Concentration Curls or hammer curls

aboa · Post by **aboa** » Sat Mar 21, 2009 7:43 pm

So yeah i was wondering what is better to do between these two?

Thanks
~ABOA

HoustonTexan · Post by **HoustonTexan** » Sat Mar 21, 2009 7:49 pm

Hammer

Chinups are better.

aboa · Post by **aboa** » Sat Mar 21, 2009 8:25 pm

Chinups seems more of something to do at a gym... unfortunately i do not have a gym membership anymore and prolly won't have one for a bit... and only got a few wts around to keep muscles going.

Thank you.

swanso5 · Post by **swanso5** » Sat Mar 21, 2009 10:06 pm

find a tree or go to the park

thekid24 · Post by **thekid24** » Sat Mar 21, 2009 11:07 pm

go find a monkey bar.

Tyler Hawke · Post by **Tyler Hawke** » Sun Mar 22, 2009 8:12 am

You want to do both. I was told by a trainer that Hammers help define the bicep in a way that gives you that little indentation/definition on your arm before you get to the shoulder. Concentrations gives you the big bicep muscle.

Boss Man · Post by **Boss Man** » Sun Mar 22, 2009 9:25 am

They're not really bad, though Concentrations are not as good in Hammers in view. If you do try anything like that, if possible try doing the Hammers on an incline working both Arms in Tandem, not, for more of an impact, as opposed to alternating from one ot the other during a set.

Mustangs80 · Post by **Mustangs80** » Sun Mar 22, 2009 10:27 am

when your hands are facing eachother as in hammer ups, you're also definately working your forearms. just throwing it out there.

RK19 · Post by **RK19** » Sun Mar 22, 2009 1:16 pm

aboa wrote:Chinups seems more of something to do at a gym... unfortunately i do not have a gym membership anymore and prolly won't have one for a bit... and only got a few wts around to keep muscles going.

Thank you.

you can buy chinup bars dirt cheap that can be fitted between a doorframe. problem solved.

swanso5 · Post by **swanso5** » Sun Mar 22, 2009 5:47 pm

concentration curls are really ordianary...the wt used is so light it renders it totally pointless, if you can curl 25kgs then why bother doing a worser variation with 10kgs max?

hammer develop the brachialis which runs along the outside of the bicep so can give you a fuller look

no exercise gives you a defined look, low body fat does

Joesportstalk · Post by **Joesportstalk** » Thu Mar 26, 2009 1:44 pm

I do both as well as standing barbell curls too.

Packard · Post by **Packard** » Fri Mar 27, 2009 1:19 pm

Concentration curls are good for working a high peak on the biceps but they generally yield truncated biceps.

Hammer curls will give a very long biceps muscle (when flexed) and also develops the little knot of the biceps that appears on the outside of the arm near the triceps. It also will add to the forearm development.

Neither of these should be your primary biceps exercise. An EZ Curl bar with a medium grip would be the primary exercise.

I always include hammers. But I find that the EZ curl bar with a close grip is also good for peak and I use that more often than concentration curls.

Note: Short vs Long biceps. If you don't work the very bottom of the curling exercise you will end up with a biceps muscle that is good for peak, but will look truncated. That is it starts more 1 inch from th crook of the arm. If you do the full range of the motion (no cheating at the bottom) you will develope a biceps muscle that starts much closer to the crook of the arm and it is "longer". I doubt that the actual muscle fibers are longer or shorter, but the apperance of the biceps is longer. Hammers overcome the truncating effect of swinging the bar at the bottom of the exercise, or moving the elbows back to cheat the curl up.

barleycorn428 · Post by **barleycorn428** » Fri Mar 27, 2009 9:05 pm

Personal results.....stopped doing curls about year ago.only doing DL's,squats,bench/oh press and chinups and I have more definition now than all that time with curls

aboa · Post by **aboa** » Fri Mar 27, 2009 11:43 pm

thank you guys. RK19 thank you for the heads up on this and i am now ordering one =]

sounds like hammer is a better choice for me at this point to be main focus for curls. Again thank you all for your wonderful tips and opinions.

Packard · Post by **Packard** » Sat Mar 28, 2009 4:16 pm

Just a note: Curls are not a "functional" exercise. Doing curls will not help you with any actual work, and really big biceps will interfere with your ability to do some activities.

I recall one time when I got on this "big arms binge" and I trained very hard doing lots of curls and triceps work. arms got so big that I could not button top button on shirt. forearms would hit biceps and I could not reach the button. Hardly a functional exercise.

The pull ups and chin ups are functional.

That said, curls, hammer curls, reverse curls all add up to a pleasing looking body and I would include some of these in any routine.