What is a Concentration Curl? | What are its Benefits?
It is a Biceps – arm exercise performed by sitting on a bench with legs spread apart, resting the working arm on the inner part of the leg, and lifting the dumbbell from a fully hanging position to maximum elbow joint angle, thereby fully contracting the arm.
When it comes to focusing on the biceps muscle, or isolating the biceps, the only exercise that comes to mind should be the Concentration Curl. What sets it apart from other biceps exercises is its ability to simultaneously create both muscle tearing and a pump effect.
Other names for the exercise:
Dumbbell concentration curl
Biceps concentration curl
Concentrations
How to Perform a Concentration Curl?
Sit on the edge of a bench and spread your legs. Lean forward slightly. Rest the elbow of your working arm on the inner part of the same-side leg (not on top, which is one of the most common mistakes).
Let your arm hang perpendicular to the floor. This will be your starting position. (See image A) Inhale, then exhale and lift the dumbbell using only your biceps muscle, within 1 – 1.5 seconds. (See image B)
Once you reach the peak point (where the arm can no longer contract), hold for 1 second and then, while inhaling, lower the dumbbell within 1.5 – 2 seconds. The purpose of this is to achieve more tearing through the negative phase of the movement.
When you reach the bottom point, without pausing, exhale and begin to lift again.
Complete the desired number of repetitions for one arm and then switch to the other arm. For the Concentration Curl exercise, 4 sets of 10 repetitions will be appropriate. Since this exercise provides both development and a pump, increase the weight instead of increasing the number of repetitions.
What Muscles Does the Concentration Curl Work?
The Concentration curl exercise, by its literal meaning, refers to concentrating, or focusing, on bending the arm. When the elbow joint is braced against the leg and the arm is fully hanging, it works in its most isolated state.
This means you cannot generate momentum by swinging your body or arm. The biceps muscles perform their primary function of flexion and extension under load with zero assistance. This, in turn, leads to optimal muscle development.
I also mentioned that the exercise provides a pump simultaneously. Normally, to get a pump effect, we would do drop sets or an extra set with low weight and maximum repetitions at the end of sets. However, this exercise does not require that.
As soon as you get into the Concentration curl form, a large part of your arm will be below your heart level, which can lead to increased blood pooling and, as a result, a significant pump effect.
Primarily working muscles:
Primarily working muscles:
Biceps – Arm Muscles
Biceps Brachii Short Head: This is the shorter head of the upper arm muscle located on the inner side towards the body. It originates from the scapula (shoulder blade), passes through the inner part of the humerus (upper arm bone) towards the body, and then attaches to the upper part of the radius bone on the outer side of the forearm.
Biceps Brachii Long Head: This is the longer head of the upper arm muscle located on the outer side relative to the body. It originates from the upper end of the humerus (upper arm bone) and attaches to the ulna (forearm bone).
These two muscles are known as the biceps. Their primary function is to flex, or close, the arm inwards. As they develop, the length and volume of the upper arm muscles increase.
Brachialis: Located beneath the biceps brachii muscles. It originates from the middle part of the humerus bone and attaches to the ulna forearm bone. It adds volume to the arm in terms of circumference.
