Curling couldn’t be more simple. You pick up a barbell or dumbbell, set your shoulders, and lift the weight up to your chin. Yet I see folks screw up this arm day favorite way too often, and, usually, the issues are more nuanced. Believe it or not, a shoddy curl can actually strain your back and elbows, so it’s important to treat even the most basic moves with respect.
If you’re making any of these five mistakes, you may need to rethink your curling approach.
1 of 5
South_agency / Getty
You squeeze the bar too hard
While you want to have a good grip on the weight you’re lifting, death-gripping the barbell or dumbbell is a sign that your body is compensating for a lack of strength by recruiting other muscles, such as in your forearms. This will take the tension off the biceps and, if done too often, can actually lead to issues like tennis elbow.
2 of 5
Obradovic / Getty
You’re neglecting angles and bars
You can better target both the long and short head of your biceps by curling with different bars and wide and narrow angles, as well as using the preacher bench.
3 of 5
MichaelSvoboda
You arch your back
Arching your back on each rep indicates that you’re using body English, not your biceps, to get the weight up. You’re also putting your lower back at risk of a strain. To fix this, either curl in a split stance or with your back up against a wall.
4 of 5
Per Bernal / Getty
You don’t respect the eccentric
If you fire up big weights and then let your arms fall back into place, you’re missing out on half the rep. Hold the contraction for a second at the top and then lower the weight to a three count. You’ll increase your biceps’ time under tension to do more damage to your muscle fibers overall.
5 of 5
Westend61 / Getty
You don’t curl one arm at a time
Curling with one arm at a time can help correct muscle imbalances you didn’t even know were there. Try this move: Hold one dumbbell in the midcurl position and do eight to 10 reps with the other arm; switch sides. Do three to four sets.
