Biceps workout

at 3:13 PM

Doing curls is one of the most effective ways to build and tone your biceps.  The reason I say that is because there are other methods to get a decent workout for your biceps such as doing pull ups, chin ups or any kind of back exercise.  But all the aforementioned methods are indirect ways to build the biceps (biceps not bicep-it is a twin muscle).  In this section I want to show you three methods to do curls.

The first one is doing curls with a bar-  Lift the bar all the way to the chest with your elbows safely tucked in to your sides.  Bring the bar down all the way until your arms have a slight bend.  There are many ways to get a good burn with this exercise: You can do a traditional 3-4 set method of 12-15 reps each; alternatively you can do a pyramid workout (one of my favorites because it gives such a great burn) in which you start with a heavy bar and do a few reps, then go lighter and lighter in sets.  After which you start coming back with heavier bars until you reach the first bar you started with.  At this point you should be able to do no more than 2-3 reps.  The third method is doing the curls within a set amount of time, say 30 seconds and then rest or 20 seconds followed by a 10 second rest for 8 sets (Tabata workout).

The second exercise is with dumbbell curls- same method and form except you will be holding a dumbbell in each hand.  You will want to raise the dumbbells all the way to chest levels then lower them all the way down.  You can either sit on the edge of  bench or stand up while doing this exercise.

The third exercise is one of my favorites and it is the concentration curl.  You will be sitting on a bench and the arm holding the dumbbell is firmly tucked against your thigh for stability.  You will raise the dumbbell slowly then lower it all the way until there is only a slight bend in your elbow.  After doing a set you can switch to the other arm.

With all three exercises, you can do traditional sets, pyramids, or tabatas.  For a better workout, try doing push ups while you rest in between the curl sets.  Now that is one fantastic circuit training!!