How to do barbell curls the right way. Bending the arms with a barbell while standing: we form strong and enduring arms

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Genus. 1984 Trained since 1999. Trained since 2007. CCM in powerlifting. Champion of Russia and the South of Russia according to AWPC. Champion Krasnodar Territory according to IPF. 1 rank by weightlifting. 2-time winner of the championship of the Krasnodar Territory in t / a. Author of over 700 articles on fitness and amateur athleticism. Author and co-author of 5 books.

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Date of: 2012-05-29 Views: 1 087 771 Grade: 4.9

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Difficulty of execution- light

Bending the arms with a barbell while standing - video

Weight and reps for beginners

For men: 10 - 15 reps 15 - 20 kg. 2 - 3 approaches.
For women: 10 - 15 reps 10 - 12 kg. 2 - 3 approaches.

Load on muscle groups

The load is indicated on a 10-point scale ( total load summed up)

Description of the exercise

This classic exercise on the biceps. Remember: 1. Do not raise the bar all the way up. Do not bring it up to the chest a little. 2. Elbows, when lifting, it is better to pull forward a little. This will force the biceps to contract harder. 3. Lower the bar at least no faster than you raised it. A curved bar puts more stress on the inner head of the biceps.

Main chips

1. Grip width matters. Grip at shoulder width or slightly wider - the outer head of the biceps will work more. If the grip is narrower than the shoulders, then there will be more load on the inner head. 2. It is necessary to unbend the arms to the end. But to bend - not to the very end. The hand should remain slightly in front of the elbow. With this option, the biceps will be maximally tense at the top point. 3. It is advisable not to keep the elbows in place, but to bring them forward a little when lifting the barbell. But only a little. For a stronger contraction of the biceps. 4. Try not to sway or help yourself with your back or legs. This can only be done for the last 1-2 reps. The back should be straight and the shoulders pulled back. 5. Set the weight so that you can do at least 8 repetitions. 6. Contrary to popular belief, I do not consider barbell curls to be a basic exercise. The basic exercise for biceps is pull-ups. Therefore, if you want big and strong biceps, then be sure to include pull-ups in your workout.

Video Standing barbell lift for women

Analysis of the exercise

Anatomy of exercise: what muscles work?

Barbell curl for biceps ( reverse grip) is the most famous single-joint exercise used in bodybuilding to effective workout biceps muscles, increasing their strength and volume.

In the classic version this exercise a greater load falls on the lateral or internal head of the muscle, however, the degree of its involvement can be reduced in favor of the medial bundle if the technique of the main movement is corrected, for example, take a barbell narrow grip or practice pulling your elbows back.

In addition to the target muscle, the following are involved in the work:

Preparing for execution

If training the biceps immediately follows the training of the back, it is enough to perform 1 “preparatory” approach of the exercise with light weight, and then move on to the main block of work, since in this case the biceps muscle is already sufficiently warmed up.

In the event that arm training is carried out on a separate day, before performing the main sets of the exercise, it is recommended to stretch the biceps well and perform 2-3 warm-up sets of lifts.

Proper execution

At the top point, the hands should be in line with the elbows. The deviation of the hand from the vertical projection removes the load from the biceps and transfers it to the forearms.
Bringing the barbell to the top position is carried out by the power of the biceps muscles. The only exceptions are the finishing reps in the last heavy sets, when “cheating” is deliberately applied (the rule is true for experienced athletes). Beginners, on the other hand, need to perform barbell curls cleanly, keeping the body and legs motionless, making movements smoothly and under control.
Compliance with the breathing technique involves inhaling in the negative section of the amplitude and exhaling at the moment of bending the arms.
To ensure that the load falls solely on the biceps, it is important to avoid excessive forward elbows when lifting the barbell. In a technical performance, the elbows should be located on the sides of the body and remain fixed in all phases of the movement. Otherwise, the “peak” tension of the biceps cannot be achieved due to the involvement of the shoulders in the work.
Having completed the lifting of the neck, it is necessary to linger at the top point, straining the biceps with a conscious effort.
The use of excessively large scales reduces the total load on biceps, because in order to overcome them at the upper point of the amplitude, assisting muscles are forced to join in the work.
When the body is pulled back, the spinal muscles are connected to the weight lifting, and this is not only counterproductive for target pumping of the biceps, but also traumatic for the lower back. For beginners, to make it easier to control this moment and completely isolate the biceps, it is recommended to bend the arms with a barbell while standing against the wall.
Movement should occur only in the elbow joint (do not forget that this is a single-joint exercise), so lifting / turning the shoulders must be excluded. This not only reduces the effectiveness of the impact on the biceps, but also threatens injury. thoracic spine.

Mistakes

1. "Blockage" of the brush with the neck in the direction of the body.

2. Rocking and inertial "casting" of the projectile.

3. Lack of control over breathing technique.

4. Strong extension of the elbows forward at the moment of lifting the projectile.

5. Lack of voltage at the end point of the amplitude.

6. Using heavy weights.

7. Deviation of the body back.

8. Lifting the shoulders or pulling them back.

Most experienced athletes prefer to use the classic straight bar in the exercise. Although physiologically straight is considered less convenient than a curved neck, it nevertheless allows:

Inclusion in the program

- This basic exercise, aimed at developing strength and increasing the mass of the biceps. This exercise is very popular among bodybuilders, and like most others strength exercises, requires proper execution technique. In addition to the load on the biceps, when bending the arms with a barbell, the brachialis muscle (brachialis) also “gets” it.

Improper exercise can lead to an overload of the elbow and shoulder joints, as well as the lower back, which is fraught with injury.

There are many options for performing bending of the arms, which makes it possible to change the main emphasis of the load on different components of the muscles of the forearm (external and internal head of the biceps and shoulder muscle, which is located under the biceps):

By doing narrow grip barbell curls, the load will go to the outer head (it is responsible for the height of the biceps);
Grabbing the neck wide grip , You make the main emphasis on the load on the inner head (it is responsible for the thickness of the biceps);
By doing bending the arms in the elbows with a reverse grip, a fairly large part of the load is shifted to the shoulder muscle;
By doing barbell curls on scott bench, overload on the elbow joints is excluded and isolated work on the biceps takes place, which makes it possible to achieve clarity of muscle contours. In this case, you can use any grip - medium, wide or narrow, respectively, you can choose an accent for maximum load as you wish;
When exercising with curved neck(EZ-bar), the grip will be neutral and the main emphasis of the load will be on the external head and brachialis (shoulder muscle);
By doing bending the arms with an emphasis on a fixed surface, the load becomes more isolated, since the possibility of helping oneself by swinging the torso is excluded. This implementation is rather difficult.

You can also perform the exercise in a block simulator.
Initial position:
grab the barbell bottom grip(grip width depends on which part of the biceps you want to give maximum load);
straighten your arms completely;
put your feet shoulder-width apart and bend them slightly in knee joints;
Straighten your back, keep your spine in a neutral position and straighten your shoulders.

! To avoid injury in wrist joints the position of the wrists should be fixed in a neutral position, i.e. keep your wrists and arms in a straight line.

Execution technique:
being in the starting position, smoothly, while exhaling, bend your elbows and lift the barbell;
perform bending due to the biceps, do not throw the bar with the efforts of the whole body;
at the top of the movement, tensing your biceps as much as possible, pause for a second;
then slowly, while inhaling, lower the bar along the same trajectory and return to the starting position.

Don't help yourself with your body. Inertia is useless. Movement should be smooth and controlled.
Perform the exercise in full amplitude.
Watch your elbows. They should be pressed to the sides of the body. Don't let them move back or sideways. And also, do not bring them much forward: a strong forward thrust of the elbows includes the deltoid muscles and makes the exercise ineffective and traumatic.
Don't let yourself rest at the top of the movement. To keep the bicep tension in the upper range, do not throw the barbell high on the chest.

Watch the video on the topic "bending the arms with a barbell":

The Reverse Curl is an exercise commonly used to increase muscle mass in the arms. It gives a very good visual effect, thanks to it the muscles of the hands look voluminous, more embossed and more massive. Anatomically, the movement is similar to doing “hammers” with dumbbells, but for many athletes it is much more convenient, since it reduces the load on the elbow joints in lowest point amplitude. Due to its effectiveness and anatomical convenience, this exercise has gained well-deserved popularity in crossfit, bodybuilding and fitness.

What muscles are working?

Despite the fact that the well-known name of lifting the barbell for biceps with a reverse grip has firmly entrenched in the exercise, in contrast to the classic lifting of the barbell for biceps, the load on this muscle is much less here. Of course, the biceps work when lifting the bar in this way, but the lion's share of the work falls on the brachialis, brachiradialis and forearm muscles. Front beams act as stabilizers deltoid muscles and wrist flexors.

Benefits of doing the exercise

To make it easier for you to decide. it’s worth including this exercise in your training process, here are a few main arguments in which the benefits of performing a barbell lift for biceps with a reverse grip are most visible.

Performing this exercise technically correctly, you will significantly increase muscle mass hands As we already mentioned, the load on the biceps is much less here, and the lion's share of the load falls on the brachialis and muscles of the forearms. A well-developed brachialis visually "pushes" the biceps outward, making the arm larger and increasing the peak of the biceps.
Trained forearms improve grip and help us hold the barbell in a static, stationary position, such as when doing deadlifts or bent over rows.
You should also take into account the fact that the muscles of the hands are very fond of variety in training process. If you don't change your training program, then, most likely, very soon you will stop noticing progress in increasing mass and strength. With a similar stagnation, lifting the bar for biceps with a reverse grip helps well. Accustomed to monotonous work in one plane, the biceps and forearms will get a lot of stress, and in the long run this can lead to serious progress. Of course, provided that you correctly distribute the load, eat right and recover.

We recommend doing a barbell curl with a reverse grip on every 2-3 workouts in order to regularly “shock” the muscles. It is better to do this at the end of the arm workout - this way you can “finish off” already tired biceps and a positive result will not keep you waiting.

Contraindications for athletes

However, not all athletes can benefit from lifting the bar for biceps while standing with a reverse grip. And there are reasons for that. There are a number of contraindications to this exercise. First of all, these are lateral and medial epicondylitis and degenerative injuries of the elbow joints, ligaments and tendons. If you are experiencing these or similar problems, performing a barbell curl with a reverse grip will be accompanied by severe pain, even no warming and analgesic ointments will help. "Hammers" with dumbbells for such ailments are also not recommended.

You don’t have to endure this pain, it’s better to replace this exercise with something else, for example, lifting the biceps on the lower block with a rope handle. These exercises are similar in biomechanics, but moderately intense work with a rope handle should relieve you of pain in your elbows and forearms during the exercise.

Exercise technique

Grab the bar from the floor or from the racks. The weight of the bar should be moderate. The main thing in this exercise is not the lifted kilograms, but the concentration on the working muscles and the constant feeling of their tension. Any neck can be used: straight, EZ-shaped or W-shaped.
Grip the bar firmly at about shoulder width using a closed grip. Press your elbows to the body. The hand should be slightly bent upwards, while the knuckles should be turned towards you.
Gently lift the bar to your chest, concentrating on the contracting muscles and without changing the position of the elbows - they remain pressed to the body. Spreading your elbows to the sides or bringing them forward is traumatic. The rise must be accompanied by exhalation. At the top point, the angle at the elbow joint should slightly exceed the 90-degree mark.
Gently lower the bar down, inhaling and feeling our biceps and forearms stretch. It is not necessary to lower the bar all the way down and make a complete stop. It is better to work without pauses so that the load in the muscles is constant. So the blood supply will be much stronger, and you can achieve a good pump, even when working with small weights.

Below is a video of lifting the barbell for biceps with a reverse grip, which demonstrates the technique of performing the exercise in a very accessible way.

Technical subtleties of the exercise

Do not forget about warming up and increasing working weights according to the pyramid principle. Perform the first approach with an empty neck to get used to the movement and "catch" the contraction we need. muscle groups. And only then begin to gradually increase the weight of the projectile.
Work in a high rep range of 10 or more. Biceps and forearms respond best to medium weights and long time under load, we are not interested in strength records here.
Use a closed grip. Many athletes use an open grip, leaving thumb above the neck. This variation does exist, but it should be understood that with it you will have to concentrate more on not dropping the barbell from your hands, and not on working out the muscles.
If you experience discomfort in your hands when lifting, then your grip strength is not yet sufficiently developed. Reduce the weight of the bar in this exercise and be sure to do static exercises on grip strength (various holds, hanging on the bar, hanging on the towel) to increase the strength of your wrists.
The negative phase in arm training is extremely important. Lower the barbell slowly and smoothly, do not make any sudden movements.

Use on every new workout neck of a different shape. So you can work out everything muscle fibers avoiding the state of overtraining.

What will be required

The barbell curl is a very unique exercise. At correct technique execution, it is a single-joint insulating. At the same time, when working with large weights and using the Arnold cheating technique, it becomes multi-joint, with an evenly distributed load, which means that it can even be used as a base one.

Purpose of the exercise

Let's see what the purpose of such an exercise as bending the arms with a barbell.

Regardless of the execution technique, this exercise perfectly develops the biceps of the arm. In particular, it is with its help that the very notorious “banks” can be developed.

Advantages

Its main advantages are:

extremely simple technique;
great variability: can be performed standing, sitting, using the Scott bench;
the ability to work out not only the biceps, but also the brachialis lying under it;
versatility: lifts are used both during circular and during splits;
low injury risk.

And, most importantly, it is suitable even for those who have only recently crossed the threshold of the hall. In combination with basic rods, it can give a significant increase in volume and strength indicators.

Interesting fact: often newcomers to gym strenuously “pump the bitsukha”, neglecting the basic thrusts. Because of this, the result is very much reduced, which leads them to disappointment.

Remember, the growth of muscle groups of the biceps is possible only with preliminary fatigue with basic exercises.

What muscles are working?

Despite the apparent isolation, as in the case of pull-ups, reverse bending of the arms with a barbell, or rather, their negative phase, involves a huge number of muscles. Including:

front deltas (act as a stabilizer);
triceps;
lumbar muscles (used when holding the body in a vertical position);
abdominal and core muscles (body stabilization is used);
legs (static stress in mind, the increase in the weight of a person due to the projectile).

When bending the arms with a barbell with a reverse grip, the forearms are also additionally involved, since in this case the bar does not lie on the palm of your hand, but is held by the force of your fingers.

"Arnold's" version

Special mention deserves the bending of the arms with a barbell according to the technique of Arnold Schwarzenegger. This is a bicep curl using the back muscles and the correct deflection.

Execution features

The technique for performing this version of the exercise looks like this:

For work, the weight is taken, which correct technique can be done 1-2 times. For insurance, a weightlifting belt is worn.
The projectile rises with a jerk with the deviation of the body back and the convergence of the shoulder blades.
After that, the bar slowly lowers with a greater emphasis on the negative phase.

Muscles involved

Bending the arms with a barbell on the biceps according to the Schwartz technique radically changes the load on the muscles.

Pros and cons of the "Arnold" option

Is it worth using Arnold cheating in your workouts? Indeed, on the one hand, it is very traumatic and difficult exercise, requiring more concentration than the classic barbell lifting technique. On the other hand, the benefit from it is not as great as it seems.

Of course, for people who have been in the gym for less than one year, cheating will do more harm than good. But for people who are experiencing a power plateau in their lifting performance, this variation may be more effective than the “one step back, two forward” principle.

Multi-joint exercises do not affect overall height as much as others. basic combinations Whether it's bent over row, deadlift, squat or bench press.

Classic technique

Regardless of the chosen variation of the exercise, general principles techniques are always the same.

As for the selection of weight, in work on strength, such a projectile is selected with which it is possible to bend the arms with a barbell while standing more than 7 times in an approach in compliance with the technique. In work on speed-strength indicators - weight under 12-15 times. For pumping, any working weight with which the athlete can perform over 20 times at a high pace will do.

How to properly perform classic barbell curls:

The projectile must be taken with a grip with the palms to the top, at a distance of half a palm from the corrugated edge of the neck (approximately shoulder width).
At a fast pace, lift up to full flexion in the elbow joint.
Lower the projectile slowly and in a controlled manner without bringing it to the bottom.

Important aspects:

With any technique other than Arnold's, the body must remain upright;
The elbows do not fully extend in the reverse phase;
Working with w-neck, movements in the elbow joint should occur along one axis.
You can not press your hands to the body, or strongly bring your shoulders forward.

Exercise variations

There are a huge number of variations on the theme of execution, for example, bending the arms with a barbell while sitting. It allows you to fix the back, and reduce its influence on the rise, which will significantly improve strength indicators.

Exercise variation	Peculiarity	Benefit
Standing arm curl	Classic exercise	The easiest in terms of mastering technology
Sitting work	Classic exercise	Disables the ability to cheat using the hull.
Working with the Z-bar	Working out muscles at an unusual angle	Z-bar, needed professional athletes, to work out the biceps "for thickness"
Work on Scott's bench	Maximum isolation	A difficult variation that allows you to work out exclusively the biceps.
Wide grip	Classic exercise	Allows you to take more weight, and shift the load on the inner head
Overhead barbell curl	Used grip lock, palms facing down	Allows you to focus on the "peak" of the biceps, a significant load is eaten by the forearms and front deltas

Reverse bends deserve special mention. They, like the Arnold version, are designed to overcome the force barrier. There are two main variations of the exercise.

Using a partner. A person helps to pile the barbell to the top point, after which he secures during the negative phase.
Using a smith bench.

Negative lifts can be used as a finishing element in a striptease set, or they can be used to start the first "non-warm-up" set with them. After such a load, the muscles adapt to stress, which will allow you to raise the working weight by 10-15% during the session. But most importantly, due to this exercise, the maximum strength of the athlete is significantly developed.

To pump or not to pump?

There is a lot of controversy regarding the bending of the arms with a barbell on the Scott bench. . On the one hand, the use of a special simulator allows you to isolate the load as much as possible, concentrating it exclusively on the biceps.

On the other hand, such isolation, when other muscles are turned off, does not allow you to take significant weights. In this case, the only possible option is pumping with a small weight.

And it is at the expense of pumping that the greatest controversy occurs. Some experts in the field of physiology believe that biceps - like triceps, in view of their peculiarity, can only grow with multi-repetition sets.

Opponents of pumping believe that this only increases strength endurance, and helps to store glycogen, while the muscle is depleted faster, which does not allow you to constantly increase weight.
In fact, both points of view have a right to exist. With one small amendment - pumping, like the Scott bench, is not needed for athletes who have been in the gym for less than a year. Isolation - as well as improving the transport system in the muscles, it is only needed to simulate the “step back, two step forward” stage, or for those who want to work the muscles in maximum isolation.

Training complexes

deep squats - 50 times;

- 25 times;

lunges with weight - 10-12 times;

incomplete pull-ups - 30-40 times;

lifting the barbell for biceps according to the Arnold technique - to failure

Arnold cheating For professionals

high-intensity cardio - 20-30 minutes;
squats with weight at a high pace 20 times;
jumping without weight - 50 times;
push-ups - 20 times;
pull-ups with weight - 15 times;
lifting the bar for biceps - 20-25 times

Reverse grip lift

Interesting fact. Most CrossFit programs are built using the principles of the BB round robin system. In particular, at first there is a strong prefatigue basic muscles, after which the bending of the arms with the projectile is already used as an effective insulating.

conclusions

Whatever variation the athlete chooses, it is absolutely impossible to completely exclude lifting the barbell for biceps. After all, there are no more exercises (with the exception of block alternatives) that can maximize the use of the biceps flexor muscle. Even the row of the bar in an incline, implies the main emphasis on latissimus dorsi back.

And that is why, if you want really big and functional arms, which you will not be ashamed to show on the beach later, the only way is to lift the weight to the biceps.