The biceps are
the showpiece muscles of your physique. Well-developed
biceps really stand out.
To maximally develop
the bicep muscles, you need to apply tension to
them in three distinct areas of their range of
motion (if you are familiar with Steve Holman's
"Positions of Flexion" training, you'll
recognize these areas). Most bicep exercises work
only one area at a time. The Squatting Cable Curl
exercise you are about to learn works all three
at once!
The first area
is the stretch position. This position is
worked in exercises that place the most tension
on the muscle when it's stretched. This could
be dumbell flyes for the chest or, for the biceps,
incline curls. The body position of the incline
curl (you lying on an incline bench with your
arms hanging straight down) puts a stretch on
the biceps muscle at the start of the movement.
The second area
is the mid-range. This is basically just the
middle of the movement. Exercises that have most
of their tension placed in the middle of the movement
work the mid-range. For the biceps, this could
be standing barbell or dumbell curls. You'll notice
that they are hardest when you are halfway through
the movement (90 degree bend in the elbows).
The third area
is the contracted position. Exercises that
have the majority of their tension when the muscle
is contracted, such as concentration curls for
the biceps, work this third area.
Taken separately,
each of these three areas contributes to full
development of the muscle. For example, if you
wanted to do a bicep routine based on this theory,
you could do one set of incline curls, two sets
of barbell curls, then one set of concentration
curls. This routine would ensure you are working
all three tension-areas of the bicep.
But what if I told
you there was an exercise you could do that would
work all three of these areas at once? Each of
the three movements I referred to above lose tension
in the biceps at some point because of gravity
and the positioning of the resistance. There is
zero tension in the biceps at the bottom of the
concentration curl. This factor decreases the
effectiveness of the individual exercise.
The Squatting Cable
Curl solves this tension-loss problem neatly and
easily. First, I'll explain how to do it, then
I'll tell you exactly how and why it works.
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How
To Do the Squatting Cable Curl:
To do this exercise,
you will need a low pulley and a curl bar attachment
(it can be the straight or cambered bar).
Attach the bar to
the low pulley and set a weight that is somewhat
less than what you'd use for standing cable curls.
Squat all the way
down (with your butt down on your heels) and grasp
the bar with a regular curl grip. Rest the top
sections of your forearms on the tops of your
knees. Take a small step back so that the plates
on the weight stack are raised up (you need to
have tension at the bottom of the movement). You
are going to be using your knees then your elbows
as the pivot points for this exercise.
When your arms are
straight in this position, you should notice that
your biceps are getting stretched. The weight
is pulling foward and down while your knees are
bracing your arms. This movement does require
a bit of balance, especially when you are first
getting used to it.
Start the curling
movement, rolling your forearms up and over your
knees. This rolling pivot point changes the angle
of tension on the biceps all the way through the
movement.
As your forearms
roll up and over the top of your knees, the pivot
point will then move to your elbows. This will
again change the angle of tension of the exercise.
Continue the movement,
curling the bar up as close to your face as possible.
Squeeze the biceps hard at the top. You should
feel an extremely powerful contraction at this
point as your biceps have had tension on them
for the entire movement. To increase the feeling
of the contraction, you can lean your body back
somewhat (as though you are about to roll backwards).
Now reverse the
sequence, rolling your forearms up and over your
knees again. Get a stretch at the bottom (with
your arms completely straight and the weight pulling
on the biceps) then repeat.
---
How
and Why the Squatting Cable Curl Works:
The Squatting Cable
Curl works by using the cable and your body parts
and positioning to apply variable tension to the
biceps. It applies tension to the biceps during
all three areas of the movement: stretch, mid-range
and contracted positions.
At the very beginning
of the movement, when your knees are pushing your
elbows up and the weight is pulling your hands
down, you are getting a strong biceps stretch.
By applying tension to the biceps, i.e. curling
the weight, you hit the stretch area.
As your forearms
roll over your knees, the biomechanics of the
movement change. You are now applying direct tension
in the mid-range of the exercise. The best part
is, because you are rolling your forearms over
your knees, the angle of pull is constantly changing.
This means you are getting direct tension on the
many different angles of the mid-range area.
When you come to
the point where your forearms roll completely
off your knees and you begin pivoting from your
elbows only, you are focusing on the contracted
position. At this point, you can maximize the
tension of the contraction by consciously squeezing
the biceps hard and pulling the bar as close as
you can to your face.
One of the bonuses
of this exercise is the fact that your arms are
braced against your legs throughout the movement.
This effectively prevents any cheating due to
body or arm movement. This bracing forces strict
form, which makes the biceps do all the work in
the exercise.
