Barbell Curls! The most powerful exercise for growing biceps. Lifting the barbell for biceps while standing and its correct technique for lifting the barbell for biceps which muscles work

Complex biceps exercises are one of the most popular exercises known. There is not a single representative of a strong figure who would not dream of creating sculpted and strong arms. It is even more unlikely that there are those who have not tried the biceps at least once. And this is not surprising, since a large, inflated tubercle on the hand has always been considered a real asset and has been a sign of courage since ancient times, long before the period of Antiquity.

For centuries, many attempts by amateurs to pump up their arms have ended in fiasco. And only the truly hardworking discovered all the secrets of achieving huge biceps, which were not accepted to be shared. Nowadays, there is an overabundance of sports information and various techniques for properly playing sports. But still, the path to achieving beauty remains thorny. This is not surprising, since such a fairly simple task turns out to be a complex and overwhelming task, and what is technically easy does not give the desired effect.

Description and benefits

Among the mass of existing biceps exercises, most give preference to biceps curls. This basic strength exercise quite effectively and in a sports program gives good results in a short time.

However, this kind of power load has the maximum effect on the human body only in a complex program and only if the technique of performing power movements is observed, which we will talk about a little later.

How to perform

The correct technique for performing barbell lifts comes down to the following steps:

1. Stand in front of the barbell, grab the bar with a shoulder-width grip, palms facing forward, and elbows as close to your body as possible, but not touching it. The legs should also not be wider than the shoulders. Straighten, bend your knees slightly and tighten slightly.
2. In the accepted position, begin to lift the weight up, your shoulders should remain motionless. The movement should be performed solely through the forearm and biceps strength.
3. At the top of the movement, hold for 1 second, then slowly return to the starting position, and then repeat the movement as many times as necessary.

Important!The biceps barbell press must be accompanied by the appropriate breathing technique: when lowering the barbell, inhale, when raising the barbell, exhale.

Also, special attention should be paid to the grip width. By experimenting with the width of your grip, you can achieve a load on a specific sector of the biceps muscle. With a standard grip (hands as shoulder-width apart as possible), the muscle is loaded evenly, and by narrowing the grip, you can achieve an effect on the long biceps fascicle. With a wide grip, the emphasis is on a short bun.

Number of repetitions

This is the most philosophical aspect of this exercise. For centuries now, fierce discussions have been going on from all corners around the technique of correct repetitions. In the modern world, all experience in this matter has been clearly structured and categorized. It is known that the number of repetitions during an approach depends on the semantic content with which the process is filled.

For achievement maximum strength results professional athletes advise loading the apparatus in such a way that the athlete can complete 5 approaches and about 5 repetitions of movements. In the case when the athlete is faced with the task of pumping up a beautiful and large muscle, the number of approaches must be reduced to 3, but the number of repetitions increased to 10. Well, if the athlete is trying to reduce the amount of subcutaneous muscle and increase the definition of the arms, it is necessary to perform about 20 repetitions with no more than 3 approaches.

Straight or curved neck?

Today there is no conceptual difference between the shape of the bar and the effectiveness of performing loads on the arm muscles. Both the straight and curved shape of the projectile, provided the technique is followed, provides a decent effect. But not everything is so cloudy. The curved shape of the neck has several advantages over the straight one, which lie solely in the comfort of the process.
With a curved bar, working with large weights is more comfortable, especially for the wrists. Since it is shorter, the athlete does not need to provide additional effort to hold the massive projectile in his hands. This also has a positive effect on the width and correctness of the grip. The correct grip makes it possible to correctly and evenly load both hands, which helps to build ideal and symmetrical muscles.

A curved bar is also useful because it allows you to hold your wrists at a slight angle. This nuance eliminates the uncomfortable position of the body during the next approach, and also reduces by several times the percentage of possible injuries when working the arm muscles. This is especially important for beginner athletes, who for the most part have not achieved the correct body control skills when working in the gym with serious weights.

Important!After suffering injuries or sprains, during recovery you should use exclusively a curved bar. This will have a positive effect on the overall recovery processes of the body and will reduce the chances of secondary injuries to a minimum.

The described positive qualities of a curved bar do not mean that you should completely forget about a straight long bar. A long bar makes it possible to develop additional synergistic muscles that will help you achieve better results in the future. The ideal option for working in the gym would be to alternate between using straight and curved bars.

In addition to the correct technique, success in achieving biceps growth depends on many nuances. At first glance, they are insignificant, but it is the little secrets that help you achieve maximum effect in a short time and increase results tens of times faster than your colleagues.

Basic mistakes

Most novice athletes, after the first month of training in the gym, do the same thing: they chase weight to show their strength in front of friends and acquaintances. Excessive weight puts the athlete's body in an uncomfortable position. At the same time, muscles begin to work, which in no case should be involved when working with the bar, resulting in an incorrect and hunched figure.

The next thing for many is the restless desire to see themselves in the mirror, and especially their tense biceps muscle. When under load, turning the neck to the sides is dangerous due to injury, since the exercise indirectly involves the muscles of the shoulders and neck. During severe stress, a rotated neck position can even lead to displacement of the vertebrae.

Subtleties and secrets

Every self-respecting athlete who wants to pump up his biceps muscle should know some tricks that will help him feel better during exercise. To achieve maximum benefit from the time spent in the gym, you need follow councils:

1. Make movements clean. This means that while working with the barbell there should be no sudden jerks, rocking or bending to the sides.
2. The movement of the projectile from the hips should be carried out along an arc trajectory.
3. You need to raise the bar faster than lower it.
4. It is prohibited to throw the load; it is better to accompany it smoothly to the lowest point.
5. Straightening the arms at the bottom of the range of motion is ineffective; the arms should remain slightly bent.
6. After the approach, you need to stretch your biceps, this will help the muscle to relax faster.
7. When working with serious weights, use straps or a belt.

What can replace the exercise?

There is an opinion that there is no alternative to barbell lifts when working with biceps, since this exercise is considered basic, which implies its impeccable execution in any case. However, you can replace the barbell with dumbbells. The load should be performed either alternately on each upper limb, or simultaneously on two.

The “dark horse” that many people don’t think about is the simple bar. Reverse grip pull-ups have a very positive effect on the development of muscles in both the arms and the upper body as a whole. The main secret in this case is a narrow grip, since with a wide grip it is mainly the latissimus muscle that works.

The considerations and nuances for achieving ideal biceps make it clear that even a simple exercise must be carefully studied before performing it and, most importantly, worked out technically. While chasing the ideal body, it is important not to forget about the value of your own. Sports activity should be beneficial, helping to develop the body and spirit, and not chronic diseases of the musculoskeletal system.

Everyone wants to get big arms. By making any of these gross but easily correctable mistakes, you are derailing your training plan!

There are many variations of biceps curls, and each of them has advantages and disadvantages. But if you are eager to proclaim one true King of Bending, it should definitely be His Majesty, .

Among the contenders for the throne may be, which, among other things, are the rarest, and truly royal, for arm flexors. But when compared to the standing barbell lift, with its amazing stimulation of the entire musculature of the arms (as confirmed by EMG data) and the ability to overload a muscle group with royal weight, the pull-up must bow to its lord and master.

Unfortunately, a lot can go wrong when performing standing barbell curls. Here are the top 4 technical mistakes that can derail your biceps workout.

Mistake 1. Swing your body

Ever notice that you are stronger when lifting barbells while standing rather than sitting? Is it because you feel like an invincible warrior when you stand on two legs? It's possible. But it's more likely that you're using your knees and hips to generate extra force.

This effort helps you get past the sticking point of the biceps curl, which for most of us is about halfway through the curl. But by connecting other muscle groups to lifting the barbell, you take some of the load off your biceps. If you want to perform a real standing biceps curl, you need to stop any extraneous movements. By the way, this way you will protect your lower back from injury that can be caused by dirty equipment.

Additionally, if you take on a weight that you can't lift with clean technique even on the first rep, you're turning it into a multi-joint lift, which reduces stimulation of the biceps. If the biceps can't handle the load even on the first rep, the lower back and legs have no choice but to get involved.

However, if you are confident in doing 6-7 clean repetitions without the use of auxiliary muscles, you can finally add one or two more repetitions with a cheat (even if it is a small movement of the hips) to extend the set. Just keep your body swings to a minimum so that they only help you through muscle failure, but without putting extra stress on your lower back.

Error 2. Incomplete extension of the arms

Some athletes, in order to impress their colleagues in the iron shop, hang a bunch of weights on a barbell and then cheat in the eccentric phase of bending. Instead of fully extending their arms and lowering them down, they extend them partially and lean forward. From the outside it seems that they lowered the bar, but this is not so.

When this technique is used intentionally, it is called partial repetitions. But if you are trying to lift a barbell with an prohibitive weight, this is already cheating. Full range of motion training is much more effective for developing strength and mass. If possible, look at yourself in the mirror and make sure you fully extend your arms.

Mistake 3. Lifting the barbell as high as possible

You've probably heard that when performing biceps curls, the best thing to do is to "lift the bar as high as possible." Not really. Which is correct? It is correct to lift the barbell as high as possible, but only while your elbows remain pressed to your sides.

The classic standing biceps curl is performed with the elbows locked at the sides. Apart from raising and lowering the forearm, there should be no other movements. In an attempt to lift the barbell higher, many athletes push their elbows forward (consciously or not). At the same time, the front deltoids are included in the movement, and the amount of work that falls on the biceps is reduced.

And one moment. If you “raise the bar as high as possible,” your arms end up in a position in which your forearms seem to rest on your elbow joints. Thus, you create an unnecessary point of support (and rest, and this is another option for cheating) and for some time completely remove the load from the biceps.

Mistake 4. When training biceps, you don’t do the barbell lift first.

What is the main benefit of training any part of the body? The exercise you do first when you are full of energy and you are able to lift maximum weight. By performing biceps curls first, you have the opportunity to increase mechanical tension and microtrauma in the muscles, both of which are essential for muscle growth.

Don't be afraid to start your workout with heavier weights and fewer reps. Work at the lower end of the hypertrophy range (6-8 reps) when strength is still high. With this number of repetitions, you will get more stimulus for strength and size gains than if you do 10 repetitions with a lighter weight.

As you near the end of your workout, do another seated exercise. Movements in a sitting position are more isolating, so they are more difficult to cheat. And since we tend to use less weight in seated exercises than in standing exercises, it makes sense to put them at the end of the workout, when the fuel in the tanks is already running low.

So, we found out: with the right technique, standing barbell curls are truly the King of Curls.

There are several options for lifting the barbell for biceps, they differ:

• grip (narrow, medium, wide, top, bottom);
• position (sitting, standing);
• and the neck (straight, curved).

For some, one or the other option is more suitable, and everyone can choose their own technique for effective training.

Features of the exercise

There are no identical people, as well as the forms of their skeleton - bones and joints. Therefore, what suits one person may be uncomfortable for another. Designed for this special equipment– a curved bar, the grip of which can reduce the load on the joints. Also, you can choose a grip width that does not cause pain, in any case. For an effective workout there must be a variety of exercises.

What muscles work

• Core muscles which work when lifting the barbell for biceps overhand grip– brachioradialis and brachialis muscles, extensors of the wrist and fingers, and to a lesser extent – ​​biceps brachii.
• Muscles that work when lifting a barbell for biceps reverse grip– biceps brachii and brachialis muscle.

Technique for standing biceps exercises with a barbell

Exercise in progress with a straight bar and a medium grip:

1. Standing, feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent (relieve the load from the knees).
2. Grasp the bar from below, slightly wider than your shoulders.
3. Exhale: bend your arms, lifting the barbell using the efforts of your biceps.
4. Inhale: smoothly lower the barbell down.

It is important not to rock your body! To avoid this, you can rest your back against the wall, moving your feet slightly forward.

For work with heavy weight you can slightly tilt your body forward, slightly raising your elbows with the help of deltoids, for maximum contraction of the biceps.

Total 4x8-12.

Narrow grip

Works the long head of the biceps, implies bringing the palms closer to each other so that the hands are located on the front surface of the thighs (the joints of the hands are narrower than the shoulder joints).

Wide grip

Designed to train the short head of the biceps. The palms are located significantly wider than the shoulder joints so that the elbows are not pressed against the body.

Seated biceps curl technique

To simplify the technique and eliminate unnecessary body movements, you can perform barbell curls while sitting, leaning on the back of a vertical bench. Feature of the exercise in that the arms will not fully extend, it is performed without a relaxation phase - the biceps are always tense. Avoid jerking and swinging. Also, you can perform it with a different grip to work out all the bundles of the biceps brachii muscle.

1. Sitting on a bench, place your palms on the bar with an underhand grip, without touching your hips, leaving a small distance, about the size of a matchbox.
2. Exhale: lift the barbell onto the biceps, contracting the muscle as much as possible.
3. Inhale: lower smoothly without touching your hips.

Also in weight gain mode it is necessary to perform 4x8-12 times.

Reverse grip barbell curl

Exercise developed to strengthen the hands and forearms.

Athletes often have problems lifting and holding heavy weights precisely because of weak hands and forearms. Therefore, this exercise eliminates this problem.

1. Standing or sitting, grab the bar with an overhand grip, placing your fingers in a lock, thumbs underneath the bar.
2. Exhale: bend your arms and lift the barbell.
3. Inhale: lower smoothly.

Also 8-12 times with optimal weight, 4 sets.

EZ barbell curl

For elimination pain in the joints, you must use a curved bar. You can work with any grip (wide or narrow). Technique for lifting exercises with a straight bar, either standing or sitting. Therefore, feel your body, adjust your grip to your individual structure and feel. Follow 4x8-12 times.

• Important for gaining weight work with the right weight, so work with a weight that you will not lift more than 12 times, last rep until muscle failure.
• Try to progress, gradually increase the weight every week.

Diversify your biceps training with dumbbells, change your grips and techniques, then the result is guaranteed.

Barbell biceps press in video format

Hello friends! With the arrival of summer, many guys are thinking about big arms and how to pump them up?! The exercise that we will discuss with you is considered the best for building arms with the correct technique! In this issue we will talk about how to train biceps.

And let’s look at such a wonderful, beloved exercise asstanding biceps curl,execution technique.In my opinion, this is one of the most important exercises for biceps. Probably everyone who goes to the gym has seen how this exercise is performed! This exercise perfectly loads the forearm muscles, for those guys whose arm muscles are lagging behind in development.

At first glance, it seems that everything in arm training is simple! But as always there are pitfalls! And in practice it turns out that some people have difficulties and their hands grow slowly! This exercise will target the biceps muscles.

Today we will not go into anatomy, we will not talk for a long time. How are biceps structured, in what plane do they contract, etc. Let's talk about practice! Although! Initially, there are a number of genetic factors that affect our muscle growth! Talk less, work more! Go!

The biceps consists of two bundles, there is an internal bundle and there is an external bundle.

There is another great exercise for biceps, training the biceps on the Scott bench. You need to start your training by selecting an adequate weight of the equipment. Select the weight so that the weight is a warm-up one.

Don't jump straight to weights, you might just end up injuring yourself! Gradually add weight and decrease the number of repetitions, then you will be fine.

The elbows must be fixed, there should be no moving of the elbows back or forward! Most common exercise injury standing biceps curl is - back muscles! Such an injury occurs when athletes lift heavy weights, and since the weight is large, they begin to use cheating.

Translated from English (cheating). When you are just starting to train, do not cheat. Thus, you lighten the load on yourself, and it leaves your muscles. But on the contrary, they must be loaded so that they grow.

Let the professionals, whose hands are like this, cheat. They no longer know how to break through how to give stress to their muscles so that they grow or become stronger. And a person who exercises for his health, or for external data, must do it correctly, technically.

In order to avoid injury and effectively work out the muscle group. Try to perform the exercise without the help of your back. If done incorrectly, this exercise naturally becomes ineffective and even dangerous! Most beginners who come to the gym focus their attention on the biceps.

And you really should focus on training your whole body. Instead of hammering your biceps, it’s better to do pull-ups, and when you pull up, several muscles are involved in the work at once. What is more important for beginners!

Many of you are wondering if you can use a straight bar!? Yes and no! Lower your palms down, and then slowly turn them so that they face up. Look at your palms, if you can turn your palms so that they face up horizontally, then you can use a straight bar.

And if you were able to turn your palms and they turned out to be at an angle, then this is your maximum, and this limits the amplitude of movement in your joint! So it's better for you to use V shaped neck!

Lifting the barbell for the biceps loads the internal bundle. If you move your elbows back, the external beam will be more involved in the work. But most people who train do not move their elbows back. And they perform the exercise in the classical style, this is a position of the hands in which the elbows are slightly brought out in front.

Guys, remember! The emphasis in this exercise is on the inner bundle of biceps muscles! Let's talk about grip width. We can use a wide grip or a narrow grip. What will change?! The emphasis changes from the inside of the biceps to the outside.

Narrow grip- the load shifts accordingly to the outer part of the biceps

on the inner part of the biceps

It is best to use a medium grip, closer to a wide one. Because with such a grip you can increase the load more. Brushes must be fixed. The most correct position of the hands is the initial fixation in the lower position.

Execution technique

The legs must be slightly bent at the knees. Grasp the barbell with an underhand grip. Keep your hands outward, due to this the maximum load is removed from the forearm, and the load goes as much as possible to the biceps. If you have good wrist flexibility, you can use this option.

Feet should be shoulder width apart. Straighten your shoulders and arch your lower back. The arms are fully straightened, touching the hips with the barbell, and with the elbows motionless, bent and tense. Each time pressing at the top point on the biceps. In the starting position, the bar should be near your hips.

Bend your arms to shoulder level, doing this slowly, trying to feel the muscles working. Make sure that your hands do not cross the vertical line passing through your elbows. With this performance, the biceps remains constantly tense.

After you lift the bar, hold for a second and slowly and tensely extend your arms to the starting position.

By the way! This is a very good exercise for pumping up biceps on a pre-competition protein-carbohydrate diet. That's it guys! It was a standing biceps curl. We have discussed the technique of performing the exercise, I hope now you understand how to do it correctly.

And you will be able to progress and grow your biceps to their maximum size! This is where I will end the article, I hope you found it useful. I wish you all iron health and steel character! Thank you for your attention.

See you soon friends, all the best to you. Support the site, share the link on social networks, THANK YOU! This will help promote the site!

Best regards, admin

Standing barbell curls are the main exercise for training the biceps muscles. The muscles of the forearm and the anterior deltas of the shoulders assist in the work. The barbell curl is considered an isolation movement, but can be performed as a compound exercise. When the elbows, at the expense of the shoulders, rise slightly upward.

The target muscles for work are the biceps.

1. Cable biceps curl.
2. Lifting dumbbells while sitting.

Standing biceps curl with a barbell: video

1. Take the barbell in your hands with an underhand grip shoulder-width apart. Stand up straight. Legs slightly bent. You can tilt your body forward a little. The back is straight. This will be the starting position.
2. Raise the barbell by bending your elbows to the highest possible position. Elbows stand still, pointing down. As you lift, exhale.
3. Lower the barbell to the starting position while inhaling.
4. Repeat the movement in 3 sets of 15 repetitions. Rest between sets - 1-2 minutes.

Application of the exercise

For whom. Everyone from beginner to master.

Advice! For beginner girls, the best exercise is to lift dumbbells while standing on your biceps, since the weight of the barbells is often too much for them.

When. Barbell curls are best performed at the end of a workout. The exercise can be done on a back day or on a day when you train the whole body.

How many. Beginners should do 3 sets of 12-15 repetitions. For men to grow muscle fibers, they should do 4 sets of 8-10 times.

Possible options for lifting the barbell for biceps

1. Curling the arms with the barbell with an underhand grip is the main option. Read the full description of the exercise at the beginning of the article.
2. Lifting the barbell for biceps with an overhand grip (reverse grip).

It differs from the main version in the grip position. The bar must be taken from above. This approach allows you to remove the peak load from the biceps bundles, more engaging the muscles of the forearm, brachialis and brachioradialis muscles.

Standing overhead grip curl: video

Standing biceps curl with a narrow or wide grip

Standing biceps curl with a narrow or wide grip

The load relative to the biceps heads can be adjusted by the grip width.

• A narrow grip puts a peak load on the outer (long) head of the biceps.
• A wide grip trains the inner (short) head more.

The Ez bar helps you perform the exercise in a more correct way if you delve into the anatomy. The wrist joints are in a more favorable position. Suitable for those who find it difficult to perform the basic version of lifting the barbell due to discomfort in the wrist joints.

Raising the barbell for biceps by flexing the shoulder joint

Raising the barbell for biceps by flexing the shoulder joint

When flexion occurs at the shoulder joint, the exercise moves from an isolated movement to a basic movement. More non-target muscles are involved - shoulders and back.

• Pulling your elbows back shifts the load to the rear deltoid and upper back.
• Bringing your elbows forward puts more strain on the muscles of the anterior deltoids.

Advice! Choose different variations of barbell curls from workout to workout. This will increase the efficiency of working out all the muscle fibers of the biceps of the arms and the muscles of the assistants.

Common mistakes

1. Selecting a heavy weight. This brings the standing barbell curl exercise from the category of isolating exercises to the basic one. All muscles are involved, which interferes with working the target biceps of the arms.
2. Bend your back and move your body back when lifting. Keep your back straight. To remove stress from your lower back, keep your body leaning slightly forward.
3. Moving your elbows back and forth (Does not count as a mistake if you are aiming for the basic shoulder flexion exercise). Keep your elbows close to your body and pointing down.
4. Sharp and shortened movements. Perform the exercise smoothly. Select the full amplitude of movement that is comfortable for you personally.

• At the initial stage of training, perform movements concentrated, do not try to lift heavy weights. The task is to feel the biceps.
• Breathe correctly. When lifting, exhale; when lowering, inhale. Proper breathing and concentration on the muscles give a plus of 20-30% effectiveness.