The drag curl is an “old-school” bodybuilding train famed for its skill to construct your biceps “peak.”
Whereas it is probably not as common as common barbell and dumbbell curls, it’s a unbelievable train for gaining higher arm measurement and power.
On this article, you’ll be taught what drag curls are, the best way to do correct drag curl type, the advantages of the train, which muscle tissues it really works, widespread errors and the best way to keep away from them, the very best barbell drag curl alternate options and variations, and extra.
What Are Drag Curls?
Drag curls are a variation of the customary biceps curl that emphasize the biceps lengthy head.
The biceps long head is the portion of the biceps on the surface of the higher arm that offers the looks of a “peak” when flexed.
Drag Curl Type: How you can Do Drag Curls Accurately
To grasp drag curl type, cut up the train into three elements: arrange, drag, and descend.
1. Arrange
Whereas standing up straight along with your toes shoulder-width aside, maintain a barbell with a shoulder-width grip and your palms going through away from you. Permit your arms to hold straight down so the bar rests in your thighs.
2. Drag
Drag the bar up your physique by bending your elbows and permitting them to maneuver backward. Proceed transferring your elbows again till the bar reaches nipple peak or barely beneath.
3. Descend
Reverse the motion and return to the beginning place.
Right here’s the way it ought to look once you put all of it collectively:
The Advantages of the Drag Curl
Most Biceps Growth
Research exhibits that combining compound pulling exercises involving the biceps with focused biceps workout routines just like the drag curl maximizes biceps development.
Doing so means that you can prepare your biceps at totally different angles and thru various ranges of motion, which produces extra balanced and full development than solely utilizing compound exercises.
It additionally ensures you prepare your “bis” with sufficient volume (units) to stimulate development with out different muscle tissues turning into a limiting issue.
Biceps Peak Emphasis
The lengthy head of the biceps “crosses” the shoulder joint, so it’s most stretched and in a position to generate most pressure when your arm is behind your physique.
Thus, workout routines that place your arms behind your physique, just like the drag biceps curl, are typically the very best workout routines for creating your biceps lengthy heads, which is the portion of the biceps that contributes most to your biceps peak.
Shoulder Stability
The biceps, particularly its lengthy head, plays a function in stabilizing the top of the humerus (higher arm bone) throughout the glenoid cavity (a shallow socket in your shoulder blade that holds the humerus).
Due to this fact, strengthening the biceps might assist stabilize the shoulder and preserve it wholesome.
Drag Curl: Muscle groups Labored
The principle muscle tissues labored by the drag curl are the biceps brachii, or “biceps.” It additionally works your brachialis and forearms to a lesser extent.
Right here’s how the primary muscle group labored by the drag curl seems to be in your physique:
Units and Reps for the Drag Curl
Since you use a barbell (or EZ bar) for the drag biceps curl, it’s inherently extra steady and balanced than most different biceps isolation workout routines, thus permitting you to elevate heavier weights.
For males trying to construct muscle and achieve power, doing 3 units of 4-to-6 or 6-to-8 reps works nicely, whereas 3 units of 6-to-8 or 8-to-10 reps is extra becoming for ladies.
Who Ought to Do the Drag Curl?
The drag curl is a wonderful train for anybody trying to maximize biceps measurement and power. It’s well-suited to those that have entry to restricted gear (if you happen to prepare at home, for instance) because it means that you can prepare your arms in a novel method with out requiring any specialist gear.
Frequent Drag Curl Errors
Utilizing an excessive amount of weight
Attempting to elevate an excessive amount of weight on the drag curl could cause your type to interrupt down, lowering the effectiveness of the train and growing the chance of damage.
Keep away from this by selecting a weight that means that you can full every rep with correct type and deal with performing “clear” reps relatively than how a lot weight you elevate.
Letting the load fall again to the beginning place
Research exhibits that controlling the eccentric portion (“reducing” part) of any biceps curl is a extremely efficient strategy to increase muscle development. As a common rule, you must take the identical time to elevate the load as you do to decrease it to the beginning place—round one or two seconds for every is an efficient goal.
Utilizing momentum
Counting on momentum to “hump” the load up reduces the work your biceps do and, thus, how a lot muscle you achieve. To stop your self from utilizing momentum within the drag curl, preserve your torso, hips, and knees nonetheless throughout every rep.
Letting your elbows drift ahead
Letting your elbows drift ahead turns the train into a conventional curl. Whereas this isn’t essentially unhealthy, it lessens the emphasis on the biceps lengthy head, undermining the first good thing about the drag curl.
The Finest Barbell Drag Curl Alternate options and Variations
1. Dumbbell Drag Curl
The principle good thing about the dumbbell drag curl is it trains either side of your physique independently, which will help you discover and repair muscle imbalances.
2. Cable Drag Curl
The cable drag curl retains extra fixed rigidity on the biceps than the barbell drag curl, which can support muscle development. That mentioned, some folks discover the cable variation difficult to carry out as a result of the cable pulls you backward, which may make it difficult to stability.
3. Smith Machine Drag Curl
The Smith machine drag curl is nearly precisely the identical because the barbell drag curl; the one distinction is that you simply use a Smith machine relatively than a barbell. The Smith machine drag curl is a superbly viable drag curl various. Nonetheless, keep in mind that it forces you to coach by way of a barely unnatural vary of movement, which some folks dislike.
4. Bayesian Cable Curl
The Bayesian cable curl mimics drag curl type however means that you can use cables as a substitute of a barbell. The advantages of the Bayesian curl are that it trains your biceps in a stretched place and retains fixed rigidity in your biceps all through every rep, each of which profit development.
5. Incline Dumbbell Curl
The incline dumbbell curl trains your biceps once they’re behind your torso, which emphasizes the lengthy head, just like the drag curl. The incline curl additionally creates intense biceps rigidity all through all the vary of movement, which is necessary for creating balanced measurement and power.
Drag Curl Ideas
1. Finish each set 1-to-3 reps shy of muscle failure.
As I clarify in my health books for men and women, to maximise your outcomes, you will need to take most units to inside a rep or two of failure.
Ask your self on the finish of every set of drag biceps curls, “If I needed to, what number of extra reps might I’ve gotten with good type?” If the reply is greater than two, improve the load or reps to make your subsequent set tougher.
2. When you hit the highest of your rep vary for a set, transfer up in weight.
In case your exercise requires 6-to-8 reps of the barbell drag curl and also you get 8 reps for a set, add 10 kilos to your subsequent set.
If you happen to handle 3 or fewer reps with the brand new weight, cut back the load by 5 kilos to make sure you keep within the 6-to-8 rep vary.
Comply with this pattern of attempting so as to add reps or weight to each train in each exercise.
3. Contract your biceps onerous on each rep.
Analysis exhibits that utilizing “internal cues” (psychological mantras that draw your consideration towards what you’re doing along with your physique) might increase biceps development.
As an example, in a study carried out by scientists at Lehman Faculty, members elevated biceps activation when the researchers reminded them to “squeeze the muscle” throughout units of biceps curls.
What’s extra, members who used this cue skilled twice as a lot biceps development over the 8-week research as members who used a cue like “get the load up.”
Drag Curl FAQs
FAQ #1: What does a drag curl do?
Drag curls strengthen your biceps muscle tissues. Moreover, performing drag curls with the bar near your physique emphasizes your biceps lengthy heads, that are the parts of your biceps that contribute most to your biceps peak.
FAQ #2: Are drag curls good for the lengthy head?
Sure, drag curls are helpful for the lengthy head of the biceps as a result of they place your higher arms behind your physique, which helps to emphasise the lengthy head over the quick head.
FAQ #3: What do drag curls work?
Drag curls primarily work the biceps brachii. Whereas they prepare each the lengthy and quick heads of the biceps, they’re notably well-suited to focusing on the lengthy head, serving to to boost total biceps measurement and peak.
+ Scientific References
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