Thanks to the PE-III course of Marianas High School, taught by Nick Gross, I feel that it is necessary to point out with a great passion that the popular exercise of bicep curling is an extreme waste of time and energy.
To start it off, bicep curling is an isolation exercise, meaning that you are only training one muscle. Think about that: why waste energy on an exercise that targets one muscle when you can use that energy to fuel a lift that targets and strengthens multiple muscle groups?
Compound lifts like Bench Pressing, Deadlifting and Squatting are superior because they use a group of muscles to perform an action, as opposed to using just one muscle.
These muscles then get bigger. With a bicep curl, only one muscle grows. It wouldn’t make sense for you to want to get bigger by doing an exercise that only makes one little part of your body bigger.
Now that I made that clear, I also wanted to point out that compound lifts can be transferred into sports. Compound lifts help you run faster, jump higher, and do all the other great qualities that make up a great athlete.
And since you work out more muscles you expend a lot more energy, which can turn you into a fat burning machine.
So I know a thing or two about weight lifting, and here’s what I noticed in the weight rooms: guys curling in an attempt to get bigger and stronger.
I don’t necessarily hate curling; I curl from time to time; but when I see a skinny guy that wants to get big or strong and bases his whole routine with arm curling and isolation movements like calf raises and leg curling, it leaves me scratching my head, thinking if he’s joking.
So what’s the real reason behind bicep curling? I think people curl because they want those big arms to intimidate or wow people. Their vanity can lead them to some injuries in the weight room.
Their bodies will be imbalanced and recovering from injuries might take a while, leading to muscle loss.
I urge you to make smarter lifting decisions that will increase your health and improve your life. Compound lifts are the key to increasing overall physical fitness. That means improving all your muscles, not just one area. Happy lifting, everyone!
