![]() ![]() Chin-upsĮquipment needed: A sturdy pull-up bar. Doing them consistently will help you more quickly find that upper body strength you’re looking for. Instead of doing bicep curls, swap them out for these five bicep curl alternatives that are compound exercises recommended by coach Daly. "Bicep curls completely isolate all of the tension on your biceps muscle and can often lead to strains or tears." -Coach Ryan DalyĪdditionally, bicep curls can cause muscular imbalances if you aren’t properly training your other muscles, since they only work the biceps, leaving out other areas of your arms and shoulders. “Bicep curls completely isolate all of the tension on your biceps muscle and can often lead to strains or tears, especially for people who haven’t exercised in a while or have had shoulder issues in the past,” Daly explains. But isolation exercises like bicep curls can pose a higher risk of injury. Both methods have their place, and can help build muscle mass. By contrast, compound exercises incorporate multiple muscles at once to build well-rounded strength. Isolation exercises are those that focus on training just one muscle at a time for targeted strength work. “Bicep curls are an isolation exercise, and while isolation exercises can be effective at times, they also have drawbacks,” says Ryan Daly, NASM-PES, a sports performance coach for professional athletes from the NFL and NBA. On the other hand, “there is no bad movement, there is only movement done badly.The problem? Bicep curls aren’t actually the best way to strengthen your biceps. I found that bicep curls are not nearly as silly as I thought. Question your previous assumptions and understandings. If you’re carrying anything heavy out in front of you – whether a sofa or a load of lumber, the stabilizers must work. When carrying a laundry basket full of laundry, those muscles need to work. When my clients are lifting up their babies (or holding anything out in front of you for that matter), those exact shoulder stabilizers must ‘kick in’. And if you think this stabilization is not functional, think again. We work hard at shoulder stabilization in all planes of movement. Yes! it feels right – like this is the way my upper body is supposed to function.Īnd so bicep curls are back. Yes, my biceps fatigue and they are getting a workout but how amazing to feel my back working so well and so right. They are hard! I can feel all of this terrific shoulder blade stabilization that is so important for good posture. ![]() But doing them correctly? I am back at 25# in order to do a set of 8 or so (per arm). If I allow my body to swing around and use momentum to do the curls, I could probably use 45# dumbbells. The rhomboids, traps, rear deltoids as well as rotator cuff muscles will get a terrific workout. But if you stand up straight, pull your abs in and, without moving your at your elbows, do a bicep curl, your shoulder stabilizers will be the muscles that fail first. Most of us in our modern world are pulled forward too much in our shoulders so our rotator cuff muscles and the shoulder blade stabilizers are weak because they are in a too-lengthened position for them to work effectively. And what did I discover (to my chagrin)? The shoulder stabilization that takes place during a correct (in my opinion) bicep curl is amazing and incredibly valuable. ![]() ![]() I kept my body in good alignment and didn’t let my elbows either brace against my rib cage nor move from their starting position. So I made sure that I wasn’t swinging my body around to do the exercise. Naturally, I brought my Pilates brain to the exercise. And so I started with 15#ers and worked my way up. So I thought, “Screw it, I am going to go back to old school bicep curls to pump up my arms”. I admit it, I am shallow enough to say I wanted pecs and biceps. It started when I realized that in spite of my Pilates and Crossfit workouts, I was not building the kind of body I wanted. They are not part of the Pilates repertoire and Crossfitters definitely make fun of them saying they are not functional movements and silly. You know – the dumbbells in the hands as you bring them up to your shoulders, either alternating arms or both arms at the same time. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |