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Would
you like to know how to get more out of every
single dumbell curl you do? Amazingly enough,
you can do this simply by changing where you grip
the dumbell.
First,
I'm going to tell you what the trick is, then
I'm going to tell you exactly how and why it works.
Then I'm going to finish by telling you how to
make the trick so powerful it'll blow your mind!
In
a nutshell, instead of gripping the handle in
the middle (as is normally taught), grip the handle
with the thumb and forefinger side of your hand
pressed up against the inside of the dumbell plates.
There will be a space of several inches between
your pinky and the other side plates.
To
take full advantage of this change in your grip,
start the curl with your palms facing in to your
thighs, otherwise known as a neutral or hammer
grip. As you curl up, rotate your forearm so that
your palm is facing up at the top of the movement.
You should feel a strong cramping in your biceps.
Here's how and why this dumbell curl grip change
works:
The
biceps muscle has two main functions. The first
is flexing the elbow (in essence, bringing the
forearm closer to the upper arm like when you
bend your arm to scratch your nose). The other
function is called supination, which is a biomechanical
term for forearm rotation. Supination occurs when
you turn your hand from a palms-down position
to a palms-up position.
The
traditional dumbell curl without forearm rotation
addresses the flexing function of the bicep. Rotating
your forearm as you curl the dumbell up invokes
the supination function of the bicep, working
more of the muscle mass of the bicep and giving
you a stronger contraction.
Holding
the dumbell off-center essentially adds resistance
to the supination function of the bicep muscle.
If you think about it, when you hold your hand
in the middle of the dumbell, the two ends are
balanced like two identical-weight people on a
see-saw. You get very little, if any, resistance
on the supination.
By
holding the dumbell off-center, you tip the balance
of the dumbell towards the pinky side of your
hand. Your bicep must then work against resistance
to accomplish the supination, adding in more resistance
to the curl movement.
This
resistance translates into more efficient work
for the bicep and, ultimately, more results for
you!
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Start
Position
Note the palm
facing into the body in a neutral grip at
the start.
This allows
you to rotate your forearm (supinate) as
you curl it up.
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Middle
Position
The hand is
offset towards the thumb and forefinger
as far as it will go.
This offset
is what gives you resistance during the
supination movement, which is what makes
this exercise innovation more effective.
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Top
Position
At the top,
the forearm is rotated as completely as
possible, with the pinky pointing almost
directly towards the face for maximum contraction
Be sure to
note the funny tan line - it is not essential
to performing this exercise properly but
is kind of entertaining nevertheless.
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Now
I'm going to tell you how to adapt this trick
into something that will make your jaw hit the
floor on the first rep you do.
You've
learned about supination and adding resistance
to the supination movement by holding the dumbell
off-center. You've felt the difference this makes
in your biceps.
Now
imagine how much more effective this trick will
be if you add actual weight for resistance instead
of just shifting your hand over!
In
order to accomplish this, you're going to need
one of two things: do-it-yourself dumbells with
which you can add or remove weight or Plate Mates
(TM), which are small magnetic weight plates that
stick to the metal of the dumbell.
The
execution is simple: make a dumbell with more
weight on one end than the other. That's it. For
example, place 20 pounds of weight on one end
and 25 pounds of weight on the other.
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The
Offset Dumbell
If you look
on the left side of the dumbell there
are two 10 pound plates and one 5 pound
plate (25 pounds total).
On the right
hand side, there are only two 10 pound
plates (20 pounds total).
This difference
in weight on the sides will ensure you
get extra resistance during the supination
movement of the dumbell biceps curl.
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Grip
the dumbell in the middle when you use it, making
sure that the heavier end is on the pinky side
of your hand. If you are using Plate Mates (TM),
stick a few of them onto only one side of the
dumbell to accomplish the same imbalance.
Now
when you curl up and supinate, your bicep is going
to have that added resistance on the supination
movement. The cramping sensation you get on the
very first rep as you come to the top and squeeze
the muscle hard will show you just how powerful
this technique is. The pump you get in your biceps
after your set will seal the deal!
You
will also notice that your forearm and grip are
getting a lot of work with this trick. This is
just icing on the cake and will not decrease the
tension on your bicep in any way.
Note:
If you are using dumbells that weigh less than
30 pounds total, I would recommend you use a 2
1/2 pound plate on one side rather than a 5 pound
plate. Any more than 30 and you should use a 5
pound plate.
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