Standing biceps curl is one of the most popular exercises for the development of this muscle group. It uses the entire biceps and helps to load the muscles properly. The exercise is quite easy to learn, which is the reason for its popularity and effectiveness. However, novice athletes need to pay attention to the correct technique for performing this movement in order to avoid mistakes and increase the effectiveness of training.

Biceps: anatomical information

In everyday life, lifting weights solely using the arm muscles is practically not done. It seems more rational to use the shoulders, back, and legs, so lifting the biceps is not a habitual movement.

If you pay attention to the anatomy, you will notice that the biceps is connected to the triceps, as well as the muscles of the back and shoulders, so any weight lifting is carried out through the joint efforts of various muscle groups.

The second name for biceps is biceps shoulder, since it consists of two heads: long and short. The long head of the biceps starts from the so-called supraglenoid scapular tubercle, to which the tendon is attached, then passes through the humerus and is located in the intertubercular groove. The second head, which is called short, is located from the coracoid scapular process.

The main purpose of the biceps is to bend the arms at the elbow and shoulder joint.

Technique for lifting barbells for biceps

Proper technique for performing barbell curls is key. Otherwise, the athlete risks injury or simply experiencing a lack of progress. The exercise must be performed as follows:

1. The athlete takes the barbell in his hands, the grip is slightly wider than shoulder width. In this case, it is allowed various options: for example, for variety and to shift the load, you can use a wider or narrower grip, a “crooked” bar, and so on.
2. Feet are shoulder-width apart, back straight. The grip is such that your palms face up. Starting position - barbell from below, on straightened arms.
3. The athlete bends his arms at the elbows, while at the top point a slight lifting of the elbows is allowed, about a couple of centimeters.
4. The bar moves down to its original position.

Your back should always be straight while performing the exercise. To go up, inhale, and to return to the starting point, exhale.

The correct weight, as well as the right number of approaches and repetitions, will be of fundamental importance. For example, when working for weight, beginners perform approximately 4 approaches, each from 8 to 12 repetitions, but the load can be cycled, for example, including more “strength” days, lifting for 6 repetitions, or vice versa, adding repetitions up to 15–20 s the goal is to “clog” the muscles.

When losing weight and cutting, the exercise is performed with a large number of repetitions, from 15–20, and is also combined with other movements, for example, used in supersets and circuit training.

Video: Technique for performing biceps curls while standing

Raising the barbell on a Scott bench

Another option for performing the exercise is to use the so-called Scott bench. This is a special simulator that allows you to fix your arms, which provides more isolated movement and allows you to maximally load the biceps, eliminating the load from other muscle groups. Accordingly, performing such an exercise seems more difficult, and the appropriate weight must be selected.

When using a bench, the technique for performing the movement will look like this:

1. It is necessary to adjust the bench according to your own height and limb length.
2. The hands are placed on a special lining so that the triceps rests on it, and the arms are lowered as much as possible.
3. Next, the athlete takes the barbell from a special rack or accepts it from the server. Starting position - arms are lowered down, but not fully extended at the elbows.
4. The athlete bends his elbows, pauses briefly at the top, then slowly straightens his arms. However, they should never straighten completely. To rise - inhale, to extend - exhale.

Video: Biceps on the Scott bench. Exercise technique

When performing the exercise, you should follow some recommendations:

• You need to pay special attention to warming up. The most traumatic area in this case is the elbows.
• Should start with light weight and increase it gradually as you master the technique.
• Standing biceps curl is basic exercise, which is universal. Beginners can limit themselves to just this, gradually incorporating new biceps movements.
• When using a Scott bench it is not recommended to use heavy weight and low-repetition approaches.
• If an athlete devotes a separate day to pumping up his arms, he can combine biceps training with triceps and perform various supersets.
• Athletes who have problems with the spine can use an athletic belt.
• The movement must be performed straight, “swinging” is not allowed. You can rest your back against the wall, then the movement will always be straight.

Barbell curl records

As a rule, the biceps curl, unlike the bench press, is not regarded as a strength exercise. However, sometimes specific competitions are held in which athletes try to find out which of them can lift the most weight in a given way. Currently there are the following records:

• Derek Poundstone from the USA lifted the weight to 138 kg.
• CC Fletcher, also from America, lifted a barbell weighing 140 kg.
• Denis Tsyplenkov from Russia lifted a barbell of 160 kg.

At the same time, there are many more records in various weight categories, established at a variety of official and unofficial competitions.

The biceps curl is one of the basic exercises for developing massive and strong hands. It is performed by both beginners and experienced athletes. It's fairly easy to learn, but technique will be crucial. Athletes must pay close attention to the rules of execution in order to protect themselves from possible injuries and increase the effectiveness of training.

If you ask a professional trainer the question “why don’t your biceps grow,” the answer will almost always be: do more basic exercises. And it's not even that squats or deadlift- these are the best hormonal stimulants, without which, as is known, muscle mass not to be seen. Everything is much simpler.

Standing biceps curl - best exercise for the biceps muscle. This is an axiom. The more weight in this basic arm exercise that can be lifted and then lowered with just the strength of the biceps, the greater its mass. But to lift a heavy barbell while loading only your arms and nothing else, you need strong core muscles. This is the name given to the complex of muscles responsible for stabilizing the pelvis, hips and spine.

The main ones are the abs, back extensors, hamstrings and gluteal muscles. The strength and endurance of small assistant muscles is a determining factor in the effectiveness of the basic biceps exercise, because if they are weak, it will not be possible to lift, hold and slowly lower a heavy barbell. That's why biceps don't grow. Squats, deadlifts and presses are exactly the exercises that develop small muscles, increasing their strength potential. To build big biceps, you need to listen to professionals and regularly do basic exercises with free weights.

1. Standing biceps curl

What's special: difficulty isolating the biceps as a target muscle

Lifting a barbell and bending your elbows are two different dynamic processes. The secret of creation big biceps lies in the ability to move a projectile only by bending the arms, without the help of large core muscles. To get the most out of this exercise, the biceps muscle must be isolated to the exclusion of other muscle groups.

The standing biceps curl technique has five important features. Try to take them into account next time and the question of why your biceps isn’t growing will no longer torment you:

1. Elbows. When performing this basic biceps exercise, keep your elbows close to your body throughout the entire set. There is no need to lift the barbell high. The higher it rises, the more load the front delta takes on.
2. Brushes. When bending your hands towards yourself, lifting the barbell is carried out due to the efforts of the muscles of the forearms. To pump up your biceps, you need to make them work as hard as they can. And for this, the hands must be kept motionless.
3. Grif. Using a straight barbell does not promise any advantage; it only overstrains the wrist joints. The curved bar allows you to avoid discomfort, increasing your level of concentration.
4. Rep range. The formula “the average number of repetitions gives mass” does not work for everyone. 8-10 repetitions per set helps to gain arm mass for those people whose muscles are dominated by white, fast-twitch fibers. For other athletes, the greatest benefits are given by biceps exercises performed in the range of 12, 15 and even 20 repetitions per set.
5. Pause. The biceps muscle experiences the greatest load when it reaches an angle of 90°. By consciously holding the barbell at the top point of the trajectory, you can significantly increase the load on it.

These small but important nuances of the technique of performing a basic biceps exercise significantly increase its effectiveness. The number of weights on the barbell is a secondary issue; it determines the amount of time the muscles spend under load.

Conclusion: standing biceps curls are the main exercise for gaining arm mass. But it gives an effect if the ideal execution technique is observed.

2. Barbell curls with cheating

What's special: there is no lifting phase, involvement of large muscle groups in the work, use of greater working weight

It may seem that this biceps exercise is a complete copy of the classic version, but this is not at all true. - this is a method of complicating biceps training, which consists in the fact that the barbell is lifted upward using inertia. That is, the barbell must be thrown to the top point of the trajectory with the effort of the whole body, and lowered using the muscles of the arms.

Lifting a barbell with cheating is one of the most effective ways to accelerate gaining arm mass, but only if two conditions are met:

1. For muscle growth, the negative phase is much more important than the positive phase. This means you need to lower the barbell slowly.
2. The last repetitions stimulate muscle hypertrophy more than the first. This means: the speed of lowering the projectile must be slowed down with each new repetition.

Conclusion: training biceps with cheating is not just swinging a heavy barbell, but a complex and painful way to pump your arms in the gym. But the result is worth it.

3. Scott Bench Rise

What's special: lengthwise stretch of the biceps brachii muscle

This way of creating big biceps was born thanks to Larry Scott, the legendary bodybuilder, the first Olympia champion. Conventional methods of lifting barbells did not give him the desired impact, so he came up with his own, unusual way to pump up his biceps.

The peculiarity of this exercise is a high degree of isolation, as well as an increase in the load on the lower biceps. But even such an old exercise has a very important nuance.

IMPORTANT: in 2010, research was conducted on the topic of definition. It turned out that when lifting the barbell on a Scott bench, the biceps receive the greatest load, provided that the angle of the music stand is 90°.

This means that working on a bench with a standard 45° incline is less effective. Changing this parameter is the key to creating bigger biceps.

Conclusion: curling biceps on a Scott bench is great exercise. But the return from it will be higher if you increase the angle of inclination of the support.

4. Seated biceps curl

What's special: shortened range of motion, high degree of involvement of the biceps muscles in work

The idea of ​​this method of pumping biceps is to remove the lower and upper “dead” points of the trajectory from lifting the barbell. The muscles have to work without relaxing, since it is impossible to lower the barbell by straightening your arms completely. And lifting them up, shifting the load to the front delta, also does not work. The biceps is constantly in a tense state, which is a strong stress factor for it.

IMPORTANT: When performing a barbell curl while sitting, you can and even need to complete each approach with several partial repetitions. This will help load the biceps even more.

how to pump up biceps video:

Conclusion: do not let the muscles relax - this is the main leitmotif of this biceps exercise. You cannot lower the barbell to your knees until the end of the approach.

5. Barbell curl with elbows pulled back

What's special: unusual position of the arms, work in partial amplitude, load on the upper segment

The author of this exercise is the legendary Vincent Gironda, former coach Arnold Schwarzenegger. In addition to this unusual way to pump biceps with a barbell, he also came up with sissy squats for the legs. The unusual thing about lifting the barbell for biceps with the elbows pulled back is that the arms are pulled back behind the body and remain there throughout the entire hike. The barbell slides across the chest, moving in a strictly vertical plane.

At its core, the biceps exercise from Gironda is the exact opposite of lifting the barbell on the bench of Scott, who was also his student. In the exercise on the music stand, the biceps works in an extended position, and when lifting with the elbows pulled back, in a shortened position.

biceps exercise video:

Lifting on the Scott bench focuses on the bottom of the biceps, stretching it along the length, and lifting the Gironda loads it top part. Professionals often use lifting with the elbows pulled back as a “finishing” exercise, thus closing their biceps training complex. Moreover, they do this both with a barbell and in.

Conclusion: The arm exercise created by Vince Gironda is a unique way to build your biceps by targeting the upper part of the biceps. Ideal as the closing exercise of a complex.

6. Lifting the barbell onto the biceps, with the elbows resting on the chest. Biceps isolator

What's special: high degree of isolation, increased load on the lower biceps muscle

The effectiveness of this version is based on the exclusion of all other muscles except the biceps itself. You can perform the exercise either simply by placing your hands on your chest, or using a device called an Arm blaster.

At the same time, the grip of the bar becomes narrower, and the load shifts from the external to the internal biceps bundle. It is impossible to lower the barbell all the way down, so the lower biceps have to do the most work.

It is not advisable to use cheating in this basic biceps exercise because elbow joints, are in a stationary position and such a load will become traumatic for them.

Conclusion: The biceps isolator is a simple device that turns a basic biceps exercise into a cleaner and very effective one.

7. Concentrated biceps curl with barbell

What's special: Very narrow setting hands, work in a shortened range, peak muscle tension

This is one of the most, although it used to be quite popular. It does not serve so much for gaining biceps mass, how much to give it height, since the tension of the biceps at the top point of the trajectory makes the load on it peak.

The shape of muscles is given to us by nature and we cannot change it. But performing concentrated barbell curls for those lucky enough to have a high peak helps push it to the limit.

pumping biceps video:

For ordinary people, this exercise is useful because a narrow grip shifts the load to the inner, short bundle of the biceps, improving the overall shape of the biceps brachii muscle. And the shortened lifting trajectory further enhances the effect.

Conclusion: it makes sense to periodically include concentrated barbell curls in your arm training program to improve their shape.

8. Lying biceps curl

What's special: highest degree of insulation

According to its biomechanics, this method of construction big biceps is a complete twin of the previous exercise. The degree of isolation and the load on the biceps itself are even higher. The movement also aims to improve the shape of the biceps brachii muscle by developing the peak of the biceps.

Its effectiveness is based on the ability to concentrate efforts on involving muscles in work. The top point of the lift is the most important part of the amplitude.

biceps training video:

Conscious holding of the barbell at this point and additional muscle tension allows you to radically increase the load on the biceps.

Conclusion: The bench lift is another forming exercise designed to build the peak of the biceps.

Conclusion

These are not all the biceps exercises with a barbell that can be performed in the gym. There are many variations of training the biceps muscle. They should also be included periodically in your training program. Regular updating of the arsenal of exercises benefits both beginners and professionals. This allows you to create muscles that are not only large, but also beautiful in shape.

I hope my story about 8 ways to perform biceps exercises with a barbell will be useful to you and will allow you to become the owner of a truly big hands. May the force be with you. And the mass!

Curling with a barbell is a basic movement, therefore, in creating biceps, priority is given to them: put them first in the training complex.

Biceps, as a muscle consisting mainly of slow muscle fibers, loves “endurance” training - moderate weights, high number of repetitions and pumping. But this does not mean that you will be able to build a “manual” mass by performing lifts exclusively in a high-repetition style. The most ideal strategy: cycling loads and working in polar modes for 5-6, 10-12 and 15-20 repetitions in at least 2-3 sets. There are no “dummy” jobs here!

Well, the next burning question is always: what weights to use?

The good news is that straight barbell curls will allow you to use significantly more weight than all other targeted exercises. The bad: it’s important not to overdo it.

If you overestimate your own strength, you will have to “throw” the barbell onto your chest - the work of the biceps in this case is minimal, and the exercise itself is meaningless. Decide on a “feasible” weight that allows you to perform a strictly controlled movement when performing a barbell curl. Well, then, following the good bodybuilding tradition, keep the progression of the scales.

Grip. With a wide grip, the greatest load falls on the short head of the biceps, and with a narrow grip, the greatest load falls on the short head of the biceps. long head. With a reverse grip on a straight bar, the palms are completely turned up. To make it more comfortable to hold, you will need a figured bar.

Body position. You need to stand straight. Don't try to use your torso to give additional momentum to the movement. A slight forward lean makes the initial phase of the repetition easier. A slight tilt of the body back makes the final phase of the repetition easier.

Range of motion. If you don't fully straighten your elbows in the lower position, you can keep the load on your biceps.

Trajectory of movement. The barbell should move in an arc in close proximity to the chest. To maximally load the biceps, the movement should occur at the elbow, not the shoulder joint.

Curly neck. When using a figured bar, the grip changes. At the same time, the palms are not completely turned up, but are in a more comfortable, almost neutral position. This grip allows you to transfer the load to the long head of the biceps and brachialis muscle without creating unnecessary tension in the wrist joint.

Make sure to keep your upper body still as you lift the weight. Rocking your body and arching your back will greatly reduce the effectiveness of the exercise. Ensure that the barbell is completely lowered (arms should be completely lowered) after you have raised it to the top point.

Execution technique

• Grab the barbell with a reverse medium grip and hold it down with your arms outstretched.
• Bend your elbows and lift the barbell to shoulder level.
• Lower the bar to the starting position.

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

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

There are many options for performing arm curls, which makes it possible to change the main emphasis of the load on different components of the forearm muscles (the outer and inner heads of the biceps and the brachialis muscle, which is located under the biceps):

• By doing barbell curls narrow grip , the load will go to the outer head (it is responsible for the height of the biceps);
• Grasping the fretboard wide grip , You place the main emphasis on the load on the inner head (it is responsible for the thickness of the biceps);
• By doing elbow bending reverse grip , quite a large part of the load is shifted to the shoulder muscle;
• By doing curls with a barbell on a Scott bench, overload on the elbow joints is eliminated and isolated work on the biceps occurs, which allows you to achieve clear muscle contours. In this case, you can use any grip - medium, wide or narrow, respectively, you can choose the accent for maximum load as you wish;
• When performing the exercise 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 (brachial muscle);
• By doing bending the arms with emphasis on a stationary surface, the load becomes more isolated, since the possibility of helping oneself by rocking the body is eliminated. This implementation option is quite difficult.

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

! To avoid injuries to the 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, as you exhale, bend your elbows and lift the barbell;
do the bending using your biceps, do not throw the barbell with the efforts of your whole body;
at the top point of the movement, tensing your biceps as much as possible, pause for a second;
then smoothly, 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. Movements should be smooth and controlled.
Perform the exercise at full amplitude.
Watch your elbows. They should be pressed to the sides of the body. Don't let them move backwards or to the sides. And also, do not bring them forward too much: moving your elbows forward too much will trigger the work. deltoids and makes the exercise ineffective and traumatic.
Don't let yourself rest at the top of the movement. To maintain tension in the biceps at the upper amplitude, do not throw the barbell high on your chest.

Watch a video on the topic “barbell curls”: