functional exercise: biceps curl

yogabook / functional exercises / biceps curl

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last update: 30.12.2018
Trivial name: Bizepscurls
Level: A

Classification

classical: functional exercise

Contraindication

Effects

Preparation

Follow-up

derived asanas:

similar asanas:

Diagnostics (No.)

Variants:

leaned

Instructions

  1. Stand in tadadana and hold a dumbbell in each hand.
  2. Lean your upper arm against your body and press your elbows against your body with little force.
  3. Begin to bend the elbow joints forwards without allowing the elbow to move backwards. When the elbow jointhas reached 140°of flexion, slowly extend the elbow joint again. Perform the repetitions slowly and cleanly, with both the concentric contraction and the eccentric contraction lasting at least three seconds each.

Details

  1. The bicep curl is described here as a standing exercise using the HSR (Heavy Slow Repetition) technique. For a clean execution, the elbow should not move backwards or forwards, i.e. the upper arm should not leave the vertical. Moving the elbow backwards using the strength of the shoulder muscles reduces the horizontal lever arm in the shoulder joint and, while maintaining the height of the barbell, causes a greater flexion angle in the elbow joint, which was not caused by the appropriate use of force by the biceps.
  2. Flexion of the elbow joint beyond 140 degrees no longer allows for meaningful strengthening of the arm flexors. In addition, the tendency to cramp increases, especially in the biceps and less in the brachialis. With regard to the influence of the tone of the arm flexor muscles, such a wide flexion is generally not sensible either, as this could significantly increase the tone. Depending on the tone of the biceps, the flexion should possibly be performed less widely or the progression of the flexion should be adjusted so that more time is spent at smaller flexion angles.
  3. The heavy slow repetition technique enables very good strengthening of the muscles and also has a very good strengthening effect on the relevant tendons. Especially in the case of insertional tendinopathies, this technique is an important therapeutic pillar, if not the most important. The case of biceps tendinitis is completely different, as it is often necessary to refrain from performing biceps curls during the acute inflammatory phase. However, once the disorder has healed, strengthening of the biceps is usually indicated, especially if the stretching condition of the biceps is not good, including appropriate stretching training. Postures such as purvottanasana and variations of uttanasana and prasarita padottanasana are very suitable for this.
  4. In principle, bicep curls can be performed with an overhand grip, underhand grip, in the centre position or with a change of position. The overhand grip has less of a strengthening effect on the biceps and more on the brachialis, while the underhand grip and the neutral grip also strengthen the biceps very well. Another frequently seen option is to start flexing in the underhand grip and then progressively pronate the arm until the neutral grip is reached at maximum flexion.
  5. Executing bicep curls on both sides in particular creates significant flexion moments in the segments of the thoracic spine in particular, which provides a certain amount of strengthening, but the two-sided version can often not be performed for as long in one go as the one-sided version. The latter allows better concentration on the respective bent arm and therefore places less strain on the autochthonous back muscles, so that more resources are available for precise execution.
  6. Make sure to keep the wrists in a neutral position, i.e. neither in dorsiflexion nor in palmar flexion. The bicep curl provides good strengthening of the palmar flexors, especially towards the centre position of 90° flexion and beyond. The finger flexors are also strengthened well from the position of the extended elbow towards the 90° angle. This strengthens all three important functional groups of the forearm muscles that can be affected by golfer ’s elbow: the supinator muscle to stabilise the lower grip, the palmar flexors of the wrist to prevent it from bending dorsally and, above all, the superficial and deep finger flexors from the extended position of the elbow. Depending on the type of golfer’s elbow, the biceps curl is likely to be one of the most important therapeutic exercise pillars. It is important that it is not performed with fast or even sweeping movements, but using the HSR technique so that the tendon tissue also becomes more robust. Of course, in order to strengthen the finger flexors, the fist closure with which the barbell is held can be stronger than physically necessary.
    The biceps curl also has a place in the treatment of shoulder instability, as the long head with its course in the intertubercular sulcus has a centring effect on the humeral head. If this head only provides around 10 to 15% of the total contraction force of the biceps, the shoulder joint benefits significantly from its tone. However, the biceps curl is not suitable for disorders caused by a lack of movement with a tendency for the biceps tendon to stick to the sulcus, as there is no movement in the glenohumeral joint that displaces the tendon in relation to the sulcus. Frontal abductions in the shoulder joint are particularly suitable for this purpose, with and without movement in the elbow joint, preferably in a more exorotated than endorotated position of the upper arm in the shoulder joint. In the case of SLAP lesions, heavier biceps curls in particular must be avoided, as the traction of the long head could cause further damage to the area that is already being pulled.
  7. The bicep curl can be performed both seated and standing. In both cases, it can be performed leaning or free. The free version offers a certain amount of strengthening of the autochthonous back muscles, while the leaning version is easier to perform precisely. While in the leaning seated version, the backrest of the seated device can be used to fix the upper arm, the standing version can be performed leaning against a wall, with the feet at a distance of 20 to 30 cm from the wall and the upper arms leaning against the wall.
  8. In classic strength training, bicep curls are sometimes performed as Scott curls, in which the upper arm is placed on a padded plane inclined against the vertical. This shifts the horizontal lever arm significantly in favour and requires a much greater contraction force, especially from the position of the extended elbow joint. On the other hand, the working range is limited by the limit of the vertical forearm, where the load moment becomes zero. This version is therefore very suitable for more intensive training in longer sarcomere lengths, but on the other hand the demands on the health and robustness of the tendon tissue in the distal insertion area are also significantly higher. If there is no doubt about this, the Scott curl is an interesting alternative because it has less of a muscle shortening effect than the biceps curls started with a vertical forearm. As it is now known that the greater increase in strength is achieved by training in longer sarcomere lengths, it offers an excellent way of strengthening, but it should not be performed by beginners in strength training, who may cause excessive strain on the tendons and possibly corresponding overload reactions such as distal insertional tendopathy. It should also not be used for golfer’s elbow, at least until it is possible to perform the exercise with normal training weights without symptoms.
  9. The bicep curl can be combined well with the neck press to strengthen the deltoid muscle. In the end position of the bicep curl, the upper arm is turned out a little further, the forearm is pronated and, if desired, the elbow joint is flexed a little again to increase the horizontal lever arm before the dumbbell is lifted upwards with a lateral abduction in the shoulder joint and simultaneous extension of the elbow joint. To do this, the forearm is usually kept vertical throughout, i.e. the elbow under the wrist. The concentric contraction of the arm flexors is followed by a concentric contraction of the deltoid. The return to the starting position is then exactly the opposite.
  10. The bicep curl can also be combined with a variation of the front lift, in which the upper arm is abducted frontally in the end position of the bicep curl with simultaneous extension in the elbow joint. As it is generally not possible to move the same weight in the front lift as in the bicep curl due to the muscle strength and leverage, this is a good technique for performing both exercises with the same weight, as the horizontal lever arm for the front abduction is significantly lower than in the classic front lift with the elbow joint almost extended. In principle, the strengthening training of the exorotators of the shoulder joint can also be connected to the biceps curl, although here too the horizontal lever arm must be kept significantly smaller due to the available muscle strength, i.e. the elbow joint must be kept very clearly bent. To do this, the upper arm is again abducted frontally to 90 degrees and then the dumbbell is moved medially, which represents an end rotation in the shoulder joint from which the arm must be brought back into the vertical position using the exorotators.

Variants

leaned

Instructions

  1. Perform the biceps curls as described above, but lean your back and upper arms firmly against a wall. Stand with your feet approx. 20-30 cm away from the wall.
  2. Make sure that your elbows and shoulders do not move away from the wall.

Details

  1. This variant enables particularly precise execution without having to invest too much attention.