The Least Effective Dumbbell Curl Variations For Building Biceps

If you really want to build big biceps, you need variety. This means you need to find as many effective variations as possible to use. Effective is the key word here. Although any curling action will work the biceps, some curling exercises are near enough useless for the biceps brachii, while others only moderately effective. I’ll take you through the least effective – in order of worst – and explain why they aren’t so great at building the biceps brachii, so you won’t waste so much time trying to get big results from them.

Reverse Curls

Reverse curls will help to build upper arm size, but not in the way you think; their use as a biceps builder is almost non-existent.

When you curl something palms down, the biceps are at their most disadvantaged position. Another muscle takes over to curl the weight, and that muscle is the brachialis.

Situated between the triceps and the biceps, the brachialis must be worked for full upper arm development, but nobody ever built huge biceps purely from building the brachialis.

Hammer Curls

Hammer curls place your palm in a neutral position (palms inward) throughout, which means when the weight is curled the biceps are in less of a disadvantaged position than they are in reverse curls, so they have more involvement. However, the brachialis is still very much involved.

Twisting Curls

Twisting curls are, to many people, simply regular dumbbell curls as this is the way they always do them. However, they aren’t the most effective way. With these types of curl, the dumbbells start off in a hammer curl position (palms inward) and as the curl progresses, the palm is supinated (turned upward) by the time full contraction is made, and the reverse movement takes place on the way down.

With the palms only being completely supine during a portion of the movement, these types of curls are pretty much midway between hammer curls and completely supine dumbbell curls.

Some people argue they are the most effective method for working the biceps brachii because the twist (supination) involved works the biceps, too. The twist does work the biceps, true, but the fact remains the biceps brachii still aren’t in their prime pulling position for the entire range and the brachialis is heavily involved until supination takes place, rendering them less effective for building the biceps brachii than supine curls.

Conclusion:

Ultimately, the more supine your grip is (palms up) the better you engage the biceps brachii by putting them in the most mechanically advantageous pulling position, minimizing brachialis involvement. For this reason, the most effective way to work the biceps brachii is using a grip which is supine throughout the entire range of motion.

Having said this, don’t forget the brachialis is important for upper arm strength and size. It assists the biceps brachii in curls and pushes the biceps brachii out at the bottom and creates upper arm thickness from the front, so for aesthetics and strength purposes, it is essential this muscle must also be built, and the aforementioned curls are just what you need to build the brachialis!