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You’ve learned about supination and adding resistance to supination movement by holding dumbell off-center. You’ve felt difference this makes in your biceps.
Now imagine how much more effective this trick will be if you add actual weight for resistance instead of just shifting your hand over!
In order to accomplish this, you’re going to need one of two things: do-it-yourself dumbells with which you can add or remove weight or Plate Mates (TM), which are small magnetic weight plates that stick to metal of dumbell.
The execution is simple: make a dumbell with more weight on one end than other. That’s it. For example, place 20 pounds of weight on one end and 25 pounds of weight on other.
Grip dumbell in middle when you use it, making sure that heavier end is on pinky side of your hand. If you are using Plate Mates (TM), stick a few of them onto only one side of dumbell to accomplish same imbalance.
Now when you curl up and supinate, your bicep is going to have that added resistance on supination movement. The cramping sensation you get on very first rep as you come to top and squeeze muscle hard will show you just how powerful this technique is. The pump you get in your biceps after your set will seal deal!
You will also notice that your forearm and grip are getting a lot of work with this trick. This is just icing on cake and will not decrease tension on your bicep in any way.
Note: If you are using dumbells that weigh less than 30 pounds total, I would recommend you use a 2 1/2 pound plate on one side rather than a 5 pound plate. Any more than 30 and you should use a 5 pound plate.
Being a dedicated trainer myself, I love to hear how well my tips work for other people. It would be really gratifying to hear from you about how this technique worked for you or any suggestions you might have as to how to make it more effective.
You can send your comments to me at betteru@fitstep.com.
And, when your biceps are so pumped and sore that you can barely brush your teeth next day, be sure to tell everyone who will listen to you who did this to you:
Nick Nilsson at Fitstep.com!
For more information about anatomy of biceps, go to
http://www.fitstep.com/Advanced/Anatomy/Biceps.htm?news
Nick Nilsson is Vice President of BetterU, Inc., an online exercise, fitness, and personal training company. Check out his latest eBook "The Best Exercises You've Never Heard Of" at http://www.thebestexercises.com or visit http://www.fitstep.com. You can contact him at betteru@fitstep.com or subscribe to BetterU News, his fitness newsletter at betterunews@fitstep.com.