Resistance Bands Videos - Exercises For Arms -
Biceps Curls
Overview: We are demonstrating a portable workout
using exercise bands. These are resistance bands that consist of
elastic tubing and they are the perfect solution if you are looking
to get a great workout at home, in your office or even while traveling.
In this workout, we will be focusing on the biceps and we will demonstrate
how to perform standing two handed biceps curls.
Muscles Targeted: The standing curls target
the biceps as the primary muscle and also works the forearm as a
secondary muscle. The biceps brachii is a two-headed muscle located
on the upper arm. When you're using the elastic exercise bands,
you will be able to get a great peak at the top of the movement
and place maximum tension on the biceps.
Exercise Advice: Hold the elastic exercise
band in both hands by the handles and place one foot onto the band,
so that you're basically stepping on it. This will provide the least
amount of resistance in the band and allow you to perform the exercise
easily. If you need more tension and resistance, place both feet
on the band which will make the exercise much more difficult. Take
a shoulder width stance, with your knees slightly bent and allow
your hands to hang naturally down to your sides. Slowly raise both
hands up to the top position, which will be at about shoulder level
and make sure to keep your elbows close to your sides and in a fixed
position. Pause for a brief moment at the top and then slowly lower
your hands down to the starting position.
Things To Avoid: The biggest thing you want
to avoid when doing the standing bicep curls is letting your elbows
move up and down while doing the exercise. When you move your elbows,
you're basically creating a multi-joint movement out of this exercise,
which is incorrect. This is a single-joint movement which means
only one joint will be working, which is your elbow joint. If you
move your elbows around, this makes your shoulder joint move back
and forth also, which then makes it a multi-joint exercise. You
want to keep your elbows tucked in close to your sides and focus
on keeping them in a fixed position all the way throughout the exercise.
This will place maximum tension on the biceps and really force them
to work hard when performing this movement.
Reps and Sets: Since the elastic exercise bands
provide less resistance than regular weights like barbells or dumbbells,
your overall repetition range will be higher at around 15-20 reps
per set. Really try to squeeze the biceps at the top of the exercise
in order to place peak tension on the muscle. Your overall sets
should be in the range of 1-3 depending on your fitness level. Try
to combine this exercise with other bicep movements in order to
hit the muscle from different angles.
Other Exercises To Use: Along with the standing
bicep curls, a few other great exercises you can include in your
overall biceps workout routine include the chin
ups and the elevated
biceps curls. By adding additional exercises into your training
routine, you will be able to stimulate the muscle from different
angles which will help to make it grow bigger and stronger!