I have a survey question for everyone. A patient that I was working with the other day started talking training with me. He proceeded to tell me that at one time, he was able to perform one arm dumbbell preacher curls with a 180# DB. Now, I’m not calling BS neccesarily, but I am a little skeptical. By no means is the facility that I am at hardcore, and there are very few big boys or freaky strong guys there, but I don’t think that I have seen anyone come close to performing a legitimate curl with that kind of weight. My question to you all is: What is the most weight that you have seen anyone bicep curl [DB or barbell]?
He’s full of it. I’ve heard of 200 lb two arm curls, but never a dumbell curl that high.
The best I have done is 120lbs on the bar(I wasn’t even in the squat rack!), but it was kind of a full body movement.
I have seen 225# cheat curls, but the most impressive curl I have seen was a 135# reverse grip curl. The same guy was doing Turkish get ups with 155#. I am not much of a curler(<-is that a word?), but I can one arm curl a 65# barbell for 5 strict reps.
I can reverse curl 115… Honestly I stay away from isolation workouts. The most I’ve seen someone curl is 175lbs on an EZ curl bar. I’ve heard of people using the squat rack for curls, but never seen it, don’t know why it would help any.
i used to work in a prison, and there was a guy that would curl 100# dbs for most of his hour in the rec yard. I don’t know how much more he could’ve done since the dbs only went up to 100, but I suspect he could’ve gotten somewhere close to 180–although he’d been at it for a couple decades.
(Then there was a riot and inmates used the weights as weapons. When it was over, the weights were taken away and replaced with cable machines.)
Amazing how some of those guys would develop. There was another guy in segregation, he would dip for an hour straight mon-fri. After a year and a half his chest and arms were freakishly huge–especially since the rest of him was undeveloped.
that would definitely make the guy one of the strongest that ever lived. 180lb db curl even if he was cheating. damn! are you sure he did not mean 80lb. 
laters pk
Remember Jimmy “the bull” Pellachia? Ok,I probably totally fucked up his last name’s spelling. Anyway, he’s known for being strong. One of his feat of strength was seated 150 pound alternate dumbell curls for 1 or 2 reps. Nothing is impossible, but at least this gives you some frame of reference of how difficult 180 pound preacher curl can be.
The WPA actually has a “Strict Curl” event, and the records for that seem a good place to start…Looks like a barbell 225 is about as high as they go. Of course this is a strictly judged event, rather than a messy gym-lift.
Griff-- the squat rack curl reference was just a smart ass remark about people who take up the rack to perform bicep curls.
PK-- He was very clear about saying that he used 180# DB. That’s why I was freaked out a litte bit.
I don’t want to get into a whole isolation vs. compound movement debate or anything. I was just curious to see what the most weight that anybody done or seen somebody do in form of biceps curl.
I have a book with a pic of Bud Jeffries doing a cross body hammer curl with 120# DBs.
thanks for the replies
K
[quote]bino wrote:
i used to work in a prison, and there was a guy that would curl 100# dbs for most of his hour in the rec yard. I don’t know how much more he could’ve done since the dbs only went up to 100, but I suspect he could’ve gotten somewhere close to 180–although he’d been at it for a couple decades.
(Then there was a riot and inmates used the weights as weapons. When it was over, the weights were taken away and replaced with cable machines.)
Amazing how some of those guys would develop. There was another guy in segregation, he would dip for an hour straight mon-fri. After a year and a half his chest and arms were freakishly huge–especially since the rest of him was undeveloped. [/quote]
the dipping guy, was that ALL bodyweight dips that whole time he did them or did he add weight somehow?
I get the free GNC magazine and they had a curl article where they listed what weights some of the pro bodybuilders use.
I don’t remember any of them approaching that weight and we are talking juiced to the gills BB’s weighing 300lbs in the off season.
ha. you never know.