Overview: The great thing about using elastic exercise bands is that you can use them virtually anywhere and get a really good workout. In this exercise, we will be doing elevated biceps curls using a door handle. You can use any type of fixed object to secure your exercise band for this exercise such as a handle of your closet door. Just make sure to choose something that is fixed since you do not want the exercise band to come loose when performing the exercise.
Muscles Targeted: This exercise targets the biceps muscle as the primary muscle group and it also hits the forearms as the secondary muscle. The key is to avoid moving your elbows during the movement in order to place all of the tension on the biceps. Once you start moving the elbows around, it turns into a multi-joint movement (shoulder joint and elbow joint) which is not the goal of this exercise.
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Exercise Advice: Take an exercise band and wrap it around a fixed object. A door knob works great since its fixed and at about waist level. Make sure to lock the door securely so it does not open when you perform the exercise. Grab the handles of the exercise band and slowly pull it back until you take all of the tension out of it. Your goal is to have zero slack in the band before starting. The farther away you are from the door, the more tension will be created in the band and the more difficult the exercise will be. To begin the elevated bicep curls, position your feet with a shoulder width stance with a slight bend in your knees and grab the handles of the band. Bring the handles to about chest level with your arms completely extended and your palms facing up. Slowly curl the bands up towards your chin and make sure to keep your elbows in fixed position throughout the entire range of the movement. As you curl the band up to the top, really flex your biceps at the peak of the movement and pause slightly before slowly lowering the handles back to the starting position.
Things To Avoid: The two biggest mistakes with this exercise is having too much slack in the exercise band and moving your elbows too much during the movement. If you have too much slack, you will not be able to create enough tension in the band to get the right amount of resistance needed to work your bicep muscles. After wrapping the band around the door knob, make sure to walk back away from the door far enough to create tightness in the band. When performing the exercise, avoid letting your elbows move up, down or out when you curl the band up and lower it. When your elbows move around, it takes the focus off of the bicep muscles. Focus on placing your elbows in a fixed position and be aware of keeping them in that position when you’re curling the band up and down.
Reps and Sets: Since these are exercise bands, the level of resistance will not be as high as when you’re using free weight or machines, so the overall number of repetitions will be in the higher range of around 15-20 reps per set. Shoot for 2-3 sets of this exercise in your overall biceps workout and take a 1-2 minute rest between sets to properly recover.
Other Exercises To Use: A couple of great exercises to include with the elevated bicep curls are pullups and one arm bicep curls. This will allow you to target the biceps from multiple angles which really lets you hit the muscle with different stimuli which will shock the muscle into growth.
