So I’ve been working around some injuries lately and taking some time to experiment with some new stuff. I realized I’ve never done any heavy isolation work for my biceps. I do weighted chins sure, but nothing lower than 10 reps for biceps… Ever. So I got curious and want to know if any of you prefer heavy isolation work for your biceps. Or do you find it bothers your elbows? Let’s hear it
when i was younger i used to do incline dumbbell curls with 2 * 27,5 kg dumbbells.
then i stopped heavy biceps work, a few years later i dropped it completely.
few months ago i started doing heavy barbell curls again and i injured the inside of my elbow.
now because of that injury i cant do dumbbell rows or any heavy rowing exercises and i had to stop training biceps altogether.
so for me, it ended as a disaster.
I’ve been doing sets of 6 cheat EZ bar curls with a slow negative at 50kg.
After a couple of weeks I didn’t need to cheat to get that weight up anymore.
I like to pyramid up the weights so I’m only doing 2 of 6 sets < 10 reps.
6 and 8 reps respectively. I have spaghetti arms tho.
I’ve done heavy bicep work, but never for barbell curls. My real ‘meat and potato’ exercise is incline DB curls, but even then, over the years I’ve found that keeping the reps a bit higher (maybe in the ~10 range as opposed to the 6-8 I would usually do for heavy work) worked well for me.
My personal preference is to keep the barbell curls as more of a finishing movement with a lighter (relative) weight, and just repping through the pain of higher reps and seriously slow and strict performance on a fatigued muscle group.
S
I like going heavy and using straps on pinwheel curls. It works the brachialis really well.
For anything with a supinated grip I stay lightish. If I go too heavy I lose focus on the bicep and my wrists will hurt. Cocking the worst back on these helps sometimes.
Great responses. Like some of you mentioned I have only used bicep curls as a finisher after heavier compound movements. I usually stick to the 10 rep range as well.
@bigbolk- this has been my rationale behind not going very heavy on curls, atleast not yet. I would be mighty pissed if I injured myself curling heavy and then couldn’t do things such as heavy rows or chins.
I like going heavy on barbell curls, but it is an exercise you have to build into the weight gradually. First time I just jumped in with both feet and had sore elbows and severe forearm pain, so I let that heal, scaled back and then slowly worked my into heavy low rep (4-6) stuff.
I don’t do any curls lower than 10-12 reps. I stick in the 20 - 15 range.
I typically don’t ever go real heavy on curls because I feel like I lose the hard iso contraction on my biceps. With heavier weight, people tend to compensate with their front delts and body english.
We kinda touched on this topic a little bit in the “No Love for Barbell Curls” thread:
http://tnation.T-Nation.com/free_online_forum/sports_body_bigger_stronger_leaner/no_love_for_barbell_curls?
One overwhelming agreement was that straight bar curls, eventually, do more harm than good.
[quote]bulkNcut wrote:
So I’ve been working around some injuries lately and taking some time to experiment with some new stuff.[/quote]
Depending on your particular injuries, just remember that heavy curls will put strain on not just the biceps, but the wrists, elbows, shoulders, low back, and all the musculature around those joints.
I wouldn’t say I “prefer” heavy work for bis, but one thing I’ve taken a liking to is… squat rack curls when done properly and with intensity. Setting the bar up as if to do a military press, you start the curl from the “top”. The stretch reflex lends itself to the 3-6 rep range, using a little body English but not like a total cheat curl. Though, when I do go too heavy for too long (volume and/or frequency), I feel more stress in my wrists more than anything.
Another way to work with a technically-lower rep range is to do mechanical advantage work. Dumbbell curls to fatigue, then immediately into hammer curls or pinwheel curls with the same weight. Or preacher curls immediately into standing curls with the same weight. On the second exercise, you’ll always rep out but will generally end up in the 4-10 range (depending on strength, experience, and conditioning of course).
I’ve never gone below 5 reps for BB curls, but been doing them for 3-4 years now with no trouble. Never got above 135 on them though. I like to start strict and loosen up form as the set progresses, until I’m powering the weight up just to milk the negative.
[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:
… squat rack curls…[/quote]
[quote]Mad Martigan wrote:
[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:
… squat rack curls…[/quote][/quote]
As entertaining as the running gag is, I’m pretty much of the thought that if someone’s using the rack for something that actually requires effort and can’t be done elsewhere, it’s legit.
55 pound barbell curls in the squat rack? Not kosher. Half-bodyweight or more for reps? Fair game.
[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:
As entertaining as the running gag is, I’m pretty much of the thought that if someone’s using the rack for something that actually requires effort and can’t be done elsewhere, it’s legit.
55 pound barbell curls in the squat rack? Not kosher. Half-bodyweight or more for reps? Fair game.[/quote]
I used to get crap for doing bench dips in the squat rack all the time (what can I say, the supports were the perfect distance apart for short lil’ 5’8 me to use!)
S
When it comes right down to it, assuming you don’t own or operate the gym in question, a paying member can use the squat rack any way he or she wants. That’s the downside of shared space - you have to share. My biggest gym gripe, which I see way more often, is people who fail to re-rack the weights or re-rack them in the wrong place. WTF. HTF did these people graduate 1st grade???
Anyway, sorry for the de-rail. In the spirit of contribution: heavy curls for low reps doesn’t make much sense ito me. Are you engaging in some sort of 1-rep curl competition? If not, the point of curling would be to induce hypertrophy or rehab the associated tissues.
You’ll get better results, IMO, doing the typical 10+ range, particularly because you’ll be more like to refrain from compensating with other, non-targeted muscles, as others have noted.
Heavy alternating dumbbell curls with a little body-english. I don’t get the same contraction feeling that lighter curls give me but they do fatigue my biceps considerably and make lighter work afterwards seem more effective.
Also love the upper back work I get from heavy curls.
I’ve found that heavy curls (for me) are worthless. I get considerably more out of, say, strict curls with the 35’s than even moderately loose form with the 50’s. Not only that, but I feel bi’s work (or get worked) best by spreading the fatigue out of several sets with short rest as opposed to going to near failure off the jump. Again, just my take.
[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:
We kinda touched on this topic a little bit in the “No Love for Barbell Curls” thread:
No Love for Barbell Curls? - Bigger Stronger Leaner - Forums - T Nation?
One overwhelming agreement was that straight bar curls, eventually, do more harm than good.[/quote]
Chris
Should i stop biceps work completely until it %100 heals or should i find an exercise that doesnt hurt and keep pumping the blood into the area with light weights and high reps?
Yes, i do that too. Did you watch Joe DeFranco’s 21s version 2 video on youtube?
He starts with 7 zottman curls, then does 7 regular curls and completes it with 7 hammer curls.
Easy on the first set but on 3rd or 4th set, you can even flex your biceps.