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Biceps Workout – Supinated Wrist Curl With Dumbbell
Table of Contents
Supinated wrist curl with a dumbbell is one of the most popular basic exercises for developing arm muscles. Traditionally, it’s one of the favorites in men’s training programs. Girls also love the exercise, since it can significantly improve the shape of the arms and tone the muscles.
What muscles work during the exercise?
Supinated wrist curl with a dumbbell works the muscles of the front of the shoulder:
Biceps (target muscles). Lifts help to increase the strength and volume of the biceps muscles, help to work out the peak of the biceps
Brachialis or shoulder muscles. These muscles are located under the biceps and help to flex the arm at the elbow joint. When working out the brachialis, the biceps is naturally squeezed up. The combination of the development of these two muscles gives the arms the desired volume
Additionally, the brachioradialis muscles (located on the outer sides of the forearms) and round pronators are involved. The front deltas act as stabilizers
Supinated wrist curl with a dumbbell is effective for athletes of all skill levels. With the same technique, the working weight, as well as the number of reps and sets, will vary depending on your goals.
Supination is a turn of the hand outward
The exercise can be performed in the following variations:
Standing dumbbell curls
Seated upper body dumbbell workout
Dumbbell seated concentration curl
Seated incline dumbbell front raises
Exercise technique
The correct technique is most easily illustrated with an example of a standing exercise.
The exercise is performed in a standing position most often
When working with large weights or with asymmetry in the right and left arm muscles, you can do alternate curls.
Sitting on a bench option
Important points:
Avoid jerking and using force when doing the exercise. If the reps are too hard, lower the weight or shorten the set. The correct technique is critical
Do not swing or lift your elbows from the body
«When lifting the dumbbells, do not twist the hands until the angle at the elbow joint is 90 degrees. Also, do not turn your wrists back at the bottom point.»
Exercise variations
Supinated wrist curl with a dumbbell, as already mentioned, can be performed while standing or sitting. The technique, in either case, does not differ. Let’s take a look at dumbbell seated concentration curl and seated incline dumbbell front raises.
Dumbbell seated concentration curl
You can work with a lot of weight by keeping your elbow securely in place.
The elbow is fixed with an emphasis on the thigh, which allows you to take a little more weight
Sit on a bench with your feet wide apart and firmly rest your feet on the floor
Take a dumbbell in your hand, lean forward slightly with your back straight and rest your elbow on the inner thigh. In the starting position, the elbow is slightly bent. Place your other hand on your thigh or knee
Raise the dumbbell to your shoulder, hold the position for 1-2 seconds and return to the starting position. Do not bend your back and wrist
Perform the required number of reps and shift the dumbbell to your other hand
Seated incline dumbbell front raises
Supinated wrist curl with a dumbbell on an incline bench is good because the target muscle is in a stretched state in the initial position.
Performing an exercise on an incline bench
Raise the back of the bench to a 45-degree angle. Take the dumbbells in your hands and sit on the bench. The arms should hang down to the sides of the body. The palms are turned towards the body, the elbows are slightly bent. Fixing your elbows while lying on the bench is more difficult since you have nothing to rest them on. However, this should be done with muscular effort
Raise the dumbbells slowly and in a controlled manner. When the right angle is reached, start supination of the hand
At the top, the wrists are directed backward, as in the standard exercise
Return to starting position
Training program
If your goal is to maximize your biceps volume, a supinated wrist curl with a dumbbell won’t be enough. Use reverse grip barbell front raise. This is a hard, powerful exercise. The bar does not allow rotation of the hand, so the exercise captures less muscle, but you can work with more weight and achieve maximum tension.
«Girls and athletes with an initial level of training are recommended to use medium and light weights. Once you have perfectly practiced the lifting technique with such a load, the weight can be increased.»
Optimal for weight training is 3-4 sets of 8-12 repetitions.
After each set, do a biceps stretch to improve blood circulation in the muscles and, accordingly, increase the training efficiency.
When training for fat burning, it makes sense to do a dumbbell curl with a low weight at a pace above average. The number of reps in this case also increases.
