Do you remember when you last did a bicep curl? If you’re a regular in weight rooms, it might have been only in the last few days. But can you remember when you last did reverse curls? No, right?
Reverse curls are the variation of curls in which your palm is face down instead of face up. You curl your weight up with your palm away from you instead of towards you.
If you’re one of the weight-room regulars who hasn’t tried reverse curls, then you’re missing out. This move helps you form bigger biceps and strengthens your muscles. The improvement to your grip strength and forearm adds muscular size. Additionally, this move equips you with better body strength to lift heavier.
Most men’s main barrier to progress in weight lifting is their weakest link. This weak link generally is their grip strength. Reverse curls will help you train that weak link and develop grip strength.
How To Perform Reverse Curls?
For the Reverse curls, you can use a straight barbell like an Olympic bar, an EZ curl bar, or dumbbells. Remember that you cannot lift the same weight as you could with an underhand grip. So, you should start your curls with almost half that weight and increase after a couple of sets.
It would help if you got your form correct when performing reverse curls, so it is best to start with lighter weights. If you’re using dumbbells, then hold them with your palms facing downward. If you’re using an EZ curl bar, hold it on the downward-sloping part. To make sure that you’ve assumed the correct form, keep your elbows close to your side and bend your knees a little. Your hands should grip the bar and then curl it up like you would in a regular curl.
Step-by-step Reverse Curls Workout
You need to stand with your back straight, chest lifted, and shoulders back to do reverse curls. Choose to rest the dumbbells on the front of your thighs.
- Breathe out and bend your elbows while lifting the weights towards your shoulders.
- Keep lifting the weight until your biceps contract.
- Breathe in and lower the weights to your starting position as you do.
Benefits of The Reverse Curls
The main muscles targeted while you do reverse curls are the brachialis and the biceps brachii. Hidden under your biceps, the brachialis is not a visible muscle, but it is important. The brachialis acts as a pathway between the forearm and the upper arm bone. It is also the primary muscle involved in elbow flexion.
So, adding reverse curls to your workout regime will help you in lifting much heavier weights. Reverse curls will improve your grip strength and bulk up your muscles. Also, the workout will strengthen your body and help in doing the regular bicep curls with heavier weights. It will also correct any imbalance between your extensor and flexor muscles. This grip, also called the pronated grip, is the best way to promote grip strength.
Additional Benefits
Reverse Curls are used in rehabilitation after bicep injuries at times. This move is not used until after the three-month post-injury mark. It has a lot of benefits in strengthening the arm and the grip. You can start with lighter weights and move up the weight count as your body recovers.
Tips on Reverse Curls
Now that we’ve discussed the instructions and the benefits, here are some tips for this move. Reverse Curls are not a difficult move to master as long as you focus on your form. Performing it takes a lot of focus since this will be a new exercise for most of you. To help you master the form, here are a few tips that you can remember the next time you attempt these.
- Bring Your Elbows Together.
One thing you need to focus on when performing reverse curls is your elbows. It will be very helpful if you bring your elbows closer to each other when you do the curl. Bringing your elbows together will help increase the brachialis muscle contraction. To bring your elbows closer, imagine that you are rotating your arms inward while you do the curl.
- Let Your Wrist Flex At The Top.
The next tip for you to achieve a perfect form is that you allow your wrists to flex at the top. While you are raising your elbows, let your wrists flex when you are pointing forward. This flex will resemble a front squat and your arm’s position in the move. The tip will help you contract the brachialis muscle in a better manner.
- EZ Bar’s Grip
If you’re performing reverse curls with an EZ Bar, then do not grip your bar against the top of the slope of the bar. If you grip at the top, you will be bracing your thumb at the centre of the bar. This form can decrease your forearm’s and the gripping muscle’s work. So, make sure that you are gripping at the bottom of the slope. This grip of the bar will prevent the bracing effect and thus apply pressure on the targeted muscles. Such a grip will help you avoid the bracing effect and so more tension on the primary targets.
- End of Bicep Workout
The final tip for you when performing reverse curls is that you perform it at the end of your bicep training. When your arms are weak after the bicep training, you can shock them to stimulate growth with a new and rare move. 2-3 sets at the end of the arms or biceps workout should be enough to achieve your goal.
These were a few tips for you to get the perfect form when you’re performing reverse curls.
Mistakes During Reverse Curls
Here are a few common mistakes that you can avoid when attempting reverse curls.
- Extra Weight
A very common mistake that people make with reverse curls is that they take heavyweights. They take the same amount of weights as they would for regular bicep curls. The goal of this exercise is not to blast your biceps. Its goal is to develop the muscle hidden under the bicep and strengthen your grip. Too much weight puts you at risk of wrist and muscle injury.
- Applying Momentum
Another common mistake is using momentum to lift the weight. Momentum also shows that the weight is too heavy. This exercise needs your upper arms fixed in place while your elbows lift the weight. Keep your body mechanics and weight resistance proper at all times.
These are a few mistakes that you should avoid when performing reverse curls. This is everything you need to know about this exercise to strengthen the muscles behind your bicep and strengthen your grip.