Bodybuilding: Curls, Curls, Curls

[quote]Sentoguy wrote:
Not necessarily a bodybuilder, nor does he have the biggest arms proportionate to his size, but still pretty damn impressive. Here’s Magnus Samuelsson curling 140kg (around 300 lbs) for 4 reps (skip to about 0:37 for the BB curls):

Who says that curls aren’t functional? ;)[/quote]

Speaking of strongmen, I’ve heard some truly batshit crazy stats for what Kazmaier curled. There are rumors of 315x15 and Kaz himself have said that he’s cheat curled 200kg (440lbs). I’ve been trying to find a video or at least a pic but so far no luck. :frowning: Most of his nutty feats of strength are documented but not the curls it seems.

I remember something about Ken Brown holding the World strict curl record (butt and back against wall I think) at 230ish pounds in early 1990’s or something…

[quote]Matsa wrote:

[quote]Sentoguy wrote:
Not necessarily a bodybuilder, nor does he have the biggest arms proportionate to his size, but still pretty damn impressive. Here’s Magnus Samuelsson curling 140kg (around 300 lbs) for 4 reps (skip to about 0:37 for the BB curls):

Who says that curls aren’t functional? ;)[/quote]

Speaking of strongmen, I’ve heard some truly batshit crazy stats for what Kazmaier curled. There are rumors of 315x15 and Kaz himself have said that he’s cheat curled 200kg (440lbs). I’ve been trying to find a video or at least a pic but so far no luck. :frowning: Most of his nutty feats of strength are documented but not the curls it seems.[/quote]

Damn, that would be insane if it turns out to be true. If you can find any reliable sources to back it up (video or picture would of course be best) please don’t hesitate to post it up.

Here goes the obvious observations:

Most of the pro’s in the videos rarely go below 10 reps/set (average probably 15 reps…the shorter the ROM, the higher the reps) - would you say this is for the pump effect purely for the sake of the video, or how they would actually train long term? Maybe it’s also because of joint issues of low reps?

Also, in some videos, they would do high rep sets to failure or near, and then proceed to do an exercise with more load and lesser reps/set…I always used to think it was pretty standard to do it the other way around? :confused:

[quote]Sentoguy wrote:
Not necessarily a bodybuilder, nor does he have the biggest arms proportionate to his size, but still pretty damn impressive. Here’s Magnus Samuelsson curling 140kg (around 300 lbs) for 4 reps (skip to about 0:37 for the BB curls):

Who says that curls aren’t functional? ;)[/quote]

Damn, 60 cm is over 23 and a half inches. Big joints and bad peaks I guess, they don’t look that big.

well he is really tall…he’s like 6’7"

one of the best…

Arm placement:

So, is arm placement a factor in how the biceps are worked? For example with triceps, overhead extensions work the muscles differently than say, a Tate Press.

I think most understand supinating versus a hammer curl, but that’s not what I’m asking. I guess I’m asking more elbow placement versus shoulder for lack of a better description.

Is it just a function of weight? But, I’ve seen vids where they go elbows high-to-face from the beginning.

I see a couple different variations. Dorian Yates seems to keep his elbows high and curls to his nose:

(forward to 5:00)

Vic keeps his elbows by his side (forward to 4:10)

Andreas Frey (elbows at side, low bar – but last rep(s) goes higher)

That Frey vid also leads into high cable curls

More high cable curls:

versus low (concentration) curls

Arnold:

Steely, the tricep thing (overhead/incline compared to torso vs. elbows at the side as in dips/pushdowns) is because the long head of the tris has another function not shared by the medial and lateral head (shoulder adduction).
Doing a pullover+extension with retracted shoulder blades and elbows not flared to the max will actively train that function of the long head as well as the elbow extension function of all three heads. I’d stop with upper arms at an incline rather than perpendicular to the floor on those, btw.

One of the bicep heads also crosses the shoulder joint and helps with raising the arm (not when it’s internally rotated too much though), as in a supinated or semi-supinated front raise etc. That tendon at the shoulder joint is what many people injure when pressing with rounded shoulders…

So incline curls put that head in a stretch, also raising the elbows during curls will help train the raise-the-arm function of that head of the bis together with the elbow flexion function.

Then there’s yet another one for the bis:
Supinating the wrist. Offset-grip DB curls going from hammer or reverse position (that last one would be zottman’s I think?) and supinating the wrist as you curl up trains that function of the bis…

I’m no anatomy buff mind you, I might have gotten something wrong or forgotten something there on accident.

FWIW, with biceps I think you just have to find what feels best to you… Doesn’t hurt the forearms, wrists, shoulders, elbows… I can’t, for example, do those elbows flared (to some degree) EZ curls many pros do… I have to keep mine more tucked.

[quote]SteelyD wrote:

[/quote]

LOL after watching the Dorian Yates clip, I now seek a workout partner with a really heavy accent yelling “SQUEEZE IT!”, and then guterally saying “YEEAAAAH” every set.

can someone point out the difference between a hammer curl and a pinwheel curl for me? is it just that hammers should be at the sides, up and down, vs. pinwheels come across the body somewhat?

There’s a comic called Judgement on Gotham in which Batman is tied up by Judge Dredd and manages to escape by curling his arms so the ropes snap. So don’t tell me big gunz ain’t functional :stuck_out_tongue:

[quote]dez6485 wrote:
can someone point out the difference between a hammer curl and a pinwheel curl for me? is it just that hammers should be at the sides, up and down, vs. pinwheels come across the body somewhat?[/quote]

Essentially yes. Hammer curls are done straight up and down while pinwheels come across the body.

Hammer:

Pinwheel:

awesome, thanks

Johnny Jackson:

“Mr. Popular” posted these in another thread. Thought they were a good fit for here as well:

[quote]SteelyD wrote:
“Mr. Popular” posted these in another thread. Thought they were a good fit for here as well:

Anyone try these compared to the Dante’s reverse forearm curls that Carlitosway posted? I noticed Dante advocates cocking the wrist back while the kpipe curls guy bends his wrists down. Both guys have pretty nasty forearms, so I’m sure both work pretty well.

Either way, I’ll try both out tomorrow to see which burns my forearms more.

[quote]jo3 wrote:

Anyone try these compared to the Dante’s reverse forearm curls that Carlitosway posted? I noticed Dante advocates cocking the wrist back while the kpipe curls guy bends his wrists down. Both guys have pretty nasty forearms, so I’m sure both work pretty well.

Either way, I’ll try both out tomorrow to see which burns my forearms more.[/quote]

In my experience Dante’s cable reverse curl is probably the best thing for building the brachioradialis, whereas kpipe curls seem to work great for the meaty underbelly of the forearm as well as the brachialis in the upper arm.

I almost feel like pinwheels are a useless biceps exercise when done with heavy weight, it just turns into a trap, forearm and shoulder workout once you start going really heavy. If I do them, I tend to stick with around 60 lbs and make sure I really turn my wrist all the way through. IDK how to explain it, but I get very little bicep contraction of I stop at like nipple level.

[quote]waylanderxx wrote:
I almost feel like pinwheels are a useless biceps exercise when done with heavy weight, it just turns into a trap, forearm and shoulder workout once you start going really heavy. If I do them, I tend to stick with around 60 lbs and make sure I really turn my wrist all the way through. IDK how to explain it, but I get very little bicep contraction of I stop at like nipple level.[/quote]

I’ve found the same to be true myself.

One thing that I have noticed is the guys who like/swear by pinwheel curls for upper and lower arm development tend to have relatively “short” arms. There are several exercises that seem to be affected by one’s “lankiness”, and as someone with a 6’1 wingspan on a 5’9 frame there are a small list of movements I’ve removed from my arsenal because they just don’t jive with my structure - pinwheels being one of them.