Bicep Curls: It’s Not What You Do, It’s How You Do It!
Think back…way back. Back before the words fitness or strength training were even part of your vocabulary. Can you recall the first muscle you ever learned? Chances are it was the biceps…long considered by the general public to be the hallmark of weight lifting, strength, and, should I dare say… even masculinity. The exercise traditionally regarded as the key to biceps size was the barbell curl. This will be the focus of our biomechanical analysis this month.
The biceps is situated on the front of the upper arm and actually has two muscle bellies lying side by side, thus the name. Although the muscle bellies attach at two different points on the shoulder blade, they are joined at the distal ends by a common tendon of insertion. This tendon weaves between the two bones of the forearm and attaches on the back of the radius (outer of the two).
The biceps is one of three muscles responsible for flexing (bending) the elbow against resistance. It is impossible to totally “isolate” the biceps from the other two elbow flexors, but it is believed that the biceps can be “emphasized” by maintaining a supinated grip (palm up) during resisted elbow flexion or “curling” exercises. (Although they are working considerably during biceps movements, you may want to spend some time emphasizing these other elbow flexors as well, as part of your overall arm routine.)
When performing the barbell curl the first concern is to determine the grip width on the bar. Traditionally we are taught to use a “shoulder width grip”. Now, if you’ve ever attempted this on a regular basis and with considerable weight, you may have detected a sensation that, for lack of better terms, I describe as a “shin-splint” type pain deep within in the wrist or forearms. This is due to the fact that a shoulder width grip on a straight bar violates a key aspect of the skeletal anatomy…the carrying angle.
If you stand in front of a mirror with your arms at your sides and fully supinate (palms forward) you will notice that your hands do not hang at shoulder width. This lateral angle that appears at the elbow (outward bend of the forearm) is the carrying angle. To grasp a straight bar without recognizing and allowing for your individual carrying angle is a true violation of joint limits and function. Allowing for the carrying angle usually results in a grip that is only an inch or two wider than shoulder width. If you look in the mirror and it appears that your hands are eight inches wider than your shoulders, you may need to check the position of your upper arm. Did you turn your entire arm outward instead of just supinating (turning the palm)? If you’re looking at the inside of your upper arm and elbow in the mirror, then you probably moved more than just your hand/forearm.
Once you’ve got the bar in hand, the key is to define (and practice) the correct path of motion. Traditional instructions only make reference to the motion of the bar. “Curl the bar up to your chin and back down.” This overly simplistic, and actually misdirected teaching, leads to the two major mistakes that ultimately defeat biceps lovers everywhere.
1) Shoulder extension (elbow appears to move backwards) to help initiate the movement, and
2) Shoulder flexion (elbow appears to move forward) to help finish the movement. The result…less biceps involvement and more shoulder work. Now, let’s back up for a minute and examine this in common terms.
By only being concerned with the fact that the bar is traveling up and down you may miss the most important aspect of the entire exercise…which joints were moving.
Try this little experiment.
Stand with you side to a mirror and observe closely while slowly curling a light weight. Does your elbow/upper arm drift backward as you begin the curl? That’s really a shoulder joint motion called extension, and thanks to the posterior deltoid, you really haven’t used much biceps yet.
Now, as you continue, you’ll probably bring your entire arm forward…so far forward that your elbow/upper arm are now in front of your torso. As you finish the motion you’ll notice the elbow joint is directly beneath the bar with your forearm vertical. At this point the anterior deltoid is doing all the work because the weight is balanced over the elbow, therefore elbow joint muscles are not required. Oh sure, you can tighten them and really feel the squeeze, but there is virtually no load on them…and what was the point of the biceps exercise anyway? I thought it was to load/resist the biceps. If the goal was just to tighten without resistance, we didn’t need the weight.
Finally, as you lower the weight, does your elbow/upper arm just travel back behind your body again with very little actual change in the angle between your forearm and upper arm. And even though the weight is all the way down to your legs, is your elbow still bent and positioned behind your torso?
If any of the above was true, then it’s time to re-examine the mechanics and start really working the biceps. The key to the correct motion is to first identify the parts that should not move! You see, the goal is to have the biceps/elbow flexors control the weight, therefore, elbow motion is all that is desired. The shoulder joint should be static. Therefore your upper arm will not travel backward or forward at any point during the exercise. From the side you should detect an arc of travel of the bar as it moves around the axis at the elbow. When performed correctly, the bar is actually moving “forward,” then “up,” and then inward” in an arc from the bottom to the top of the motion, and the reverse on the return.
Many suggest that you “smash your arms against your sides” to prevent undesired shoulder motion. This is often more of a distraction than an assistance because it is a distortion of the alignment and does little to prevent forward/backward motion of the upper arm.
It should go without saying that if you sway at the hips or in the back in an attempt to move the weight, you have defeated the purpose and risk injury. Remember, just because the weight moves doesn’t mean the biceps are automatically benefiting.
So what about touching the chin? Isn’t that full range of motion? Actually, the only way to touch the chin is, as described above by moving the shoulder into flexion. This decreases the effort of the biceps as described. Full range of motion for the elbow in this exercise is achieved by simply bringing the forearm as close to the upper arm/biceps as possible without moving the upper arm in any direction.
If you wholeheartedly try this your biceps will be emphasized throughout the entire range as you maintain the application of resistance. Keep in mind that because you’re using the shoulder muscles to stabilize rather than to move the weight, the elbow flexors are working alone so you won’t be able to use as much weight as if you were swinging it around, but there will be more concentrated load directed at the biceps. Remember, it’s not the type of curl that matters, it’s how you do it that makes the difference.
Did you hear the one about…
The barbell curl is a mass building exercise.
The barbell curl is not the exclusive mass building biceps exercise it is often touted to be. Any exercise emphasizing the biceps will aid in mass development if it is performed correctly. Barbells, dumbbells, some machines, your biceps don’t know the difference.
Varying the grip width will work one head more.
Contrary to popular belief, varying the grip between wide and narrow will not work one head of the biceps more than the other. Due to their common tendon of insertion, and the fact that the elbow is a hinge joint, their ability to be emphasized separately is inconsequential.
EZ curl bars are great for biceps
Using an EZ curl bar allows a more comfortable grip, but remember, maintaining full supination is key if your goal is truly biceps emphasis. Curl bars are typically held in a manner that reduces supination by angling the palm inward slightly.
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