Sporting well-defined arms is a confidence booster when wearing revealing shirts and swimming attire. Regardless of your gender, the goal with this body feature is to zero in on the triceps and biceps with exercises. The biceps sit on the front of the upper arms and they consist of the brachialis and biceps brachii. A biceps curl is a common exercise performed by lifting a weight toward your upper body with your upper arms pinned to your sides. Using added weight will increase the taxation on the biceps, leading to faster growth.
Dumbbells
Dumbbells make good options for biceps curls for a number of reasons. First, you have a wide range of weights to choose from. They start as light as 1 lb. and go well over 100 lbs. Starting at 5 lbs., they go up in increments of 5. Secondly, dumbbells fall into the category of free weights. As the name implies, free weights require a high amount of stabilizing muscle activity. Lastly, dumbbells transport easily. If you happen to be taking a road trip with your car, you can pack them into your trunk and ensure you get your workouts while away.
Dumbbells also allow you to do a number of variations. The basic curl is performed with your palms facing up, but you can quickly transition to a hammer curl or reverse curl. Hammer curls take place with your palms facing each other. Every time you change your grip, you work your muscles slightly differently, which boosts muscle fiber recruitment.
Barbell and Weight Plates
A standard barbell is generally seven feet long and weighs 45 lbs. The bar is a good tool for curls by itself if you are just starting out and cannot lift a high amount of weight. If you do need more weight, slide weight plates onto the ends and anchor them with spring-loaded collars. Weight plates range in weight from 2 1/2 to 45 lbs.
You have the option of doing standard grip, close grip, wide grip and reverse grip curls with a barbell. In similar fashion to dumbbells, barbells fall into the category of free weights.
Resistance Bands
Resistance bands come in two varieties. Both are made of durable rubber, but they have different features. One version has a tube with hard plastic handles attached. The other is a wide strip of rubber that allows you to grasp the ends for exercises. They range in strength from extra light to extra heavy. According to MayoClinic.com, the darker the color of the band, the higher the resistance. Since bands wrap up easily, you can store them in a desk drawer and do curls right in your office.
Machines
Weight machines do not recruit as much overall muscle fiber as free weights, but they still offer you a good workout. A biceps curl machine has a seat with padded support that you place your elbows on while pulling a lever arm up toward your face. The weight is adjusted by sliding a pin into a weight stack. The weights generally range from 10 to over 100 lbs. in five or 10-lb. increments. A cable machine has the same weight stack feature. This machine comes equipped with a sliding pulley system that moves up and down. Curls are performed with a revolving straight bar or rope with the pulley set at a low height. You also have the option of using both sides of the cable machine to do lateral cable curls with single handles.
Member Comments