Want Big Biceps? Use Dumbells!

There is a lot of information - and equipment - out there related to getting big biceps.

Not all of the big bicep information is good. Nor, for that matter, are all of the big bicep products.

Before you can get big, peaked, muscular biceps, it's essential to know what they actually do. In fact, they're designed for two primary functions: 1) to bring the hand to the shoulder; and 2) to rotate your wrist.

To demonstrate this, place your left palm on your right bicep and bring your right hand to your right shoulder. You should feel your bicep ball up as it contracts. To demonstrate the biceps' other function, hold your right arm at a right angle and again place your left palm on your right bicep. Now rotate your right palm from facing the floor to facing the ceiling. You should again feel your biceps contracting.

You'll probably also notice that your bicep is at maximum contraction when your hand is at your shoulder and your palm is rotated away from your body.

Knowing this, it's obvious that the E-Z Curl Bar is not the most efficient piece of equipment for developing large biceps. In fact, it wasn't necessarily designed to build biceps efficiently, but rather to relieve stress on the elbow - which it does very well.

A straight barbell, while a little harder on the elbows, is better at building up the biceps. To achieve maximum benefit from straight barbell curls, place your hands more than shoulder width apart and curl the bar up to your shoulders. At the top of the movement, raise your elbows so the line from your elbows to your shoulders are parallel to the floor and squeeze your biceps. This is called "peak contraction."

You'll notice, however, that there will be a certain amount of stress placed on your wrists and elbows. Over time, this can cause joint issues.

You can achieve a happy medium however, with low joint stress and maximum biceps contraction, by using dumbbells. Whether you're performing two-handed curls, alternate curls or one-handed curls, your form should be the same.