Cavaliere recommends slowly performing bicep curls for the best outcome.
Biceps training enhances control over movements and increases flexibility, range of motion, and stability. Despite these benefits, the best methods to train these muscles often spark debates among bodybuilders, coaches, and fitness enthusiasts, each advocating their unique approach.
On June 12, 2024, Jeff Cavaliere took to his YouTube channel to discuss athletes’ common mistakes while training their biceps and provided insightful tips for attaining larger, more defined biceps.
Jeff Cavaliere, a renowned fitness coach and licensed physical therapist, has carved out a distinctive niche in the fitness industry. Through social media, he offers intriguing bodybuilding tips and is the founder of Athlean-X, a company dedicated to assisting individuals in achieving peak health and fitness. Let’s delve into Cavaliere’s expert advice and discover his strategies for biceps enhancement.
Jeff Cavaliere on Curls
Before getting into it, Jeff Cavaliere discusses hand positions when performing a biceps curl. He says squeezing your biceps so hard that you feel discomfort before beginning the curl is important.
“IT STARTS BY JUST SIMPLY BENDING YOUR ELBOW AND SQUEEZING YOUR BICEP AS HARD AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN. AND WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR HERE IS A DISCOMFORT; THAT WILL BE WHAT WE WANT. IF YOU DON’T GET IT, THEN TWIST YOUR WRIST OVER A LITTLE BIT MORE AND TURN IT OUT, AND SEE IF THAT ELICITS THAT CRAMPING DISCOMFORT. IF IT STILL DOESN’T DO IT, THEN LIFT THE ELBOW UP JUST TO ABOUT HERE, HOLDING ON TO THAT TWISTED WRIST, AND SEE IF THAT ELICITS A DISCOMFORT. NOW, WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAD THE DISCOMFORT DOWN HERE, HERE, OR EVEN UP HERE OR NOT AT ALL TELLS ME A LOT ABOUT THE WAY THAT YOU SHOULD BE PERFORMING YOUR BICEP EXERCISES,” Jeff Cavaliere says.
6 Biceps Training Mistakes
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Here are six biceps training mistakes, according to Jeff Cavaliere:
1. Curling Too Fast
Jeff Cavaliere begins by describing how athletes lift when performing a bicep curl. They just care about doing the curl, getting it from one point to another, and not focusing on the mechanics of the exercise.
“IT’S BECAUSE MOST OF US SIMPLY FOCUS ON MOVING FROM POINT A TO POINT Z, NOT REALIZING THAT THE REAL BENEFIT OF THE EXERCISE IS LEARNING HOW TO HIT EVERY SINGLE LETTER IN BETWEEN.”
He says it’s essential to slow every repetition down, using the four seconds up and four seconds down rule. When you slow down the reps, you recruit other biceps motor units. With this method, you learn how to contract your biceps better, which improves your mind-muscle connection, making your reps more effective for greater muscle activity (1).
2. Wrist Positioning
Jeff Cavaliere states that to get an effective contraction, it’s essential to extend your wrists throughout your curling. The extension of the wrist takes some of the forearm throughout the exercise. He says most people focus so much on maintaining a stable wrist.
“I’M TELLING YOU RIGHT NOW, THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH ALLOWING WRIST EXTENSION AS YOU LIFT THE BAR UP. IT’S ACTUALLY QUITE NATURAL. IF I WAS GOING TO PUSH AGAINST SOMETHING, I’M GOING TO DO IT WITH A SLIGHTLY EXTENDED WRIST BECAUSE THAT’S THE STRONGEST POSITION OF THE WRIST. SO, ALLOWING YOURSELF TO GET INTO A STRONGER WRIST POSITION IS NOT GOING TO ALL OF A SUDDEN DISINTEGRATE THE BONES IN YOUR WRIST.”
Cavaliere also suggests placing the bar in the middle of your palm and not near your fingers when lifting. In this position, you have an effective and biomechanically correct curl.
3. No Variety
Jeff Cavaliere says it isn’t the volume that drives bicep gains. It’s more about how you mix a variety of bicep curls. Some curls hit the long head and the short head of the biceps, so it’s better to vary your bicep curls to see more muscle gains.
He further illustrates this by using a marker, explaining that the shorter head of the biceps is responsible for the width of his arms, while the longer head is responsible for the height of the biceps, which is attached to the shoulder joint.
“ARMS OUT EXERCISES ONCE WITH YOUR ARMS IN FRONT OF YOU ARE GOING TO GENERALLY BE MORE SHORT HEAD FOCUSED. WHY? BECAUSE WITH THE ARM OUT IN FRONT, YOUR SHOULDERS IN SOME FLEXION, YOU’RE TAKING AWAY SOME OF THAT STRETCH BENEFIT AND PRE-ACTIVATION THAT WOULD CONTRIBUTE MORE TO THE LONG HEAD BEING A LITTLE MORE PREFERENTIALLY ACTIVE… WHEREAS EXERCISES THAT HAVE YOUR ARMS BACK BEHIND YOUR BODY LIKE AN INCLINE CURL, ARE GOING TO GIVE YOU A CHANCE TO GET A LITTLE MORE OF THAT STRETCH, TO FOCUS A LITTLE MORE ON THE LONG HEAD.”
4. Exercises Baises
Cavaliere says you shouldn’t fall in love with the wrong “magic” exercise. He thinks you should vary your exercises by mixing them up for muscle hypertrophy and not get comfortable sticking to a particular exercise. Studies support mixing in different training modalities for continued muscle growth (2).
“GUYS DON’T FALL IN LOVE WITH ANY MAGIC EXERCISE. JUST MAKE SURE YOU’RE DOING ENOUGH OF THEM TO ROUND OUT YOUR BICEPS TRAINING.”
5. Doing Only Bilateral Curls
According to Jeff Cavaliere, doing your curls in both arms simultaneously creates the problem of overloading and addressing muscle imbalances. He suggests alternating dumbbells because they require less core strength while focusing on one side at a time.
6. Not Overloading Supination When You Curl
Cavaliere says including and overloading supination improves biceps training results. Instead of grabbing the dumbbell at the center, hold it at the edge with your thumb and index finger. This will cause a natural tilting of the dumbbell, which increases supination, leading to more effective biceps growth.
“THE SUPINATION IS THE MAIN DIFFERENTIATOR BETWEEN THE BICEPS AND THOSE TWO OTHER FLEXORS OF THE ELBOW, THE BRACHIALIS AND THE BRACHIORADIALIS.”
Bonus Biceps Training Tips
Jeff Cavaliere also includes some tips to make your biceps training more effective. Below are some tips on how to do your biceps training.
Sliced Reps
With sliced reps, you don’t drop the weight; drop it one-ninth of the way for the first rep. For the next rep, do it two-ninths of the way. Continue this progression until you get down for a full curl on the ninth rep.
Slow Reps
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Cavaliere recommends always doing slow reps in every workout. This puts constant tension on the target muscles and can build muscle mass and strength.
Purgatory Reps
This is what Jeff Cavaliere had to say about this:
“WE DROP ONE ARM DOWN, CURL IT ALL THE WAY UP, AND THEN STOP AND HANG OUT IN PURGATORY IN THAT HARD PORTION OF THE REP, WHILE WE THEN INITIATE THE MOVEMENT ON THE OTHER SIDE. SO, WHILE ONE ARM IS TECHNICALLY DOING THE MOTION OF THE REP, BOTH ARMS ARE CERTAINLY WORKING HERE, AND IT’S ANOTHER WAY TO DRIVE MORE STIMULUS AND MORE OVERLOAD TO THE BICEPS.”
Mechanical Drop Sets
Mechanical drop sets involve mixing a variety of biceps curling styles and techniques until you hit failure. This study shows that training to a failure activates target muscles and can benefit muscle growth (3). Drop sets are also a time-effective strategy for inducing muscle growth.
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References
- Calatayud, J., Vinstrup, J., Jakobsen, M. D., Sundstrup, E., Brandt, M., Jay, K., Colado, J. C., & Andersen, L. L. (2016). Importance of mind-muscle connection during progressive resistance training. European journal of applied physiology, 116(3), 527–533. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-015-3305-7
- Krzysztofik, M., Wilk, M., Wojdała, G., & Gołaś, A. (2019). Maximizing Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review of Advanced Resistance Training Techniques and Methods. International journal of environmental research and public health, 16(24), 4897. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16244897
- Nóbrega, S. R., & Libardi, C. A. (2016). Is Resistance Training to Muscular Failure Necessary?. Frontiers in physiology, 7, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2016.00010
