If you’ve already purchased a set, you’re well aware of the advantages of using Muscle & Fitness Strength Bands when performing compound, multi-joint exercises like the bench press and squat.
With non-compound, body part-specific exercises like the barbell curl, the concepts of speed and power development with elastic bands are exactly the same as with compound moves. At the start position of a curl, the only resistance you’ll feel is the weight of the barbell. Once you start curling the bar, the tension in the bands increases, forcing you to learn to explode out of the start position to overcome the additional load this tension generates.
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Set up for banded barbell curls in a power rack, with the barbell sitting on the safety bars just below the start position of the exercise. Attach elastic bands to each side of the bottom of the rack, then clip them on the outside sleeves of the barbell, inside of whatever weight you choose to add. There should be a small amount of band tension on the barbell when it’s sitting on the spotter bars.
Begin with a warm-up set using just the barbell with band tension. With body part exercises, you’ll be unaccustomed to working with band tension, so you’ll need to get used to it before adding weight. Once you get a feel for what you’re up against, gradually add weight until you know how much to use for your actual working sets.
This four-week band cycle is designed to add power and explosiveness to your biceps, which will allow you to work with significantly more weight when you return to performing curls with straight weight. Since you’ll be working in the 8-12 rep range, you’ll still be causing muscle damage, with will encourage your biceps to continue to adapt and grow.
