STOP Doing Bicep Curls Like This (5 Mistakes Slowing Your Gains)

Biceps training isn’t complicated. Although there are tons of different exercises, they pretty much all boil down to one movement: bicep curls. Hold a weight, flex the arm. Simple, right? Not really. There are 5 common mistakes almost everyone makes on the bicep curl. Fix these, and your curls (no matter what kind - dumbbell curl or barbell curl or cable curl) will instantly become far more effective at growing your biceps.
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Mistake number 1. You might’ve already noticed that as you curl a weight up, it gets harder and harder and becomes the most difficult mid-way when your forearm is perpendicular to the ground. After this point, it gets easier. Your body can sense this and finds ways for you to “cheat” through this difficult bottom half of the movement without you even realizing. One way it does that is by initiating each rep with a slight swing. Unfortunately, that additional load goes straight to your lower back which is now helping you get the weight up by using momentum. So, try doing a standard set of curls with your regular form. Then, stand with your back against a wall to prevent your body from swinging at all. If you had to drop the weight considerably, then it means you’ve likely been incorporating too much momentum into your regular curls. Although I wouldn’t recommend doing all your curls against a wall, you’ll see far better biceps growth and reduce your risk of injury if you simply lighten the weight and minimize the amount of swing you use, especially towards the end of your set.
For the next mistake, two really interesting studies have found that participants experience more muscle growth when they only do the bottom half of the exercise (i.e., where the muscle is fully stretched). What does this mean? Well, I wouldn’t recommend doing only partial reps from now on, but it does seem that the bottom part of an exercise when the muscle is fully stretched provides a powerful stimulus for growth. Especially in the distal regions of a muscle like the bottom part of your biceps. So, whenever you do your bicep curls, avoid cutting the range of motion short at the bottom position. Instead, extend your arm fully by flexing your triceps at that bottom position before you go into your next rep to ensure your biceps get fully stretched.
Third mistake: flexing your wrist on the bicep curl. The function of the inside forearm muscles is to flex the wrist. Many people, when they curl, subconsciously flex their wrist when trying to get the weight up. This can lead to the forearms working harder than they have to be, and eventually lead to fatigue and cramping. Instead, next time you do a curl, first bend your wrist back so that it’s aligned with your forearm, and then keep it that way as you curl.
Next, let’s talk about the elbows. The primary function of the biceps is to flex the elbow. But whenever you curl with a weight that’s too heavy for your biceps to lift, your front delts will start to help by swinging your elbow forward. Biomechanics expert Coach Kassem tested this and found that allowing the elbows to excessively sway forward during the curl (note: across all variations, including the barbell curl) led to less biceps activation and more front delts activation. So instead, keep your elbow locked and focus on the biceps’ primary function - flexing the arm. A little bit of elbow movement is perfectly fine and hard to avoid, but anything more than what’s shown here will likely lead to more of your front delts taking over instead of your biceps.
Last mistake: forgetting about mind muscle connection. If you struggle to feel your biceps even with proper form, try this out. With your arm by your side, flex your biceps as hard as you can. Then, bring your arm up in front of your face and again flex hard. You should feel a very strong biceps contraction when your arm is in that position. You don’t want to do curls in that position, but you can do this to actually feel what a strong biceps contraction is like. Then, when you go into the dumbbell curl (or whichever curl you prefer), rather than thinking about simply lifting the weight up, think about pulling the bar or dumbbell into your body. And, as you curl the weight up, focus on driving your pinkies up towards the ceiling. This emphasizes another function of the biceps, supination, which can help you get an even stronger contraction to get the most out of every single rep.
Next time you do curls, apply these 5 fixes and let me know in the comments below just how much of a difference it makes!

[@JeremyEthier]

Hope you enjoyed this one! What exercise would you like to see me cover next? Comment below!

[@Monkey_Luffy01]

I'm so skinny😭 I can't fix it. Even if I eat a lot😭 Welllppppp

[@Delorean15]

Rope pull downs! Loved this video, thank you 🙏🏻

[@The_786_truth]

Loss belly fat plz

[@number-cc6vm]

leg extensions?

[@suitsued9964]

Day 3748492927 asking about when the new programs will release?

[@crippa1]

Tip 1: Keep back straight Tip 2: Use full ROM (range of motion) Tip 3: Keep wrist aligned with forearms to avoid too much forearm fatigue Tip 4: Keep shoulder movement to a minimum to avoid too much front delt usage (reduces the amount of work the biceps need to work which is not good) Tip 5: Mind Muscle Connection Hope it saved you guys a bit of time.

[@manimerlin235]

Thank you

[@Deciden0w.]

Hero we need but Hero we don't deserve. You are a legend sir!

[@mangotangoxy]

thx but kinda feel sorry for the guy editing the video lol

[@rodrigovaccari7547]

Lol I love how in these videos, people will write down the minimum information possible like it's any helpful. "Keep back straight" - Really helps someone that doesn't know how to do that in the first place. "Use full ROM (range of motion)" Oh great, I had no idea what the range of motion of the biceps even was, now that you mentioned I understand it perfectly. "Keep shoulder movement to a minimum to avoid too much front delt usage (reduces the amount of work the biceps need to work which is not good)" Because? Using multiple muscles is bad? So doing squats, deadlifts, bench presses is bad? "Mind Muscle Connection " Wow, extremely helpful. Instead of reading these fillers, watch the video with actual explanations, so you can hopefully understand the arguments and visualize what you actually need to do rather than reading a bullet point list.

[@MauLi2010]

Kinda disrespect for all the work and information Jeremy puts in just 7:33 Minutes. Watch the Video guys, it helps!

[@SP-xw3et]

The details this guy shows on how a perfect form should be for each exercise is too good to get for free. Hats off for doing it 👏❤

[@kishorekancharala7944]

100% agree...

[@Fresh360Waves]

He has 4+ million followers so he’s definitely getting that check but I see what you mean though.

[@bigd7696]

You might be right. I believe I spent some dollars for reading material back in the day so free is good.

[@OJ-xu8ik]

for free? I guess you don't understand how youtube works..

[@ogd2626]

Hey capitalist! 😅

[@mrsokolov8954]

This is really something else, you're not only giving good advice but also citing your sources and providing a scientific explanation for what you're saying. Deserving of a like and sub.

[@HannibalBarca217]

I love how you don't use fake weights and show it's ok to use lower weights to get a perfect form. Thank you for being real

[@misterwhyte]

Man, I've watched a lot of videos on these topics and yours are by far the best. No unnecessary chatter, just straight to the point, well-researched practical advice we can all work on. I wish all of KZbin was like that! Thanks for all you do.

[@frankiemermaid7818]

Your videos are a goldmine of info for improving my gym performance. I'm 7 weeks in and have recently been feeling weaker across the board in reps but now I see that I haven't been using proper form. Before this channel I've only had a vague understanding of what my form should be on Chest Press, Deadlifts, Squats, etc... but thanks to your videos I've been able to pinpoint what form works best for me which I desperately needed. Applied your deadlift + Squat tips yesterday at the cost of a longer session and it was worth it 👌. Gonna use these tips and Chest Press tips today for my session and see how it goes. Can't wait to learn more from you

[@AHRavnsborg]

This was good. Now do triceps, please. Keep it up, Jeremy!

[@Andygr_]

Overh head extension! They suck but work wonders!

[@papasimp5990]

Yes

[@magyver7890]

No

[@braydendilworth4123]

Yes triceps please!!

[@vijaykumarfitness463]

Checkout my channel to know about science behind triceps exercise. I bet you will love it.

[@DadBodtoBadDad]

Great advice, always appreciate your help along my journey 💪🏻

[@mikez.97]

The best guy you can learn from on KZbin, listening to him i gain 5cm in biceps, triceps, Sholders, chest muscle in only 30 days. My bro you DA BEST!

[@ironArnold777]

You kidding, right? Better than Dr. Mike Israetel?

[@jeffreyjumisko5165]

Subbed. Your videos give a lot of excellent, clear information. Thanks!

[@apolk]

Your content is so phenomenal. All of the animations and illustrations so do much to help us see and understand these important concepts. Thank you so much!

[@Aspire85]

Mate, you are an invaluable resource for all things weight training. Really appreciate this channel and the work you put into it

[@huntersmith1659]

I love this video! Super educational and helpful. I'm curious, have you ever heard of Next Level Diet? I got a personalized muscle-building meal plan from them and I love it.

[@TigerChainsawVideoGames]

Awesome tips, I came here because my forearms kept hurting when I was on the curl bench and now I know it’s because I’m using my wrists more than I should. Great insight, I also learned some other helpful tips. Thanks!

[@CyborgForgael]

Super helpful video! I especially appreciate how the data is presented visually!

[@TiagoBLucas]

Thank you so much for pointing out mistake number 3! I never got why my forearms hurt when I did curls. Very helpful

[@raisaroni549]

Jeremy, I love your content! I went to the gym today and I was able to tweak my performance based on your videos and I was tempted to chat with someone at the gym about the front delt activation when they were performing the front raises. Dude. You’re a game changer!

[@Klmrc]

👏

[@ahmermirza]

That last mistake is the exact mistake I came here to fix(as a beginner), and when fixed should turn out to be a game changer for this isolation exercise, provided proper form. Thanks a ton!

[@CLU_GODSON]

Thanks Jeremy!!!! I will take note and use your advice in my future workouts...

[@kally6992]

I can't tell you how lucky I feel to have found your videos on proper form. I had been weight lifting in ways that were certainly contributing to acute and chronic injury and pain for decades before I watched a few of your video aides. I have completely lost almost all the pain in the wrong places as a result of watching your easy-to-follow guides. The impact has been phenomenal over the past few years from scoring my highest ever on physical evaluations to World and National karate championships. If your purpose was to make the world better, mission accomplished!

[@jonathonvasquez3520]

I haven't worked out seriously for years due to life changes and such but I never knew about these simple solutions to improve my efforts. Definitely feeling like picking up my dumbbells again and giving it another shot.

[@Tre1vis7ron0]

great videos!! nice that you calmly speak with detailed explanation with common sense detailed animation. not yelling into the video all hyped throwing fast information like lots other videos on here.

[@EEDad401]

Excellent Jeremy. I find myself writing in my journal all the time "no ego lifting" as a way to avoid the types of things you outlined here.

[@raiderred11k]

So after watching this video I decided to give this a try and DAY ONE has already a significant difference!!! I have shoulder issues due to an over-developed front delt possibly causing an impingement so most workout tips I take are to reduce pain first and to develop better muscle second. Your tips did both. Not only did I feel it more with less weight in my biceps but I also had significantly less shoulder pain if any at all due to not using my front delts to complete the exercise. Thank you so much for all you do and it definitely makes a difference in normal people's lives, not just lifters and athletes.

[@sharingiscaring1952]

Pretty much the same for me. But I notice this guy lift much lighter weights on their bar curls, but with better results. So I decided look up this. I pretty much did everything wrong, my forearms are really big from the poor wrist position, shoulder impingent, slight swing causing back issues. Not easy to go back to lower weight, but I can feel the isolation is much better are a week.

[@Hyge458]

Woah I'm doing shitty curls. This will def improve me! Thanks

[@ticleasorin3223]

What a chad statement. More power to you

[@Mike_Shinobi]

Thanx Jeremy.. you’re videos of common mistakes help me alot

[@NoahHornberger]

your visualizations to the study summaries is done very well. As a visual person it helps me understand the material quickly. Thanks!

[@DaKosi]

4:10 Is not to be underestimated. I can tell from experience that if you put too much stress over time on your wrists, it will take a lot of time to heal. Maybe even years if you train through pain and continue to be active weight lifting or do other sports. It is quite some years back since when I had the problem and when doing benchpresses I can still feel it sometimes. Keep your wrist in line with the underarm at all times. Wrist pain is a huge deal. EDIT: this applies especially to barbell curls since the twisted and fixed position of the underarm muscles put the bent wrist in extreme pressure

[@fire-ue3du]

yep it happened to me and it healed a little bit later but then stupid me injured it again and its aching and paining me

[@Alternativezz]

Agreed. Hurt my wrist during bench press and the pain is no joke

[@delboy-su3wf]

When i go heavier the wrists go a bit. Im useing multi gym. 6kg each weight so the less weight getting easier why up but then it fells like i loose form on last reps. Yet with lighter weight i fell the burn i push for the last rep but fell in control like its possible. With the extra weight i fell all strength can't get up. Biceps still fell solid but just don't fell right. Like i hsve to move my back and i wobble. Yet lighter weight last rep still can be hard on set but i stand straight. I don't want keep moving arms to much. With dumbells easier not to

[@truthbomber7628]

AthleN x channel says bend wrist slightly , palm away from wrist when you come up. Which takes tension off forearm and more on bicep

[@TheBooban]

@@truthbomber7628 this form of bicep exercise is dumb to begin with. Don’t twist the forearm like that or tuck elbow into sides. It is not a natural position and therefore the problems. Most work outs are just not natural.

[@QuanNguyen-ck5vf]

I really hope that you will make a video on building triceps.

[@mercuriallimit]

Oh wow! Great explanation and analogies. loved it! Explained many questions I had when doing curls like this.

[@davidbanner2826]

Thx 🙏🏻 Jeremy you prevent me from getting injuries …your vids are much appreciated

[@NoirMorter]

Your videos are helping me a lot. Thanks Jeremy!

[@Afrotechmods]

Props for showing people how to build the mind muscle connections

[@texturedair2276]

1. keep the body still, don't move hips, etc. 2. do full motion by making sure arm muscle is stretched straight at bottom (flex triceps when at bottom of curl) 3. don't flex your wrist so your forearms wont get tired. Keep it aligned 4. don't move shoulder, keep shoulder and elbow locked in same position. think of only bringing weights/hand to you, don't move anything else

[@redskin6146]

Nicely produced vid. Love the graphs and graphics. Thanks.

[@BELLSOFSTEEL]

Thanks for always putting out quality stuff! 🙌

[@literalcarman6455]

After watching this I came to the conclusion that I commited every single one of these mistakes. Lowering the weights, even for the sake of accuracy will be a real hit in the ego

[@BigBossMan538]

Yesterday, I did bicep curls with 25 lb dumbbells. I did two sets of 12 comfortably, then I could only do 6 reps. My body started to swing forward and I just couldn't muster enough strength to do more without breaking form. I didn't hurt myself, but it was interesting seeing my limits.

[@albstare]

I'm totally in the same boat lol. My biceps burn out soooooo quickly whenever I do isolation work like curls.

[@davelister2961]

*biceps curls, bro. 'Bicep' is not a word, scientific or otherwise.

[@kishorekancharala7944]

Great video ! I corrected all my mistakes .. recent past I am focussing on slow & muscle / mind connection and I could see great results...

[@jimbojb007]

Just started watching your videos. Thanks for showing me my mistakes. I adjusted my chest work out to your form and really notice the difference. Thanks again.

[@kickofftheboot]

I always feel curls more in the outer bicep muscles. I use supination to target the inner muscles.

[@davelister2961]

Biceps. Biceps is singular ("my right biceps hurts") and plural ("both my biceps hurt").

[@dawnjohnson8739]

I needed this. Excellent info. Thank you!

[@ahsanqaimi1949]

BEST presentation , best technique, perfect way to explain

[@YT_coolking]

After doing much ego lifting especially on biceps i decided it was time to stop it and focus to the little details of the exercise so I lowered the weights a lot and Ive been stable for some months on the same weights , shall I continue like this or I should start increasing the weight again?

[@YT_coolking]

@Rick Sin thanks very much for the advices you gave they are really helpful

[@NormanKonstantin]

The study was fairly obvious, the group grew more where the exercise loads the biceps. And due to the nature of the biceps curl, training the bottom half of the motion resulted in bigger regional hypertorphy around the insertion closer to the elbow joint. Just as Jeremy said, biceps training isn't complicated, but it is easy to mess up even the easiest of exercises when ego jumps on the line 😀

[@vincentlee7359]

That's why people need to be humbled hard

[@TheBooban]

They didn’t check how many got injuries afterwards. Alot of stress on the joint for that “full range of motion”.

[@NormanKonstantin]

@@TheBooban in a controlled environment people rarely get injured. Too much fearmongering

[@masoudakbari7010]

Would you recommend bicep exercises in a prone incline way to stop you from swinging ?

[@NormanKonstantin]

@@masoudakbari7010 probably not, if you would like to stop the swings, use the wall for strict biceps curl and keep your elbow against it the whole time, usually gets the job done

[@garydrocella5652]

Thanks! this video was really elaborate.

[@zayumsonwhuryoufinddis1145]

Another banger as always!!! Can’t thank you enough for this video

[@Major.Tom.1973]

Love the visual effects esp. like the red & green lines around 4:00 Brilliant in helping to understand & remember! 🙌

[@MrAdamNTProtester]

Thanks great tips- I have been doing this exercise targeting these points but when you have absolute knowledge that something is correct & all the conflicting info can be dismissed it actually helps you achieve the end you are shooting for, and there was one tip that I need to adopt as well- so really appreciate all the work you do helping everyone obtain their NUTRITION HEALTH & FITNESS way of life!

[@sxhrgvs]

Seems like really good and well researched advice. Thanks Jeremy.

[@josemariomonzon]

Extremely helpful thank you!

[@DmgBabydriver]

I needed this video thankyouu

[@eddiemanuk1983]

Glad I found this channel early in my training journey!

[@jorgewashington2981]

Very important informative video on bicep training. Thanks Jeremy.

[@harveerarsenal]

bro the one about the wrist really helped.apppreciate it lots!!!!

[@Sharkriz90]

such detailed explaination! just what i need to know.

[@itsevelinakp]

I really struggle with that forearm pain expecially with barbell and feeling my bicela overall, ty for these really science based videos!

[@jaycarlson6291]

Excellent, form corrected. Salute.

[@ilovepandaypoe6056]

by far the best bicep tutorial. I immediately see gains in my bicep.. bravo!!!!

[@vexqty]

Amazing vid, got started with weight lifting recently and this video helped me a bunch so I won't do mistakes at the beginning, thanks :)

[@theeternalnow6506]

This is such a great channel man. Thanks a lot!

[@IsaacFNghost]

The forearm soreness while doing curls has always been a problem for me 😅 always glad I watch these videos from you

[@RingJando]

Excellent overview & very nicely produced with illustrations & clear film-stock - Cheers!

[@anthonysoto2923]

Excellent advice as usual. Thanks man. 👍

[@RatKingInf]

I can finally watch a gym-related video without worry of speculating if the information is correct. Very simple yet informative format, perfect animations to show what muscle group suffers from what action etc. I've never been the type to do my research ahead of time due to habit but I think I can finally learn and do things by the book with these.

[@David-ht5qz]

thanks mate! Good information, I like your channel!

[@Absycal]

Very helpful video G

[@omegaman_]

Excellent advise , lm recently training partial reps in the stretched position.👊🏻

[@muthukumare7661]

Wow..Such a great explanation. Thank you...

[@peturstefansson]

Great video, thanks.

[@swoodward9792]

Thank you! Excellent information and straight to the point without the self promoting ramble.

[@jahmad5791]

Thanks for the tips!

[@carmenzaarroyave2313]

Marvelous video😍

[@Scott-sm9nm]

Your supplmentnal graphics really set you apart from other channels. The reference to studies added validity to what you are teaching as well. Excellent length of video as well.

[@sweezy7455]

Hey man. Great tips and info. Thank you.

[@shawnwilliams2381]

Thanks for sharing!💪🔥

[@brehannamorris2814]

Makes so much sense about the wrist position ! I def feel my self so fatigue .. I thought it was from me going slowly during the my elbow flexion , but def feel " weak" in my forearm area ... Def am going to be a lot more self aware of my wrist . Thank you!

[@BeADad2447]

How am I just now learning about this kid! I could feel my biceps getting huge just watching this video! Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@user-ow9jy8ss8u]

Very useful video!!Thank you!

[@joeweitman8530]

Great advise. So many people forget to focus on the muscle group they are trying to target.

[@almasnvlrr]

Best channel for gym people! I really love your videos!

[@boosboop]

Awesome video! Thank you!

[@LINX-15]

Nice video G. Thanks for the help

[@Javi_SD]

Best Biceps’ breakdown I’ve seen in KZbin. Thanks Brother.

[@mkamback]

Highly informative video. Excellent content

[@PHNX0]

Great video. Really good advice and techniques. Thank you

[@b.p.7153]

Awesome information! Thanks. 👍

[@gambarimas]

You have become one of my favorite, if not the favorite, KZbin channel for proper natural bodybuilding. Great work!

[@jalmaser2317]

Thank you for the detail explanation especially regarding the published journals studies,

[@rubenfernandezmontero3512]

Thx man great job

[@shtoksy]

thank you!!!!!!!!!! Very valuable info!

[@officialultimatumc]

Nice video, great tips thanks

[@pubududanansooriya3548]

Thank you brother, hepled a lot.

[@nickrobinson2023]

Very interesting tutorial. Thanks

[@goldilock3750]

Nice video! Thanks

[@idk_J3r3my]

Hey Jeremy so I’m now to doing exercises and you have really helped me on how to start

[@taomahNEGEV]

A good one. Thanks.

[@KoppanyChannel]

Awesome details!

[@Flahtort]

Wow. Amazing conteng. Good graphical explanation. Good information, amazing not saturated delivery.