EXECUTION
- Assume a well-balanced standing position with your feet approximately shoulder-width apart. Hold a barbell with a pronated grip (palms facing down, toward the rear) and with the hands shoulder-width apart.
- Your arms should hang down straight but not locked and your trunk should be erect with the shoulders back.
- When you are ready, inhale slightly more than usual and hold your breath as you flex the elbows to raise the weights.
- Hold the upper arms in place so that the elbows remain alongside the body as you raise the weights.
- After reaching the uppermost position, hold for a count of two and then lower the weights under control back to the starting position.
TRAINING TIPS
- Be sure to hold an erect trunk position throughout the execution. Do not drive the hips forward to get the weights moving especially if they are heavy.
- In this exercise, the biceps do not play a major role. Therefore you will have to use less weight than you typically do in other biceps exercises in which you use the neutral or supinated grips.
- In order to isolate the action to only elbow flexion, be sure that you hold the elbows in place. If you, instead, move the elbows forward you will bring in use of the anterior deltoid and it will decrease the emphasis on the brachialis muscle. Increase the weights only if you can maintain proper technique.
- Because the biceps brachii is a strong supinator of the forearm, it cannot function in this action because of the pronated grip. In this grip, the biceps tendon is wrapped halfway around the radius, which creates a very poor line of pull and cannot develop the same intensity as with a supinated grip.
- Be sure to use a barbell as it is more effective for insuring a pronated grip throughout execution. With dumbbells there is a tendency to supinate as you do the movement, which in turn will decrease emphasis on the brachialis.
- The brachioradialis muscle in addition to being involved in elbow joint flexion also acts as a supinator when the hand is pronated. Thus, it reacts like the biceps muscle, which means it does not play a major role. The more you turn your hand toward the neutral position, the greater will be the contraction of this muscle. This is another reason why the barbell is more effective for stressing the brachialis.
- The brachialis muscle is a true elbow joint flexor. Since it attaches to the ulna, it is equally effective whether the hand is pronated, supinated, or in a neutral position. This is why, in this exercise, it is the main muscle involved. It is almost as strong as the biceps brachii and because of this is often considered the workhorse in elbow flexion.
- Since the biceps is a two-jointed muscle, it is important to put the upper shoulder end on stretch or to keep it taut for a more effective contraction at the elbow joint. If you move the elbow forward, more slack is created in the upper tendons, which makes the exercise easier because of greater muscle involvement and a change in leverage. Keeping the elbow in place or even moving it back slightly increases the intensity of the biceps contraction.
- The muscles of the forearm play a very important role in stabilizing the elbow joint as well as the wrist. Thus, this exercise is also effective in developing the forearm muscles especially the wrist extensors. This is why you should maintain the hand in line with the forearm throughout execution. Do not allow the wrist to flex.
MAJOR MUSCLES INVOLVED
- The primary muscles involved in the reverse biceps curl are the biceps brachii, brachialis and brachioradialis. The wrist flexor muscles, such as the flexor carpi radialis and ulnaris and palmaris longus may assist weakly but act mainly as stabilizers. However, because of the pronated position of the hand, the pronator teres also works strongly in elbow flexion.
- The biceps brachii has a long and a short head. The division between them can be seen in bodybuilders who have this muscle well developed and have very little fat. Both heads are attached to the scapula at the upper end and then the two heads blend into a common muscle and tendon, which crosses the elbow joint and attaches to the radius, close to the elbow joint.
- The brachialis is located between the biceps and the humerus near the elbow. It is located mainly on the lower half of the humerus and attaches to the ulna bone after crossing the elbow joint.
- The brachioradialis is located on the outer surface of the forearm and creates the rounded contour of the forearm from elbow to thumb. It runs from the lower portion of the humerus close to the elbow, to the lateral surface of the radialis close to the wrist with most of its mass close to the elbow joint.
MUSCLE/JOINT ACTIONS
In the reverse biceps curl there is flexion in the elbow joint in which the forearms move toward the upper arms. Most emphasis is on the radialis followed by the biceps brachii and the pronator teres. The upper arm is stabilized by isometric contraction of the shoulder joint muscles and the elbow by contraction of the wrist flexors and extensors which cross the elbow joint.
SPORTS USES
The reverse biceps curl is one of the best exercises for bodybuilders to develop the brachialis muscle of the upper arm. This muscle helps fill out and develop more mass in the lower part of the upper arm with the biceps comprising most of the muscle mass in the middle. It is also an important exercise for strengthening the biceps brachii and the assistive elbow joint flexors such as the pronator teres. Elbow joint flexion and the muscles involved are very important in all pulling (lifting) actions as seen in pull-ups, climbing, and in raising the body in gymnastics when using pronated grip and in weightlifting when raising the barbell as high as possible in a clean. The actions and muscles involved are also important in wrestling and football when grabbing, squeezing, or holding an opponent and in the martial arts when pulling an opponent into position for a throw.