Quote:
Originally Posted by GoChiefs
I dunno, it's been awhile since I did a pullup at the bar in the park. I do a lot of pulldowns on the machine though. I'll have to go try the park again...last time it was about 11-12.
|
*IMO* Pull-ups > bicep curls
You get a much better return on your time investment. Pull-ups work your biceps and your back, too. Biceps are always a stabilizer muscle, except in the curl. Plus, curls take a gigantic amount of concentration to keep the form right. I know once I get above 50 lbs, my form goes to shit. I'd rather do lower weight with the right form than be one of the dudes I see at the gym trying to curl way to much weight and start arching their backs and swinging the weights up using momentum instead of strength.
There was a study done recently in trained lifters. Two groups did the same workout, except one added bicep curls. At the end of 12 weeks, both groups gained the exact same amount of muscle. There was no advantage to adding the bicep curls.
I'm actually in the process of trying this myself. I didn't have any luck doing bicep curls a couple of years ago when they were in my routine. I dropped them and haven't noticed any change in progression or bicep strength. So, two weeks ago, I added them back in just to see. I'll re-evaluate in March, but I'm not very hopeful that they'll do much of anything.
Kudos to you if they work for you, but they sure haven't for me in the past. Good luck and let us know how it goes
