Bicep Curls Are Dumb. Stop Doing Bicep Curls.
I haven’t discussed it much on this blog, but fitness has become a bigger part of my life in the last two years or so. And like every fitness neophyte, I did set after set after set of bicep curls in the hopes of getting “ripped.” Turns out, I had no idea what I was doing. (Not surprising for me.)
Now two years later, after reading more and more about fitness, I’ve come to realize something: bicep curls are dumb. If you have a desire to have arms bigger than your head then the bicep curl is a great exercise for you. But it’s almost strictly a vanity exercise. The bicep just isn’t that big or important a muscle in the end.
If you want real strength and a toned overall body, I would rank about 10–15 exercises above the bicep curl. Just to show you I’m not bluffing, I’ll name a bunch off the top of my head that are more useful than the bicep curl:
- Squats
2. Bench Press
3. Pull-ups
4. Dips
5. Deadlifts
6. Rows
7. Lunges
8. Planks
9. Push-ups
10. Kettlebell Swings
The difference between a lot of these exercises and bicep curls? Many of these are compound exercises that not only work big muscles like the back and chest but also work a number of secondary muscles like, you guessed it, the biceps. And for most of us, that’s more than enough exercise for your biceps.
Seriously, you could be in great shape if you just ate well and did pull-ups, dips, squats, and lunges. It seems counterintuitive because of what’s been inundated to us through the media. But it’s the truth…
