High Cable Curls
I provided a video yesterday showing simple E-Z Curls to the front. This basic exercise is a mass builder for the biceps. If you do them really slow or at least provide some resistance during the descent of the bar from the curled position back to your thighs you get what I refer to as a “two-fer.” This means that I get extra work during the same movement.
Today I’d like to give you a couple videos that illustrate how I do cable curls both from the low position and from the high position. In the video above you will see me doing biceps curls in the high position. I start this exercise with very low weights in the “cage” as I call it. My arms are higher than my shoulders and I step forward so that the biceps are totally isolated. I contract the biceps bilaterally and simultaneously and draw my hands to my ears. I try to maintain a steady constant rhythm and tension the entire way through the exercise. I try to get anywhere from 15-20 reps per set. After the first set I move the pin down from 10 lbs. to 15 lbs. and I repeat for another 15-20 reps. I move the pin down to 15 lbs. and do it again and I continue increasing the weight by one plate until I cannot get more than 8-10 reps. At this point I quit and move to the next exercise below.
Low Cable Curls
Next, I do low cable curls. I move the handles down to the lowest D-Ring on the stack on . both sides in the “cage.” Again, I start at the lowest plate of 10 lbs. and I do 15-20 reps. I then move it down to 15 lbs. and again do 15-20 reps. I move it to 20 lbs. and again get 15-20 reps and I repeat moving the pin down and increasing the weight with each new set until I can only get 8-10 reps. I then stop and move to my next exercise. Usually, I then do lying cable curls as noted in my previous article.
Lastly, I will then do the E-Z Curls, then moving to alternate seated dumbbell curls and doing dumbbell shoulder shrugs between each set of curls…..STOP!
Front Biceps
This is a great pose for me but I am constantly trying to do it better. My coach, Justin Dees is forever after me to get my arms higher and allowing my lats to fall easily into place during this pose. It’s seems very easy to talk about the proper pose but in reality, it is like any muscle memory sort of activity, it has to be second nature. You have to be able to do this with your eyes closed. Needless to say, I put a very high amount of time in practicing the compulsory poses and this pose is one of them. Doing heavy duty biceps work is absolutely necessary to make my arms appear much bigger. It’s imperative that you “stay the course” and know that consistency and effort are the two variables that I have to pay tons of attention to as I train. Nothing happens by accident! This is a maxim. You cannot wish these muscles to just appear. Like Justin told me during one of his moments as my coach, “You just can’t say it. You have to do it!”
Rear Biceps and Delts
Granted that this pose shows the results of tons of work on my back and shoulders but it also displays my biceps in a way that is appreciated by the judges when I’m on stage. The interesting thing about posing is that though this is a biceps pose the most important thing is that I look symmetrical and big. Again, Justin has pushed me to hit the pose in such a way that my lats drop easily into place. This is hard to get right because many misconceptions about what a good pose looks like. Justin has had to correct me a billion times because of old (bad) habits in order to get it right.
In closing, please look over the photos and videos with an eye toward getting it right and to learn. There is no short cuts but sometimes seeing something being done is worth its weight in gold. I will provide more photos and videos in the days to come under the heading of Spartan Series.
Until next time, I remain, Douglas E. Graham, Lt Col, (ret), MHSM
Six Pack and Senior 