Is Increasing Weight on Curls Needed?

Training
22

@flipcollar

I don’t track it. I just expect my arms to get bigger over time as long as I lift weights and gain weight. It’s worked so far.

I do it at the end of workouts, just to get it done. I don’t put a lot of thought into it, if I’m being honest. I don’t think it’s worth overthinking.

That’s pretty much how I’ve been approaching biceps. Mostly due to necessity though, since it’s only very recently that I can go anywhere near failure, let alone try to actively “beat the logbook.”
Glad to hear this approach works long-term based on your pic (your shoulders are nuts though haha).

@TrainForPain

but getting better at contracting the target muscle puts more of the load on the intended area - that’s a form of progression.

I’ve been doing this too, also out of necessity. I couldn’t curl at all at first without putting as much stress onto the biceps and away from the elbows/shoulders as possible. And sorry! Haha. We haven’t interacted much, so I didn’t think to tag you.

I stick with one weight for curls for a while, then I progress to a heavier weight and rarely do I ever look back, unless I’m just shooting for a ton of reps in a single set to get the work done quicker.

Yep, what I’ve been doing is sticking with a weight/weight range, and then naturally bumping it up once it gets easy enough. I don’t force the weight jump. It sort of happens on its own.

If you really are serious about growing, Progression needs to be a very big priority.

I’ve gotten from 3lbs db curls to 45lbs (when I go heavy but still strict). I guess I was just wondering if I should keep going since this was the first time I saw bigger guys using the same weights as me (though they’re obviously getting more from it, form-wise).

1 Like
23

@T3hPwnisher

But so long as I’m working as hard, if not HARDER than I did in the previous workout: it was a success.

I usually aim to do the same (within reason) since how much my joints “lock up” can affect my strength levels, so beating the logbook can get tricky at times.

I have records on that lift that I’ll beat if the circumstances present, but this most recent workout time was short, I didn’t have time to do that, so instead I focused on making the set hurt as much as I could in the time that I had.

I also just base it on the day, so it’s good to know it works as a long-term strategy. I’ll definitely try to beat a PR, but only if good circumstances present.

@Andrewgen_Receptors

Thanks for all the responses!

Yes, beat the logbook for every exercise, until you can’t. Then swap it out. Rinse and repeat.

I’m not at the point joint-wise where I can try to beat the logbook every time, but I can still keep focusing on progression as best as I can and swap out a lift when it stalls too much. At least I’m finally able to do full-ROM db curls.

2 Likes
25

Just joking man. I just end up being the “do curls” person

26

Don’t worry about what anyone else in the gym is doing. Assume they’re wrong. That’s something I learned from the Ultimate Warrior a long time ago. If you know what you need to be doing, or you have a program, don’t let anyone else get in your head about it. Do the work that YOU know you need to get done. It’s important to have faith in yourself and trust the process.

1 Like