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Concentration Curls Aren't Working for You (HERE'S WHY)

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Rating: 4.0; Vote: 1

Concentration curls are one of the most popular isolation exercises for building bigger biceps but that doesn-t mean they are the most effective. In this video, I-m going to show you why concentration curls are not working for you as much as you may have thought if you are trying to build big arms. I will break down the most common mistakes made when doing the exercise and then show you a more athletic alternative if you want to make even better gains when training your arms. To start, it helps to define what the goal of the concentration curl really is. Most would agree, it is a bicep exercise done to get a peak contraction on the muscle. It is an isolation movement that can help you to build a better mind muscle connection with the biceps and ultimately get it to grow bigger. I would agree with the latter half of this but only if you perform the exercise the right way and learn how to get more tension on the arm during the movement. To that end it helps to discuss the position of the arm during the concentration curl. I see many people rest their elbows on the top of their thighs when doing the exercise. This is just wrong. You are essentially creating a see-saw effect when you lower the arm on every rep and are using momentum to get the arm back up to the top. Most will not make this mistake however and instead will lower their arm onto the inner portion of their thigh. The issue here is that pushing the elbow into the thigh while curling the weight up is only using leverage to get the weight to the top rather than pure muscular force. Normally, leverage is not a bad thing but when you are doing it in close proximity to the muscles that you are trying to work (and with a muscle group that is often overactive during the curl in the first place) you are taking away from the effectiveness of the movement. Some would then think that they just have to slide their arm even further down towards the floor to clear the elbow from the thigh. The problem here is again, the arm when curled into the top position is almost parallel to the downward force of gravity. This takes the tension off of the bicep in the very position that you want it to be at its highest. The way to alter the exercise to get this to work in your favor is to reposition the arm directly in your groin. You can see how the forearm now becomes much more perpendicular to the force of gravity and you can feel the impact this has on your biceps on every rep. That said, I still think there are much more effective ways to train your biceps in a more athletic way and in a way that places even more tension on the biceps in their peak contracted state
Date: 2022-04-22

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Comments and reviews: 10

Will
Man, I'm always looking to Athlean-X to better my workouts - this video has helped me to take another look at concentration curls and what I can do better for my bicep exercise.
Any tips on fighting tennis/golfing elbow would be helpful. I have to take great care not aggravate my elbows which are constantly sore when I lift. Sometimes I have to reduce my weight to accommodate this recurring injury.
Thanks!
-wt
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MrKrownroyal
Jeff I've been following you for about a year now and my body has transformed i gained 6 lbs of muscle and my body is definitely taking shape. I went from an ultra marathon runner to a building machine. I'm now finding a balance between it all which was the hard part but hey im improving everyday. Thanks for the inspiration and motivation! I guess momma was wrong i'm still growing.
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sport
I like your suggestion and for training athletes it is probably good, but I was hoping for something that would better isolate the biceps only, not also requiring other engagement. I think people like Arnold tried to find ways to isolate everything they could to target only that if needed. Anyway, thanks for the suggestion and the scientific approach to things.
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Pzy
This comment isn't specific to this video but more like in general.
Jeff's body is like a walking anatomy textbook lol. You can clearly see every muscle and how it activates and functions.
Also it's absolutely insane how much he knows about everything. I find it hard to imagine how he even got to this point lol.
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AMITY
I tried it this way, and there definitely is a difference, but the first day I did it this way, I did quite a few more reps per set. I gave myself a couple of days to recover, but when I tried this motion again, I had to shorten each rep per set. Is that normal?
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Nick
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3: 16-17
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Miller
For some reason my left tricep doesn-t grow around the elbow I I work the left more for months still no results? Any help that right there just makes me want to stop working out it-s been a year still no progress the pain no gain?
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Scott
Thanks for this amazing tip, I tried these tonight and wow what a huge difference - I could feel it in my biceps big time. Jeff you're helping to literally shape my life, thanks for being an awesome human being!
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God
Jeff, it is my understanding that it also has to do with the angle of arm away from the body with no elbow help. So basically anterior horizontal or past horizontal laterally like with cable. any comments?
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Sims
Please Sir, I want you to take me as your own. I want us to link up always. I will keep sending you photos and you will see improvements in my arm. I pray to be in your center one day. take me as your
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