The Body Sculpting Bible for Women (95 page)

VARIATION: SUPINATION

For added stimulation of the biceps muscles, you can try a technique called supination. Instead of beginning the exercise with your palms facing forward, begin with your palms facing in toward the sides of the body. As you lift the weights, rotate your wrists until the palms of your hands are facing back toward you by the time you reach the top of the movement. Supination or rotation of your wrists should last the entire distance from the sides of your body up to your shoulders. In other words, don’t just rotate your hands completely at the bottom position; allow them to gradually rotate during the entire distance. When you reach the top position of the exercise, your pinkies should be above your thumbs. Make sure your elbows remain pointed to the ground. Then, as you lower the weight, reverse the supination by rotating the wrists in the opposite direction, again prolonging the rotation throughout the entire distance. When you finish, the palms of your hands should once again be facing the sides of your body.

FAQ:

Why don’t my biceps get larger?

ANSWER:

Your biceps are really not a very big muscle. Beginners might see some dramatic difference, but the more advanced you are, the less likely you will see larger biceps. If you want to get the most out of your biceps training, make sure that you avoid momentum, keep those elbows pointed to the ground, and stop allowing those shoulders to flex upward. Remember to squeeze and contract fully at the top of each repetition!

Incline Dumbbell Curl

(Using two dumbbells simultaneously)

The incline dumbbell curl is a great exercise for developing great looking biceps muscles. Because the exercise requires strict form and isolation, you should start doing the exercise with a weight lighter than what you’d usually use for a regular dumbbell curl. Remember, form is everything. In the start position of the exercise you will notice a nice stretch in the biceps region. Because of this, you must make sure to take it slowly. Make sure to avoid momentum and keep the form strict.

PROPER ALIGNMENT

Go to an incline bench and set the bench incline to a 45-degree angle. Due to the full stretch and range of motion of this exercise, it is designed to work the full length of the biceps with added emphasis on the outer head of the biceps muscle.

Pick two dumbbells with a weight that you can handle using perfect form. This exercise must be done very strictly in order to receive the desired effects.

Decide if you’d rather start the exercise holding the dumbbells at the sides of your body or with them resting on top of your thighs, which we prefer. Starting with the dumbbells on your thighs will give you some quality time to visualize and focus on the exercise you are about to do. This preparation can set up the proper mindset for even greater lifting performance.

Lean all the way back into the bench so that your entire back is lying flat against the back pad. Stay that way for the entire exercise and do not take your back off the bench until the exercise is complete. Once you are properly positioned and ready to begin, firmly grip on the dumbbells and allow them to hang at your sides.

Make sure that the palms of your hands are facing the wall in front of you for the entire exercise. No supination or hand twisting with this exercise.

Make sure to keep your elbows pointed directly at the floor during the entire exercise. When people usually do any type of biceps curl, they allow their elbows to drift up with the curling movement, allowing the shoulders to flex forward. When this happens, you can forget about fully stimulating the biceps muscles since the anterior shoulders become the prime movers of the weight being curled. There is only one instance in which you may lift the shoulders while doing a biceps curl. That is when you have come to a point in your training where you add repetitions (forced reps) with the help of a spotter. Before you reach this point in your training, you must keep the elbows to the ground for full and proper stimulation of the biceps muscles.

TECHNIQUE AND FORM

Once you are in position, focus all of your attention on the exercise you are about to do and on the biceps muscle itself.

Begin curling the dumbbells at the same time, making sure that the elbows stay positioned towards the ground without moving upward as you curl.