to result in significant hypertrophy, the stimulus must be applied with sufficient frequency to create a new "environment", as opposed to seemingly random and acute assaults on the mechanical integrity of the tissue. The downside of taking a week of rest every time you load a muscle is that many of the acute responses to training like increased protein synthesis, prostaglandins, IGF-1 levels, and mRNA levels all return to normal in about 36 hours. So, you spend 2 days growing and half a week in a semi-anticatabolic state returning to normal (some people call this recovery), when research shows us that recovery can take place unabated even if a the muscle is loaded again in 48 hours. So true anabolism from loading only lasts 2 days at best once the load is removed. The rest of the time you are simply balancing nitrogen retention without adding to it.

Kelly Baggett also hits on frequency in this article:
http://www.higher-faster-sport...rainingphilosophy.html

Lyle McDonald also hits on it in this article:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.c.../training-secrets.html

#
# Training a bodypart less than 2X/week will not give you optimal gains. An upper/lower split done Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri is close to optimal for most. Full body twice a week can work very well. Once every 5th day is the least frequently I would ever recommend a natural train. You?ll get less sore training more frequently and you?ll grow better. Save once/week bodypart training for pro bodybuilders (read: steroid users) and the genetically elite.

Bodybuilding splits are just a very inefficient way to train for most people. In addition, most people get so caught up in "arm day" or w/e muscle group is being worked that day, that they lose sight of what really matters; gaining strength over the long term on heavy compound lifts, which is often hard when 85% of most peoples routines following such a split is pure isolation movements, yours being just one example. You have to remember, what works for a bodybuilder you see in a magazine is not going to work the same for you. They have two things you don't; ridiculous genetics and drugs. Without having those two things it wouldn't make much sense following their routine. Since you don't have those two things you need to make the most of what you got and that's by training intelligently.

EDIT - I also find it interesting you post a link trying to prove "his views" when his sample workout is nothing like it. It's actually more in line with what myself and everybody's quotes I just posted recommend.

 

[Eomer of Aldburg]

Ironically the same article you linked stated "Training a muscle group every 48 hours sounds great in theory, yet in the real world doesn?t hold up very well for a lot of people. The frequency is too great for many people to recover well enough from to make continual and rapid strength increases. This is particularly true the stronger a person gets. The ability to generate fatigue increases a lot more then the ability to recover from fatigue does. As you get stronger you develop an extreme ability to intensify or create stress, yet your ability to recover from that stress doesn?t change quite so much. A 600 pound deadlift requires more recovery time then a 200 pound deadlift, even if the 600 pound deadlifter has been training for 10 years while the 200 pound deadlifter has been training for 10 days."

You can link me to whatever you want to but my workout routine has been extremely effective. I've tried other training routines and I have found the one I am on to be very effective. The benefit for me for working out only 1 muscle group per session is that I am able to swim the distances I want without the extra fatigue due to other workout routines.

Sunday
Rest

Monday
Chest & Abs
Swimming: 3/4 mile (16 laps + 8 Laps) Endurance

Tuesday
Biceps & Forearms
Running

Wednesday
Triceps + Rotary cuff
Swimming: 1/3 mile (11 laps) Fast

Thursday
Back and Traps.
Running

Friday
Legs + Abs
Swimming: 1/2 mile (5 + 11 laps slow pace)
Saturday

Shoulders + Calves + Rotary Cuff
Running

My purpose is to get a good physique but still be competent to hold my rescue swimming requirements for the Navy. When I was 15 when i started to lift and I lifted for about a year and 1/2. I stopped lifting when I was almost 17. At 18 I decided to finally pursue my interest in the Navy and started to lift again. I was about 150lbs and about 13% BF. The past 8-9 months I've seriously lifted seriously and weigh 175lbs at 9.7% BF. I run a 10min flat 1m 1/2 mile, swim a sub 8 minuted 500M, swim a sub 15 minute 1/2 mile. I squat about 280lb, deadlift 365, bench 220, and overhead press 145lbs. I think I can safely say that whatever I have been doing has worked for me. You aren't me so don't assume you know what works best for me. :frown:

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Eomer, let me ask you how long you did a routine where you trained a bodypart 2x+ per week? You do realize that there is an accommodation phase where your body has to adapt to the new stress put on you, right? I used to do a split like your's and thought that because I was so sore just lifting once a week that I couldn't do more than that. That's not right. Your body CAN and DOES heal itself more quickly than that even if you "really go heavy." The exception to this is the load that deadlifts put on the body, but that is usually restricted by the central nervous system rather than the skeletal muscle.

 

[Eomer of Aldburg]

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged
Eomer, let me ask you how long you did a routine where you trained a bodypart 2x+ per week? You do realize that there is an accommodation phase where your body has to adapt to the new stress put on you, right? I used to do a split like your's and thought that because I was so sore just lifting once a week that I couldn't do more than that. That's not right. Your body CAN and DOES heal itself more quickly than that even if you "really go heavy." The exception to this is the load that deadlifts put on the body, but that is usually restricted by the central nervous system rather than the skeletal muscle.

I did the body part 2x+ per week when I was 15-16 for the entire year and a half and was the only routine I knew. It worked well but I personally find the one I have seeing the best results. If I stop seeing results I will modify parts of my workout like drop sets, different free weights, etc.

 

[Whisper]

I've done 2x/week routines for multiple years, and 1x/week (i.e., one "group" per day) routines for multiple years. For me, the latter works better and results in larger gains. That being said, given that I'm in my tenth year of lifting weights, I'm honestly not looking to gain any size, or much more strength. I could likely make a few gains in the latter without increasing the former, but for my frame and size, and based on my experiences, I'm about topped out where I'm at...and I'm fine with that.

To each his own, I say.

As for bicep/tricep exercises, Tallbill posted quite a few great ones. I'll add variety to skullcrushers by doing them on an incline bench every so often, and I'll also tweak my pullover form to hit triceps more intsensely now and again.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: Eomer of Aldburg

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged
Eomer, let me ask you how long you did a routine where you trained a bodypart 2x+ per week? You do realize that there is an accommodation phase where your body has to adapt to the new stress put on you, right? I used to do a split like your's and thought that because I was so sore just lifting once a week that I couldn't do more than that. That's not right. Your body CAN and DOES heal itself more quickly than that even if you "really go heavy." The exception to this is the load that deadlifts put on the body, but that is usually restricted by the central nervous system rather than the skeletal muscle.

I did the body part 2x+ per week when I was 15-16 for the entire year and a half and was the only routine I knew. It worked well but I personally find the one I have seeing the best results. If I stop seeing results I will modify parts of my workout like drop sets, different free weights, etc.

Well, you will almost always see some sort of results if you're actually on a program. However, I'm talking about optimal results here. And what are your "results?" Looks mainly? If you made any radical changes in your diet as well, then that's the more likely culprit for your change in success.

 

[KoolDrew]

Ironically the same article you linked stated "Training a muscle group every 48 hours sounds great in theory, yet in the real world doesn?t hold up very well for a lot of people. The frequency is too great for many people to recover well enough from to make continual and rapid strength increases. This is particularly true the stronger a person gets. The ability to generate fatigue increases a lot more then the ability to recover from fatigue does. As you get stronger you develop an extreme ability to intensify or create stress, yet your ability to recover from that stress doesn?t change quite so much. A 600 pound deadlift requires more recovery time then a 200 pound deadlift, even if the 600 pound deadlifter has been training for 10 years while the 200 pound deadlifter has been training for 10 days."

Let me guess, you just skimmed the article and copied and pasted the first thing you saw? Read again. Before that quote Kelly mentions that the responses to a particular training stimuli will go back to normal in 48 hours. That would mean "ideally" (this is where the in theory part comes in) a particular muscle group should be worked every 48 hours. However, frequency is only one component of a workout routine. Both intensity and volume have to be taken into consideration (for both recovery and gains). If any component is changed, another one would have to be changed to compensate. In other words, in order to have an "ideal" frequency, volume and intensity would have to move farther from ideal. Thus too much frequency is going to be just as bad as too little. You may sometimes see workout routines with fairly high frequency, volume and intensity; however, they are usually designed with planned deloads as they can only be done for a short period of time.

A compromise must be made which is why Kelly then states, "If training a muscle group once per week is too infrequent and training a muscle group every other day is too frequent, then what?s the solution? Well, research investigating training frequency has found that, in all but beginners, twice per week training for a muscle group works just as well for size gains and tends to give better strength gains then 3 times per week training for a body-part."

Beginners would do fine with a higher frequency because intensity won't be nearly as high. They simply won't be strong enough to tax their bodies beyond it's ability to recover, especially since on the harder lifts (squats, deadlifts) most of the work will be form work. This is why I'll usually set a beginner up with a very simple full body routine repeated 3x a week. Past the beginner stage they would move more towards a frequency of 2x a week per muscle group (either a upper/lower split or push/pull). I may still use a full body routine, but intensity would have to be adjusted (e.g. Bill Starrs 5x5).

Also, I have no idea what your past routines have been. However, the most common thing I see when frequency is adjusted is that other things are not. I've had guys ask me for advice doing a very similar routine to yours and I tell them they need to up the frequency. What they end up doing (often times ignoring me) is up the frequency, while still keeping the ridiculous amount of volume they had before. I see it on this forum all the time, including this topic. Where you stated if you were doing biceps + triceps together in one workout, you would be there for two hours.

 

[presidentender]

I rarely do the same movements to train either my biceps or my triceps. Curls, hammer curls, preacher curls, barbell curls, and concentration curls for biceps; triceps extensions (isolateral or unilateral), cable extensions, or as a "target of opportunity" for compound lifts for tris. I would advise you to avoid kickbacks, but perhaps that's just because I'm doing them wrong.

Originally posted by: KoolDrew
...they lose sight of what really matters; gaining strength over the long term on heavy compound lifts....

No. What 'really matters' is up to the individual. Gaining strength on the big lifts (which translates to strength in real life) is what is important to you. It's even part of what's important to me. It is not the "one true goal" of weight training; the fact of the matter is that we have machines to do a lot of our hard labor for us, and our strength (while convenient) is often redundant. For most guys, the form is the function; they want to look good naked, and there's nothing wrong with that. (This is not related to the larger discussion and so may be disregarded in threading).

 

[KoolDrew]

No. What 'really matters' is up to the individual. Gaining strength on the big lifts (which translates to strength in real life) is what is important to you. It's even part of what's important to me. It is not the "one true goal" of weight training; the fact of the matter is that we have machines to do a lot of our hard labor for us, and our strength (while convenient) is often redundant. For most guys, the form is the function; they want to look good naked, and there's nothing wrong with that. (This is not related to the larger discussion and so may be disregarded in threading).

Newsflash - progressive tension overload is required for muscle growth. It's a simple fact. If you're not getting stronger over time, you're not growing.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: presidentender
I rarely do the same movements to train either my biceps or my triceps. Curls, hammer curls, preacher curls, barbell curls, and concentration curls for biceps; triceps extensions (isolateral or unilateral), cable extensions, or as a "target of opportunity" for compound lifts for tris. I would advise you to avoid kickbacks, but perhaps that's just because I'm doing them wrong.

I never understood why somebody would even think about doing preacher curls. It hyperextends your elbow to the point that tendonitis and strain are expected after a certain amount of time. You are armbarring yourself with a weight in your hand. That is a horrendous exercise. If you're gonna do curls, stick with EZ bar curls, DB curls, hammer curls, and cable curls. I won't even do BB curls because they're terrible for your wrists. You gotta be smart about your routine. Don't do exercises that will almost always result in some form of agitation of the joint or the surrounding soft tissue.

 

[Deeko]

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged

Originally posted by: presidentender
I rarely do the same movements to train either my biceps or my triceps. Curls, hammer curls, preacher curls, barbell curls, and concentration curls for biceps; triceps extensions (isolateral or unilateral), cable extensions, or as a "target of opportunity" for compound lifts for tris. I would advise you to avoid kickbacks, but perhaps that's just because I'm doing them wrong.

I never understood why somebody would even think about doing preacher curls. It hyperextends your elbow to the point that tendonitis and strain are expected after a certain amount of time. You are armbarring yourself with a weight in your hand. That is a horrendous exercise. If you're gonna do curls, stick with EZ bar curls, DB curls, hammer curls, and cable curls. I won't even do BB curls because they're terrible for your wrists. You gotta be smart about your routine. Don't do exercises that will almost always result in some form of agitation of the joint or the surrounding soft tissue.

I always liked preacher curls w/ an EZ bar because I've always felt you can push yourself a lot harder there. I get by far a harder workout from them.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: Deeko

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged

Originally posted by: presidentender
I rarely do the same movements to train either my biceps or my triceps. Curls, hammer curls, preacher curls, barbell curls, and concentration curls for biceps; triceps extensions (isolateral or unilateral), cable extensions, or as a "target of opportunity" for compound lifts for tris. I would advise you to avoid kickbacks, but perhaps that's just because I'm doing them wrong.

I never understood why somebody would even think about doing preacher curls. It hyperextends your elbow to the point that tendonitis and strain are expected after a certain amount of time. You are armbarring yourself with a weight in your hand. That is a horrendous exercise. If you're gonna do curls, stick with EZ bar curls, DB curls, hammer curls, and cable curls. I won't even do BB curls because they're terrible for your wrists. You gotta be smart about your routine. Don't do exercises that will almost always result in some form of agitation of the joint or the surrounding soft tissue.

I always liked preacher curls w/ an EZ bar because I've always felt you can push yourself a lot harder there. I get by far a harder workout from them.

Perhaps this is the case for you. However maximum overload is available through standing EZ bar curls IMHO because you can push the biceps to their maximum through using a potential kip if necessary. Preacher curls, biomechanically, are terrible for you though. I don't care how it affects your muscles. You can get a good workout in and not screw with your elbow's tendons and cartilage utilizing other exercises. I've done preacher curls. I've been armbarred. They feel exactly the same. One is an attempt to break someone's arm entirely. The other is supposed to be used as an exercise? I don't think so. It's not healthy for the joint to say the least.

 

[brikis98]

I think KoolDrew covered the general argument against doing a split routine where each muscle group gets worked just once a week. It's just not going to be as effective as a proper full body routine or upper/lower split for the vast majority of lifters.

I'd also add the point that your biceps and triceps are relatively small muscles and most people devote way too much time to them as compared to the biggest muscles in the body in the back and legs. Doing 20 different bicep exercises does not produce better results and as you increase the volume on such small muscles, you get diminishing returns very quickly. To put it another way: devoting one day a week (or more, as some arm obsessed people do) to just obliterating your arms is typically not the most effective method for looking good naked. Moreover, as far as functional strength goes, the strength of your biceps and triceps is utterly irrelevant in the vast majority of real world applications. Whether you're playing sports, moving furniture, or getting in fights, the strength of your legs/back/core will be far more important than how big your guns are.

If you want big arms, the most effective and efficient approach for most people is to devote most of your time to the compound motions - squat, deadlift, bench, power clean, press, pull-ups, rows, dips. These will help you build size/strength through out your body in general, partially because of the hormonal effects they produce (especially squats) and partially because many of the exercises work your arms as part of the motion (bench, dips and press work the triceps while pull-ups and rows work the biceps). If you make steady progress on these lifts and are gaining mass (ie, diet is good), your arms WILL get big. If you have a particular weakness that's slowing your progress down, you can add in some isolation exercises to help it along. A 3x8 of barbell curls at the end of one workout and a 3x8 of skull crushers at the end of another will be PLENTY if the rest of your routine is solid. For reference, I haven't done an isolation exercise for my arms for over a year, and haven't had them a regular part of my routine for over 2 years. After reading this thread, I measured my arms and they are 15" flexed/cold and likely quite a bit bigger right after a workout. Form follows function.


EDIT ---> Forgot to mention: if you want to build some crazy arms while also developing insane strength through out your entire upper body, go get yourself a set of olympic rings. When you can hold front levers, back levers, do muscle-ups, ring dips from the proper support position, l-sits, handstands, and all the rolls and transitions between them, you probably won't be complaining about your arms much and won't have much use for curls.

 

[Deeko]

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged

Perhaps this is the case for you. However maximum overload is available through standing EZ bar curls IMHO because you can push the biceps to their maximum through using a potential kip if necessary. Preacher curls, biomechanically, are terrible for you though. I don't care how it affects your muscles. You can get a good workout in and not screw with your elbow's tendons and cartilage utilizing other exercises. I've done preacher curls. I've been armbarred. They feel exactly the same. One is an attempt to break someone's arm entirely. The other is supposed to be used as an exercise? I don't think so. It's not healthy for the joint to say the least.

Hrm. Having never been armbarred, I've never thought a preacher curl felt even remotely like someone trying to break my arm, or like I was doing anything at all bad to my elbows. How are you doing them?

 

[presidentender]

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged
*snip*

People preacher curl with barbells? I've never seen that, only EZ bars. I like EZ bars... can't believe I didn't put regular EZ curls in there.

Edit: I've been arm barred, too. We must mean something different by "preacher curls."

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: presidentender

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged
*snip*

People preacher curl with barbells? I've never seen that, only EZ bars. I like EZ bars... can't believe I didn't put regular EZ curls in there.

Edit: I've been arm barred, too. We must mean something different by "preacher curls."

No, not preacher curls with BBs. I was referring to EZ bar and DB preacher curls.

If you let the arm go to full extension, which is the "correct" form of the movement, you hyperextend the elbow. The armbar relies on hyperextension in this same fashion.

I've done preacher curls the same as any of the google images that come up when you google the term. Straight elbows, propped by the support "bench" with an amount of weight creating a torque that is forcing your elbows to hyperextend is what bothers me. I know several people who have injured themselves training these while doing everything "right." I can feel the joint pain doing just a set or two.