barbell curls

[Joe Black]

are they neccessary ?

I prefer to work with dumbells and the last few weeks have only used dumbells.

This is my workout for biceps.. Short and simple..

Incline seated alternate curls : 2 x 6-8
One handed Hammer curls : 2 x 6-8

Do i really need barbell curls or are dumbells suffucient. You always hear that barbell curls is the big mass builder, or is it just strict curling in general ?

Cheers :)

[MissAbs]

I vote put the barbell curls in. ;)

[gino]

I love barbell curls AND dumbell curls. I usually alternate from week to week. When you think about it though, it would make more sense that dumbell curls would be a better mass builder since more "stabilizer" muscles would be stimulated for balancing the dumbells vs the barbell. This may or may not apply in this situation, though...I'm not sure.

[The_Chicken_Daddy]

EZ/barbell curls 2 x 6-8
Seated alternate dumbell curls 2 x 6-8

The best two bicep mass-builders available IMO.

(if you're wondering about forearms, i believe forearms are hit enough with deads....)

:)

[Paul Stagg]

You don't NEED to use a barbell.

[chris mason]

This will be a thinking out loud post:

I think they are both excellent exercises for the upper arms. I think dumbells work better for people with larger hands and forearms because the grip becomes more of a factor. A barbell is counter-balanced and allows you to use more weight without limiting the range of motion. The dumbell uses more of the forearm and stabilizer muscles (for balance). Again, strictly for biceps mass I would go with the barbell curl. Of course, you can do both exercises.

[Scotty the Body]

I don't think you "need" to use barbell but I think I would.

[Life4ever]

Id pick Alternating dumbell curls, opposed to barbells...when doing alternating dumbell curls, turn you pinky towards your shoulder..Its all what you like best man.

[Edited by Life4ever on 01-19-2001 at 04:27 PM]

[Chris Rodgers]

I prefer BB curls, but both are good. I like to do BB curls followed by hammer curls and I'm done.

[Behemouth]

i hate all bicep excercises. but i think that BB curls are the best of them. i find that 3 sets of them and my bi's are just about dead.

[Joe Black]

I think I may go back to ez curls soon...

2 sets of ez and 2 sets of dumbell curls..

[The_Chicken_Daddy]

Originally posted by Hulk
I think I may go back to ez curls soon...

2 sets of ez and 2 sets of dumbell curls..



Be careful Mr Clough. You're thinking like a Geordie now...:D

[chris mason]

Hulk, for bicep developement ez-curls are inferior to straight-bar. The reason is the position of your wrist. One of the primary functions of the bicep is supination of the wrist. You can only achieve a full contraction of the biceps with a fully supinated wrist. If your wrist is not fully supinated then you cannot maximally stimulate the biceps. When you use the ez-curl bar your wrist is not in a fully supinated postition. When you perform straight-bar curls your wrist is fully supinated.

[Doc]

Yes, they are needed for mass. Your muscles require the extra lift you get from barbells. Look at someone who only uses D-bells and then look at someone who uses basics like the bar. Once you do that your WILL see the difference, plus you really need to do more 4 sets of 6-8 just won't do it. Unless your Mike Menzter(now I feel sick) you have to actually work out to get muscle. Do Barbell curls 4 sets and incline d-bells 3 sets but tweak out your wrist, then do cable curls for 4 sets. That will work well.
Doc

[chris mason]

Doc, you're dead wrong. I have a friend who uses only dumbells and has better arms than some pros. You are correct that the barbell is more effective, but dumbells are a form of progressive resistance and therefore will stimulate growth if used properly. I am certainly not Mike Mentzer, but I grow quite well with 3 heavy sets for bis. I have many friends who also train with 5 sets or less for bis and have very large arms. If you don't take steroids, you should not do more than 3-4 total sets for bis. There are the occasional genetic freak who can get away with doing more, but even they would benefit from less.

[Doc]

And how long has your friend been training. You can't tell me he didn't do barbell curls to begin.
Doc

[chris mason]

He's been training for about 15 years. His name is Cliff Allen and he lives in AZ. He has never done barbell curls for any length of time. He can do seated dumbell curls with 80lb dumbells in extremely strict fashion.

[Doc]

15 years and never done then what about preacher. I'm not trying to say you must but to put on size you really can't beat them. Also that's the thing, most people do barbell at first then transfet to d-bell. After 15 years I would hope he has great arms. Like you said the wrist is sup. and really helps the bi's grow.
Taste great.....
Doc

[David]

I think that the BB-curl and preacher curl are the best biceps exercises.
What about close grip pull-ups - does anyone even use them anymore??? I think that pulling up your own body weight with your biceps would be a good exercise.... :confused:

Aar, Hulk - I also do 4 sets for biceps, Matey. ;)

[Doc]

Closegrip pull ups are great actually. I do close pulldowns but that's me, used to do them all the time but not anymore. I don't know everything but being an exercise physiologist allows me to have a little info so he goes, I don't know anyone that would rather do D-curls instead of barbell curls for muscle size. Later on in lifting yes but not for a couple years. It just doesn't allow the muscle enough stimulation to grow to it's fullest. Sorry but that's my 2 cents. Hell I've been lifting for years and still prefer barbell to D's. Stick with the basics and you can't lose.
Doc

[chris mason]

Originally posted by Doc
Closegrip pull ups are great actually. I do close pulldowns but that's me, used to do them all the time but not anymore. I don't know everything but being an exercise physiologist allows me to have a little info so he goes, I don't know anyone that would rather do D-curls instead of barbell curls for muscle size. Later on in lifting yes but not for a couple years. It just doesn't allow the muscle enough stimulation to grow to it's fullest. Sorry but that's my 2 cents. Hell I've been lifting for years and still prefer barbell to D's. Stick with the basics and you can't lose.
Doc


As a physiologist, how do you explain that "it doesn't allow the muscle enough stimulation to grow to its fullest" assuming that the individual kept his arm supinated throughout the movement. Again, I prefer barbell curls, but you said that "yes they are needed for mass". How can you say such a thing. Does you physiology handbook state that growth only occurs with barbells. I was responding to this ridiculous statement.

[David]

I also do close-grip pulldowns, but I think of it as a back exercise, by that I mean that I pull with my back while using my arms as "hooks".

I will agree with you on one thing, though - keeping it simple.

BB curls are the best biceps exercise there is.
People are always trying to make it more confusing then it really is.

Until you can curl 100lbs with a BB, I wouldnt worry much about other biceps exercises.

[Doc]

Actually a study done in college showed that the muscles in the arm where greater stimulated by a movement such as a barbell curl or close grip bench as opposed to a standing dumbbell curl or seated overhead extension. This is simply because using both arms allows for better balance which allows you to better focus on the operating muscle. Sorry. Again I'm not saying its the only way but look at everyone with 20+ inch arms and find one who has only done dumbbell curls. I'll find the study and send it to you.

[chris mason]

As long as you are saying it is not the only way. I myself said that I believe you get better stimulation from the barbell than the dumbell, but that doesn't mean dumbells won't work.

[Doc]

So are we friends again. Hope this didn't come across harsh but I'm blunt. So how about the superbowl, anyone going.
Doc

[Maki Riddington]

I like concentration curls.

[Todd]

Recently when I've been doing barbell curls my forearms have been killing me. Does this happen to anyone else? I love the dumbell curls though. I keep finding myself leaning back on barbell curls.

[Preacher]

IMHO, you're better off using the Barbell Curl simply because when fatigue begins to set in, your shoulders will tilt forward by some extent, thus applying more tension on your anteriors .. you'll see more striations/cuts in the anteriors with people who do BB curls instead of DB curls.

Then again, I like BB curls ... anyone up for some 21's ?

[Albert]

The argument for primarily using Bar Curls vs. Dumbbells is a sound one. Single muscle movements consume nearly twice the energy and twice the time of the dual movement, which is why isolation exercises are so often the culprit in overtraining and stalled progress. Provided you only have so much effective energy stores & time (research indicates that overload training becomes counterproductive after a certain time frame) it makes sense to perform the dual and compound movements for a particular bodypart. Personally, I do both because I feel the DB's hit parts of my arms(which is a lagging bodypart for me) the bar curls don't ----however, I would never omit the bar curls because my primary goal is overall size and strength. In fact, I will mix in a 6-8 week cycle where I do very little direct arm work at all to keep my arms growing.

If you are primarily focusing on Compound Movements, and you are mixing some the single muscle movements to beef up a bodypart you are focusing on, more power to you----but don't take this concept overboard.

[Albert]

"Recently when I've been doing barbell curls my forearms have been killing me. Does this happen to anyone else? I love the dumbell curls though. I keep finding myself leaning back on barbell curls."

Todd,
This occurs when you perform the Bar curls incorrectly. You are, most likely, trying to take the bar to your shoulders, which is knocking you back on your heels. Perform them like this: shoulders back, back straight, elbows tucked, legs shoulder width apart. Bring the weight up to where you forearms and biceps touch, and no further. There should be constant tension at the top of the movement (don't pull your palms in and try to rest at the top). Make sure the weight you use allows you to do them without swaying or compromising form.
Also, try using a straight bar, the EZ bar can lead to bad form and some feel it doesn't work the bicep as directly or as fully.

[Shaggy]

Originally posted by Todd
Recently when I've been doing barbell curls my forearms have been killing me. Does this happen to anyone else? I love the dumbell curls though. I keep finding myself leaning back on barbell curls.

You could always use a EZ bar as opposed to the straight bar, less stress on the wrists with this I've found. Also to stop yourself cheating do your curls with your back flat up against a wall or other solid structure....this will stop you swinging.

[Adam]

To stop from cheating i find puttin my tows on the edge of a 1/2" matt and flexin abs good helps alot.

[chris mason]

You could always use a EZ bar as opposed to the straight bar, less stress on the wrists with this I've found.



Easy bar curls are actually inferior to straight bar curls for stressing the biceps. They put the bicep is a weak position because the wrist is not fully supinated (rotated in a clockwise direction for the right hand). Your muscles are at their strongest in the fully contracted position and you cannot reach this position unless your wrist is fully supinated.

[The_Chicken_Daddy]

Originally posted by chris mason
Easy bar curls are actually inferior to straight bar curls for stressing the biceps. They put the bicep is a weak position because the wrist is not fully supinated (rotated in a clockwise direction for the right hand). Your muscles are at their strongest in the fully contracted position and you cannot reach this position unless your wrist is fully supinated.

Because of your advice i started using barbell's as opposed to EZ bars for curling.

I have noticed the difference already, thank you.:)

[Cackerot69]

just fuking curl.

[Ronan]

I have tried the following method when training biceps and triceps for just 2 weeks and my arms have thickened up some:

biceps total sets 1
I load up the olympic stright bar with lotsa of small plates so I can do about 6 drop sets with no rest in between until I cant even rep the bar itself, just keep on pumpin out the reps in strict form, once you hit failure take two small plates of and keep going etc Its the hardest thing I have ever done for biceps

For tris I do exactly the same thing using EZ tricep extensions for just one large drop set


No need for volume if you can generate enough intensity

[Shaggy]

Easy bar curls are actually inferior to straight bar curls for stressing the biceps. They put the bicep is a weak position because the wrist is not fully supinated (rotated in a clockwise direction for the right hand). Your muscles are at their strongest in the fully contracted position and you cannot reach this position unless your wrist is fully supinated.

Yeh I agree...

But my point was made because the guys forearms were givin' him grief and personally I've found that the EZ bar is less stressful on the wrists and forearms than the straight bar.

Just my two cents...

[Teebone]

I like to change up my routine every few weeks. I'll do dumbells a coule weeks, then barbells, then hammer curls, etc..don't know whats best. But I figure you can't go wrong changing up your routine once in awhile. I'm still gaining so, I'm sticking to it. :)

[El Kelio]

I would always keep as a basic the BB Curls ( 4 sets ) and do DB's or Preacher too ( 2 or 3 sets more ).



----------------------------
Someday...
Keep pumping !

[breeze]

I am not going to argue which is better straight bar curls or ez bar curls. However, in terms of strength gains, there is no difference between the two. You are going to get just as strong using the same weight and reps with a straight bar or an ez curl bar. I use both bars in my curls, and my gains are the same on both bars. Some people have weak wrist and forearms relative to their biceps; so, using an ez curls bar allows them to curl more weigh or do more reps.

[kat]

I use a straight barbell cause I didnt want anything to do with any peice of equipment that had the word EZ in it.

[gino]

LISTEN TO CACKEROT. That's good, sound advice and probably the best I've seen in this thread so far.

[Edited by gino on 02-01-2001 at 12:49 PM]