People are very fond of bicep curls. It’s understandable, as a bulging bicep has been the standard image for strength for generations. And there is nothing wrong with having “big guns”…but curls are given waaaaaaaaaay too much importance!
I see people doing them all day every day. And when i ask what their actual goals are in the gym, the most common answers are
“to lose some weight and get a bit fitter”.
Fantastic goals that we should all strive for! But why are you wasting your time doing bicep curls then? They really aren’t going to help you I’m afraid 🙁
I was told by one bloke that it was essential for him to spend nearly 30 minutes doing various forms of curl….and barely 15 minutes working the rest of his body. Why was he in the gym in the first pace? He wanted to be a better footballer! A very nice lady told me she was doing them to help strengthen her back! (in case you are new…bicep curls don’t strengthen your back).
Many people seem to think that unless you have done curls, you haven’t actually done any exercise. How wrong can you be! Don’t get me wrong…I don’t hate bicep curls and i don’t mean to slag them off. But it is important to put them into perspective. Many people spend a lot of time and money working out for a definite reason (it could be to lose weight, get fitter, improve their athletic ability, recover from injuries etc), and it seems such a shame that they waste it on something that isn’t going to help them. Bicep curls have their place. They help make your biceps bigger, and i have it on good authority that
“chicks dig big guns!”
But unless you are doing a specific bodybuilding programme, there are far better things you can be doing. Basic chin ups will burn more calories, strengthen more of your body, increase your heart rate more and will almost certainly give your bigger, stronger biceps! So unless you are a bodybuilder, step away from the bicep curls and step toward the chin up bar. You know it makes sense 🙂