Chain and Plate Curls

All you need for this exercise is a short length of chain (about 1 to 2 feet long), a clip and a single cable handle.

How To Set Up And Perform The Chain and Plate Curl:

First, get yourself a weight plate. If you can curl more than 30 lb dumbbells, use a 25 lb plate. If not, use a 10 lb plate to start.

You can always add more weight to the setup later - the first step is just to know how to set up and perform the exercise.

First, run the chain through the center hold in the weight plate with a clip attached to one end. Once you've run the chain through, open up the clip and connect the other end of the chain on to make a complete loop.

Now attach the single handle onto the clip.

You've now got a weight plate hanging from a single cable handle. THAT is your new piece of training equipment.

Here's how to perform the exercise.

Grasp the cable handle and stand up. Hold the cable handle with your palm facing forward.

Curl the handle up to the top position, just like you were doing a dumbbell or cable curl.

When you come to the top, you'll find out why this setup is so effective...instead of losing tension at the top, as can happen at the top of a dumbbell or barbell curl, because the resistance is hanging from the chain, you KEEP strong tension on the biceps at the top!

This makes for a VERY tough exercise with great tension on the biceps through the whole range of motion.

And to make this exercise even MORE effective, when you're coming up to the top of the curl, let your wrist bend back and down. This will move the resistance a bit further away from your arm and increase the tension on the biceps.

On the way down, keep your palm facing forward. This will keep better tension on the biceps on the way down.

On a side note, the weight plate should be perpendicular to your body as you do the exercise (i.e. if someone was standing in front of you, they could see the entire front face of the weight plate).

If you have a second short length of chain, you can also make a second chain-and-plate combo and do this exercise both arms at the same time (or alternating), just like dumbbell curls.

CONCLUSION:

If you're not getting the results you want with standard barbell or dumbbell curls, give this "chain and plate" curl a try. The change in tension will make a BIG difference in your results.

You can use a similar chain and plate setup for working your lateral delts as well.

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