Most biceps exercises are the same -- you hold the weight in your hands with your palms facing up and curl the weight up to your shoulders. However, some biceps exercises are done with a pronated grip, which means that your palms face the floor instead of the ceiling. Although you are still targeting your biceps muscles, this grip changes the emphasis of the exercise.
Identification
Forearm pronation is the act of internally rotating your forearm so you turn the palm from facing upward to facing downward. It is a small movement. A pronated grip is when your palm faces the floor during an exercise -- it is also called an overhand grip. Most biceps exercises, such as the barbell curl, cable curl, preacher curl and EZ bar curl, are all done with a supinated grip, when your palm faces up.
Significance
Switching to a pronated grip changes the target muscle of the exercise. When you perform a bicep curl with a supinated grip, your biceps, also called the biceps brachii, are the primary movers. Muscles in your forearm, such as the brachialis and brachioradialis, assist during the movement. When you perform a bicep curl with a pronated grip, your brachioradialis, becomes the main mover and the biceps muscles assist during the movement.
Reverse Curl
Stand holding a barbell in front of your thighs. Your hands should be less than shoulder-width apart with an overhand, or pronated, grip on the bar. Lock your upper arms against your sides and don't move them throughout the exercise. Lift the weight up by bending your elbows. Your hands should end up in front of your shoulders and your elbows should point to the floor. Pause for a count before slowly lowering the barbell until your arms are fully extended.
Variations
You can perform a reverse curl with several pieces of fitness equipment. If holding a straight barbell is not comfortable, use an EZ bar. This bar has angled hand grips and is more comfortable for some lifters. You can also perform reverse curls on a cable machine using a straight bar or do one-arm reverse curls using a D-handle. Use a preacher curl pad to do reverse curls with support or grab dumbbells to work each arm independently.
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