Think you know how to gym, bro? Think again. You may think you look good curling some iron and looking at yourself in the mirror, but what if we told you there was a more effective way of getting those sleeve-busting guns?
The old adage says “curls get girls.” Sure, it usually refers to curly hair, but that’s neither here nor there.
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When it comes to bicep curls, we’ve always been taught to bend the elbow, curl the dumbbell towards your shoulder, contract the muscle, and drop it back down to the starting position (Jo Lindner has previously said a simple twist at the top of the rep can help your guns explode further). Fairly simple, right?
Simple, yes. Effective? Perhaps not.
A new study from Edith Cowan University (ECU) has shown that this technique might not be the most efficient for building strength and size in your biceps.
The researchers found that rather than lifting and lowering the weights as is the established technique, gym-goers should focus solely on the lowering part of the movement.
The study used three training groups – all of whom performed dumbbell curls twice a week for five weeks – and a control group.
The groups carried out the following variations:
- Group 1 – lowering dumbbell
- Group 2 – lifting dumbbell
- Group 3 – lifting and lowering dumbbell alternatively
At the end of the five weeks, the results found that group 1 and group 3 recorded very similar gains in strength. In short, simply lowering the weight, was as effective as doing a normal bicep curl.
Group 1 – where participants only lowered the dumbbell– were also found to have the greatest improvement in muscle thickness out of all three groups.
This is despite only performing half as many repetitions as those who performed the regular bicep curl technique, given it also requires a lifting motion.
ECU’s Professor Ken Nosaka said, “This latest study shows that we can be far more efficient in the time we spend exercising and still see significant results by focusing on eccentric muscle contractions [by lowering the weight].”
What does this look like in practice?
The authors of the study recommend that lifters use two hands to help raise the weight up, before using only one arm to lower the weight.
According to them, this technique can be performed with a number of gym exercises, namely:
- Bicep curls
- Overhead extension
- Front raise
- Shoulder press
In terms of leg exercises, the researchers say that the technique can also be applied, by using two legs to raise the weight, and one to lower it again.
This is applicable for:
- Knee extensions
- Leg curls
- Calf raises
This is only one study, and it will take more research before the strength and conditioning world adopt this technique into the lifting “meta”.
Bicep curls which focus on the lowering movement are established, but to completely forgo the lifting element is new development altogether.
But, if you find yourself planning on going to the gym tonight before you go out, perhaps this is an exercise to try to build those big biceps.
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