Concentration Curls For Building Big Biceps
There are exercises for keeping yourself fit and fine, and there are exercises for bodybuilding. Now, when it comes to the latter, one of the first things you’d like are toned biceps! For that, you’ll need to work out while performing isolation exercises vigorously.
Of all the exercises of this type, concentration curls are certainly one of the most effective ones. This post will focus on the ultimate concentration curls guide that will help you achieve your goals!
Concentration Curls: What Are They?
Before diving deep into the guide, let’s have a look at what exactly concentration curls are. Also referred to as dumbbell concentration curls, these exercises are nothing but a form of the traditional bicep curls. In order to execute this exercise correctly, make sure that you are well-seated.
Now, rest your upper arm’s back against your inner thigh, and then lift the dumbbell. While doing so, ensure that you squeeze your biceps while moving upward, and then lower the weight as slowly as you can.
How Can You Benefit From Concentration Curls?
Just like any other form of exercise, concentration curls also come with their benefits. Let’s look at some of them below.
- The first benefit of concentration curls is that you will be able to build up your arm muscles. With full range concentration curls, not only are you activating your back arm’s triceps, but also your forearm’s brachioradialis muscle and the brachialis muscle.
- There is no doubt that this exercise will help you in toning your biceps! This is possible thanks to the activation of the short and long heads of your biceps while performing concentration curls.
- The third benefit is that you will be able to do more lifting. As such, when you execute this exercise, there is an elimination of distractions and other body momentums. This, in turn, helps you concentrate more on lifting the weights. Continuously performing concentration curls may help you perform deadlifts as well.
How To Perform Concentration Curls Properly
Now that you know what concentration curls are and the basics, let’s have a look at how you can perform concentration curls properly and in detail.
- Grab hold of a dumbbell and get yourself seated on a bench. Ensure that your legs are wider in comparison to your hips.
- With your hips being the pivot point, bring the upper part of your body close to your legs. While doing so, make sure that your upper body is at an angle of 45 degrees.
- Now, place your curling arm’s elbow on your inner leg, while placing the other hand on the same leg’s outside to maintain stability. You need to ensure that the curling arm is longer while slightly bending in the elbow.
- As for the dumbbell, make sure that it’s close enough to your lower leg while the palm of your hand faces away from it.
- Now, while rotating your shoulder in an outward manner, ensure that you engage your core as well.
- As the upper arm stays in contact with your leg’s inside, squeeze your bicep as you slowly bend your elbow. Keep bending until the lower arm reaches the upper arm. Make sure that the dumbbell reaches close enough to your shoulder without touching it.
- As your hand reaches the top, make sure to squeeze your bicep.
- Now, you can slowly start straightening your elbow while you lower the equipment back to the resting position.
- Taking a second’s pause at the bottom, you can repeat the same movement.
- Once you are done with one arm, you can follow the same procedure for the other arm. It is recommendable to perform four sets each with ten to twelve repetitions.
Why Should You Opt For Concentration Curls?
If you dream of having toned, rippling arms, concentration curls are the way to do so! A study by the American Council on Exercise has established that this form of exercise yields as much as 97% biceps activity. This contrasts with other exercises, like chin-ups yielding 80%, preacher curls yielding 69%, and barbell curls yielding 76%.
The reason for this build-up of biceps is that while performing concentration curls, your upper arm remains stable against your inner leg. So, to get the ‘dream biceps,’ it is absolutely essential that you do concentration curls one to two times a week.
Even if you are a first-timer, don’t worry! You can still perform these types of curls. However, make sure that you are under supervision.
The reason is that if you have got the posture wrong, you may not be able to yield the results you are longing for. Not only that, but you may also end up spraining a muscle or causing some injury to yourself.
Mistakes You Can Avoid While Performing Concentration Curls
- Make sure that you don’t curl your arm really fast. You need to remember that this is the kind of exercise that doesn’t require various reps. So, as long as you keep it controlled and do it really slowly, you will be able to reap the benefits.
- The second mistake to avoid is your elbows not being steady. Indeed, there is a reason why your elbow needs to be against your inner leg: to help you utilize your arm fully in order to curl. So, in order to ensure that your elbow is steady, make sure that your back is straight.
- The third mistake you need to avoid while performing this exercise is the use of momentum. This kind of mistake is very common in all kinds of exercises that involve heavy weights and should be avoided at any cost! So, make sure that you choose a weight that is ideal for you. It shouldn’t be too light nor too heavy, just enough for you to be able to tone your biceps!
So, now that you know all about concentration curls, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and choose your ideal dumbbell, and be well on your way to achieving the biceps of your dreams!
