EXECUTION
- Sit on the edge of an exercise bench with your legs apart and feet flat on the floor.
- Bend over and place the elbow or hand of the left arm on the left thigh for support. The elbow of the right arm which is to be exercised should be placed on the inside of the right thigh.
- Hold a dumbbell in the right hand with an underhand (supinated) grip and press the elbow (or upper arm) into the middle of the thigh for stability.
- Start with the elbow bent approximately 160-170?.
- Inhale and hold your breath as you raise the dumbbell so that it comes close to touching the chest.
- Pause momentarily in the up position and then exhale as you return to the starting position under control.
- Concentrate on flexing the elbow joint and using only the biceps and other elbow flexors.
WORKOUT TIPS
- To isolate the action to the muscles involved, hold the elbow in place pressed in against the thigh at all times.
- Be sure to inhale and hold your breath (about 70% of maximal), as you curl the weight upward. The breath holding will help stabilize the trunk, keep you in a safe position to perform an effective movement and allow you to handle more weight.
- Since you can handle more weight in this exercise, in comparison to other biceps exercises, be sure you do not fully extend the elbow on each repetition. Doing so may cause movement of the arm which is not wanted.
- To place greater stress on all three muscles use the neutral grip, i.e., palm facing toward the body.
- For variety and greater involvement of the biceps begin in the neutral position and supinate the hand as you curl the weight upward. Pronate as you return to the starting position.
MAJOR MUSCLES INVOLVED
In the concentration curl the biceps brachii, brachialis and brachioradialis are the key muscles. The biceps brachii has both a long and a short head, and the division between the two can be seen in bodybuilders who have this muscle well developed and who have good definition. The brachialis is located between the biceps and the humerus near the elbow. Because of its location, this muscle is almost equal to the biceps in strength regardless of hand position. The brachioradialis is found on the outer surface of the forearm and creates the rounded contour from the elbow to the thumb. It acts as a supinator when the hand is pronated and as a pronator when the hand is supinated. By doing hand rotational movements during execution of the concentration curl you can get greater development of this muscle.
MUSCLE/JOINT ACTIONS
In the concentration curl there is only elbow joint flexion in which the forearm moves toward the upper arm. The biceps and brachialis do most of the work.
SPORTS USES
The concentration curl is very effective for isolating and fully developing the biceps and brachialis muscles. These muscles contribute greatly to increased upper arm mass. Although prestretching (pretensing) of the biceps is not possible in this exercise because of the bent arm and forward position of the elbow you can handle heavier weights in this exercise than in other biceps exercises. This in turn allows for additional growth of the muscles involved. Elbow flexion and the muscles involved are most important in pulling actions such as chinning, climbing and pulling the body up as for example, on gymnastics apparatus such as the high bar, rings and parallel bars. Wrestlers and football players rely on the biceps for grabbing, squeezing and holding an opponent in. In the martial arts, elbow flexion movements are used when pulling an opponent into position for a throw.
In most sports the triceps is most important but strong biceps helps to balance the muscular development on both sides of the elbow. This is needed for greater joint stability as well as for being able to get more increases in strength and mass of either the triceps or biceps.