Dumbbell Alternate Bicep Curl

Muscle Targeted: Biceps

Starting position:

Choose an appropriate dumbbell weight to match your type of training. Stand up with your torso upright and a dumbbell in each hand being held at arm’s length, palms facing each other (inwards).

Exercise:

Flex your elbow and rotate your wrist so that your palm is facing your arm in the upper position. Bring your hand back to the starting position in the same way and repeat with the alternate arm. Breathe out as you go up and breathe in back to the starting position.

Note:

Choose the weight to match your abilities and fitness level. Start with lighter resistance to master the technique well.
Focus on abdominal breathing. Lock your elbows in one position (close to the torso). Avoid fast and uncontrolled motion as you are returning back to the starting position as a resulting of relaxation of the muscle contraction.

Recommendation:

Choose the number of repetitions to match your training type. Watch yourself in the mirror to make sure you eliminate use of the trapezius muscles and maintain correct shoulder position. Avoid excessive elbow motion. Repeat the exercise with a frequency matching your breathing cycle and make sure to maintain correct technique.

***

This is a variation of dumbbell curls: while it is sometimes hard to coordinate the movement of both arms, alternate movement enables more concentration. Some athletes do the alternating curls in the last set (when the muscles are already exhausted) or only at the end of each set (for the same reason).

  1. Less isolation (or more correctly less limited movement). Additional muscles are involved by balancing the arm.
  2. Equal weight on both arms. This is especially important for the beginners who tend to have their dominant arm better developed.
  3. Less stress on the wrists. While holding the barbell (and to some extent also EZ-bar) forces the hand into unnatural position that can lead to wrist injury. In biceps curl you start the motion from a position where the palms are facing each other.
  4. Additional movement – rotating the forearm from the position where the palms are facing each other to the position where palms are facing upwards. This is the second most important function of the biceps muscle (after elbow flexing).
  5. Better brachioradialis development. In the first phase of the movement, the brachioradialis muscle is directly involved.