Barbell Biceps Curl

Directions:

Preperation/body position

1. Load bar with correct weight. Put on safety collars.
2. Grasp bar with an underhand, shoulder width grip (or relevant width).
3. Keep torso erect and back straight, with upper arms and elbows stationary at your sides.

Excution/Movement

1. Just using flexion of the elbow, contract the bicep brachii and other elbow flexors to curl the bar up. Keep elbows stationary throughout exercise.
2. After peak contraction, slowly lower the bar to the start position, maintaining good body posture and stationary elbows.
3. Repeat for desired number of repetitions.

Comments

The bread and butter of biceps exercises, the barbell bicep curl. This is an effective exercise to stimulate the biceps brachii, brachialis, and brachioradialis.

The biceps curl can be performed with various widths of grip, in the hope to provide slightly different stimulus to the biceps brachii. Most will find a shoulder width grip sufficient, and the most comfortable on the wrist.

Remember what our goal is when performing the barbell biceps curl. We want to stimulate the biceps brachii (and other elbow flexor muscles), not relying on secondary muscles to aid with the lift, taking stress away from out target muscle. Perform the curls with perfect form and reap the awards. Keep elbows stationary during the entire movement, relying on just the flexion of the elbow to curl the weight. Do not cheat the weight up, bringing in anterior deltoid involvement. If you struggle to curl the weight up for the desired number of reps, simply lighten the weight.

For hypertrophy 6-12 reps will likely yield the best results, providing optimal time under tension. This will provide adequate stimulation for sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, and acute response to anabolic hormone concentrations, compared to that of lower rep ranges.