To strengthen the biceps, the use of rubber bands is quite possible. All you have to do is adjust the running speeds and choose the right lengths and you will be able to reproduce your sessions as in the gym. And what better way to develop that arm muscle than the bicep curl movement?
The movement is fairly simple to perform and the elastic adds resistance like weights, but without the risk of injury or strain that you can experience with dumbbells or bars. This article reveals all the steps, the advantages and the best rubber bands to perform the biceps curl like a pro.
Understanding the anatomy of the biceps
A muscle with two bundles
The biceps is, as its name suggests, a muscle made up of two bundles:
- The long portion of the biceps brachii
- The short portion of the biceps brachii
This muscle is involved in supination and flexion of the elbow: it allows the forearm to be brought up on the upper arm, with the palm of the hand facing up.
The anterior brachialis is also a muscle in the front of the arm, which is only slightly involved in supination. On the other hand, it is strongly recruited when the hand is in a neutral position and in pronation.
Watch out for the forearms
The muscles of the forearms are closely linked to a good contraction of the biceps.
Indeed, the long supinator connects the forearm to the upper arm: it attaches to the outside and allows flexion of the elbow in pronation.
Also read: How to do bicep exercises with rubber band?
How to train biceps with a rubber band?
The construction of a session for biceps with elastic will be done exactly the same way as with dumbbells or a barbell: a heavy basic exercise, a medium-heavy exercise and incidentally an isolation exercise.
Executing movements with a rubber band on the other hand is a little different. The concentric part, when you bend your elbow, should be very quick. Why ? What matters, for biceps growth, is the eccentric.
However, a rubber band retracts all the more strongly when it is stretched quickly. Thus, by stretching it very quickly, it produces a very interesting boomerang effect and you will have to slow down the speed that the rubber band causes as much as possible.
Apart from that, you can do all the exercises for biceps you are used to, even create your own movements by varying the grips, the rotations of the arms, forearms, shoulders... Managing the workload is done by the stretch length and the thickness of the elastic.
Find out more: Biceps Triceps Program: 12 Secrets to Strengthening Your Arms
How to do the biceps curl with a rubber band?
- The biceps curl with rubber band works mainly the biceps and forearm muscles. It allows to preserve the elbow joint and the biceps when it is in hyper extension.
- Standing up, pass the rubber band under your feet and grab it with your hands. The spacing of the feet is equal to the width of the shoulders and the hands can be in pronation, supination or in neutral. The elastic should be taut when you have your arms along your body.
- Bend your elbows to bring your hands close to your shoulders. Exhale during this step. Your elbows should be stationary throughout the movement. Only the forearms move. Keep your trunk straight and look forward.
- Return to the initial position by controlling the reverse movement Inhale during this step.
- Your grip is also important. In pronation, you target the anterior brachialis and the muscles of the forearms. In supination, you target the biceps brachii. In a neutral grip, you target the biceps brachii, anterior brachialis, and supinator longus.
- Your trunk should stay straight throughout the movement. Thus, contract your abdominals so as not to bend your back and take out your pecs. Also, fix a point in front of you to keep the neck aligned with the spine. Finally, always leave a slight bend in the elbow when you chain the repetitions.
In parallel, read also: What exercises for your bodybuilding program with rubber band?
Variations of the biceps curl with rubber band
Hammer biceps curl with elastic band
- While standing, place an elastic band under your feet. Hold it by the handles, hands in hammer position. Raise both hands at the same time, up to the shoulders, exhaling.
- The flexion is only done with the forearms. The elbows remain well glued to the body. Lower your hands while inhaling, until your arms are extended. Repeat the movement doing 3 sets of 10.
Curl with rotation with elastic band
- Place the rubber bands in the same way as a classic bicep curl. Standing or sitting, feet wide enough apart to ensure a stable position, keep your arms straight at each side of your body, a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing inward against your thighs.
- Keep your chest straight and bend your arm. When the flexion reaches 90°, rotate the forearm to bring the palm of the hand upwards. Continue the flexion, lower the load with a reverse movement.
Inclined curl with elastic band
- Use a 45-degree inclined bench, keep your back and your shoulder blades in contact with the backrest except your head, which must remain raised. Your arms hang down so that they protrude from the backrest to be perpendicular to the floor.
- Perform a supine curl movement while keeping this posture and you're done. Remember to moderate your resistance with the elastic at the beginning of this movement during your weight training sessions.
Curl or bend in high position with elastic band
- To train your biceps with rubber bands, the high position curl, which is normally done with the high pulley, is a good way to work with a different angle. It's not about putting a lot of resistance, but about feeling a monumental contraction.
- Use the door anchor that you place at about shoulder or eye level. Then, you will place yourself in profile with respect to the clip and reach out to grab the elastic. With your arm parallel to the ground, you contract as hard as you can to bring your hand back towards your head.
Drag curl with elastic band
- Drag curling consists of getting into a standing curl position and bending your arm while always keeping your hand along your body.
- The elbows will therefore move backwards. Take the supine grip for this exercise. The rubber band is positioned as for the classic biceps curl.
To know: Resistance band and resistance band: 4 reasons to use them
Superhuman Fit Elastic Resistance Bands for Your Bicep Curls
Super effective, the Fit Superhuman elastic resistance bands have many advantages They come with removable handles. This is the most complete kit for strength training, especially when it comes to the upper body.
For most exercises, you can attach more than one band to the handlebars at a time to increase resistance. You can also find tube resistance bands with fixed handles, which are shorter than other resistance bands and therefore useful for upper body exercises where you don't need a wide range of motion. .
A carry bag is also available if you plan to take your resistance bands on a trip and you can get ankle straps to attach the bands to, further increasing the range of exercises you can do.
You also benefit from a free user guide with the TOP 30 of the best exercises to do with elastic bands! This is very practical for beginners, but also for experienced athletes who want to vary their training sessions.
Resistance bands are usually color coded to indicate different levels of resistance. Blacks and blues tend to indicate more resistance, greens and reds are in the middle, and yellows are lighter resistance. It is also very important to take rubber bands that allow you to modulate the resistance of the bands: you do not use the same load to work your hamstrings or to isolate your biceps !
For linear muscle progression and consistent musculature, choose a model that offers the ability to double or triple the bands to increase resistance, which will be important as you get stronger and need to more challenges! Exactly what the elastic resistance bands from Fit Superhuman give you!
To find out more: Fitness-Superhuman rubber band: User reviews
Summary on the biceps curl with rubber band
For bodybuilding enthusiasts, the possibility of exercising the biceps with a rubber band is very advantageous. Indeed, you can perform the bicep curl and its variations from anywhere thanks to the elastic resistance bands.
Easy to use, rubber bands are an effective and safe way to perform the bicep curl without injuring yourself while adding load. The resistance allows you to work the biceps in depth without adding tension like the weights on the elbow joint in particular.
The Superhuman Fit rubber bands obviously allow you to build your biceps through the biceps curl exercise, and many more!
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