- The incline biceps curl
is one of the most underrated curls out there,
it's a really great curl
to help you develop your biceps peak
and it's a curl that's going to challenge your biceps
in a new way.
Here we're going to put our biceps on stretch
and by working from that position
we're going to recruit more muscle fibers
and we also get to get a really really good squeeze
at the top of every single round.
Understanding how to do this though is key,
because if you don't, you're going to damage your shoulders.
We're going to show you how to get it just right
and really get that good biceps squeeze from it right now.
All we're trying to do with this curl
is get our elbow behind our torsos
so that we put our biceps on stretch,
that's our purpose here.
But we don't need to wildly get our elbow behind our torso
in order to get that stretch
and a lot of times we're taking our shoulder
out of its natural position when we do that.
So one of the biggest adjustments
and one of the biggest mistakes I see on the incline curl
is people start with this 30 to 45 degree incline
and that's not the position that you want to be in
because look at how much stretch we've got on that biceps
and look at how much stretch we've got on your shoulders.
You still want to protect your shoulders
and you just don't need that much stretch on your biceps
to get something out of this curl.
So what we're going to do to start
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and we're going to move this up,
think about having your incline bench
around a 60 degree angle
whatever is closest to a 60 degree angle
is going to be your best place
for this incline curl.
You can actually even go a little bit higher if you need
because when Brett goes back onto this bench
what you're instantly going to see,
let's let the weight hang
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is he's still got some stretch on that biceps.
We don't need a wild stretch on the biceps
and we can't really use our biceps
and use our biceps with a light of load
if we get too much stretch
but here he's going to be able to still move
a decent amount of weight
and his shoulders are going to be comfortable.
If you have shoulder pain when you're doing this move,
it's likely because you've got that bench too far back
and your shoulders are just under too much stretch
and when you have that pain
you're not going to be able to focus
on what we want to get out of the curl.
So once Brett is in this position
we want to think about a couple things
before we start curling.
First is going to be head positioning,
yes, you can lay your head back.
What I generally find for most people
is that it's a little bit more comfortable
just throughout your thoracic spine
if you keep your head up.
Next thing we want to do,
we want to make sure that Brett's shoulder blades
are nice and tight.
He wants to squeeze through them
that's going to again, create a little bit more space
for his rotator cuff tendons to work
and it's going to keep him from driving too far forward
and getting any kind of shoulder pain.
So we want to make sure
that his shoulder blades stay squeezed.
Third thing we want to think about,
we want to make sure we've got a perpendicular line
from shoulder to elbow
and we want to maintain that for the life of the curl
and we're trying to get our elbows behind our torso.
Once we lose that
if Brett starts to let his elbow shift forward
then he loses that position and we lose that advantage
or we lose that disadvantage actually
that our biceps have to overcome.
So this is the position from which you curl.
Once you're here, the incline curl is simple.
All Brett is going to do, again,
he's going to work on keeping his elbows back
maintain this perpendicular line
and all he's going to do is curl up.
This is not an explosive move either,
what you want to actually do is keep it nice
and controlled with the tempo
that way you can feel your biceps working.
When you get to the top
try to squeeze the heck out of your biceps
on every single rep because that's what we're working
and you're going to get more out of it
if you add that squeeze on these isolation style movements.
Key thing you'll notice too is as Brett's curling up
that elbow is not coming forward.
As you start to use heavier weights
your elbow is going to want to shift forward
a little bit more
and that's okay at the end but you want to hold them back
for as long as possible
and at that last move,
if you drive your elbows forward a little bit, that's okay.
Especially when you're going heavier,
a secondary function of your biceps
is actually that shoulder reflection.
So it's okay to have a little bit of that in the movement
but you want to make sure that you stay back on that curl
for as long as possible
because that's what's going to allow you
to get the most out of it for your biceps.
So that is your incline curl
and again this is not going to be the heaviest curl
that you do.
What we're using it for
is as a compliment to our other curls.
You're going to go with your standing barbell curl
or your standing dumbbell curl as your lead curl
that's going to be your strongest move.
Then maybe you have a hammer curl in your workout
and then have a preacher curl
where again your elbow shift in front of your torso.
You're using the incline curl
the best way to use it
is going to be as probably your final biceps exercise
because it's not an exercise
where you're going to be able to lift max weight.
So you just get your elbows
behind your torso on your final move
and think of doing 10 to 12 reps, for three sets.
Keep the weight manageable and focus on squeeze
and again, focus on keeping your elbows behind your torso
for as long as you can
so that we work from that stretch position
and challenge our biceps in a new way.
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