When doing seated dumbell curls...

[Tommy Gunn]

When doing seated dumbell curls, why is it necessary to start in a hammer curl position and than twist up into a regular curl position?

Wouldn't it be better just to start in a regular curl position and just curl up from there?

What is the point of the 'twist'?

[Flexor]

They can be done both ways..

The point of supinating your palm towards you is to activate the biceps more than in a regular curl. Probably the main function of the biceps is not to flex the forearm, but to rotate the wrist, so why ignore this? By doing supinating curls, your bicep starts in a more lengthened state than usual, and contracts to a greater degree throughout the curl. They are best combined with an incline bench for an even better pre-stretch.

Supinating db curls are a compound exercise unlike isolating barbell or normal db curls. They are a compound exercise because your biceps is working to flex the elbow and supinate the wrist, therefore you get greater activation of the biceps as it has to work harder, which leads to an increased number of damaged sarcomeres within the muscle and in turn this causes growth.

[Tommy Gunn]

Anyone else?

I'm very interested as to the reasoning why it's better to twist up than just start in the curl position.

[DSM4Life]

Anyone else?

I'm very interested as to the reasoning why it's better to twist up than just start in the curl position.

ummmmm now i might not be the sharpest tool in the shed but isn't this a "reasoning."

The point of supinating your palm towards you is to activate the biceps more than in a regular curl. Probably the main function of the biceps is not to flex the forearm, but to rotate the wrist, so why ignore this? By doing supinating curls, your bicep starts in a more lengthened state than usual, and contracts to a greater degree throughout the curl. They are best combined with an incline bench for an even better pre-stretch.

Supinating db curls are a compound exercise unlike isolating barbell or normal db curls. They are a compound exercise because your biceps is working to flex the elbow and supinate the wrist, therefore you get greater activation of the biceps as it has to work harder, which leads to an increased number of damaged sarcomeres within the muscle and in turn this causes growth.

[Flexor]

ummmmm now i might not be the sharpest tool in the shed but isn't this a "reasoning."

You are pretty sharp.

Anyone else?

I'm very interested as to the reasoning why it's better to twist up than just start in the curl position.

WTF?

If you are that interested, perhaps you should read the scientific explanation that I provided. It wasn't my opinion, it was fact! Could you be any more dense than you already are? Doubtful

[Tommy Gunn]

Relax bro. Take it down a notch.

I just never understood why the twisting was necessary. And to be honest with you, I think straight bar barbell preacher curls are a better exercise any way.

But perhaps I'll give these kind of seated dumbell curls a another try.

[Tommy Gunn]

Flexor, I wasn't trying to be disrespectful.

I just wanted to see if anyone else had a view on this topic.

Sorry bro. No hard feelings.

[Flexor]

Relax bro. Take it down a notch.

I just never understood why the twisting was necessary. And to be honest with you, I think straight bar barbell preacher curls are a better exercise any way.

But perhaps I'll give these kind of seated dumbell curls a another try.

Preacher curls were designed with the sole purpose of working the brachialis, did you know that? I'll paste one of my other posts here to explain...

Preacher curls are not designed to target the biceps, they target the brachialis. This is because your shoulders are flexed, which causes the biceps and particularly the short head, to enter active insufficiency. That means the biceps cannot contract enough to complete elbow flexion because they have already contracted partially to flex the shoulder. This puts the load onto the brachialis and causes an insane pump.

You may also wonder why concentration curls are said to target the brachialis, again its because your shoulder is flexed because you are leaning forward.

Straight bar preachers put too much stress on the rest, a reverse grip on the EZ bar would work the brachialis best. Supinating db curls are far better at stimulating the biceps than preachers, but preachers are better at stimulating the brachialis, especially if you lift slowly and lower slowly.

[Tommy Gunn]

Flexor, what about standing straight bar barbell curls?

Are they good for building your biceps?

[Flexor]

Flexor, what about standing straight bar barbell curls?

Are they good for building your biceps?

Everyone says they are, but consider this...

Your wrists are forced into an un-natural supinated position for the whole curl. Not only can this be painful, but it is failing to fully use the biceps muscle for what it is designed for, supination. Also you may find that at the top of the curl it is difficult to get a peak contraction, or at the bottom of the curl it is hard to get a full stretch. Barbell curls are a clumsy movement and its difficult to squeeze your biceps hard at the top of the rep without flexing your wrists towards your chest which can cause serious problems.

The fact that you can use a lot of weight doesn't mean it is better than standing or seated alternating or simultaneous db curls. Db curls with your palms facing toward you the whole time recruit more muscle fibres in the biceps to keep your palm supinated, unlike with the barbell which holds your wrist in position. Therefore db curls recruit more muscle fibres through stabilisation and static supination, and it is also much kinder on the wrists.

I would say that seated or standing db curls are better than standing barbell curls, and that incline supinating curls are even more important. Don't underestimate dumbells, they are often the answer for breaking through chest plateus etc and are very useful in rowing. Using an ez-bar for standing curls will take the stress off the wrists, but its almost a hammer curl and again there is no static supination because your wrists are held in place. If you do barbell curls and find them useful, I would say stick with them, but add in some incline supinating curls to prestretch the biceps. If you want to switch barbell curls, then seated db curls are the answer. I personally find underhand chinups and incline supinating curls far more effective than straight barbell curls and preachers.

The answer to building the biceps is in using lots of mass in a biomechanically advantageous movement, such as chinups or db curls, as well as using the muscles the way they are meant to be used, ie. following their natural path.

[NYC BIG MIKE]

Good stuff Flexor. I believe in a closed kinetic (2 hands, one lever, ie barbell curls) and an open kinetic (each hand independent of one another ie spider curls) bicep movement each workout. Tommy Gunn, listen to Flexor, he knows his shit.
Bi(2) Ceps (latin for head), you need to work both heads and that's what Flexor is alluding to with respect to his explanation.