# What can you curl ( dumbell curl) ?



## -tommyboiii- (Mar 4, 2008)

whats the most you can comfortably curl for 3 sets ?


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## Testoholic (Jun 13, 2009)

define comfortably lol.....i can swing the 40's around :laugh:


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## Mikazagreat (Apr 10, 2009)

i can curl 75 for 4 with slight swing.

Perfect form can do the 55 for 8.


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## -tommyboiii- (Mar 4, 2008)

55....KG ???!!!


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## Jalapa (Mar 18, 2010)

pounds or kilos?

20 kilo dbs for me but I only been at it 8 month.


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## Guest (Jul 4, 2010)

30... 3 sets x8 then... not much at all, trying to improve on mass for biceps, always was more focused on triceps


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## dixie normus (May 11, 2008)

who cares?


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## -tommyboiii- (Mar 4, 2008)

i meant kilos, 55kg ??!! i see big guys struggling on 20's...


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## Jalapa (Mar 18, 2010)

Its interesting to me.

What would be more useful would be how much do you curl and how big are your arms. Theb I we could see an average weight / rep per arm size equation.

So ill start 15.5 arms 20k db curls.


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## big silver back (Jan 17, 2009)

I can easy use 5kgs!! :laugh:


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## -tommyboiii- (Mar 4, 2008)

when measuring around your arm do you tense ?


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## Guest (Jul 4, 2010)

Jalapa said:


> Its interesting to me.
> 
> What would be more useful would be how much do you curl and how big are your arms. Theb I we could see an average weight / rep per arm size equation.
> 
> So ill start 15.5 arms 20k db curls.


14 exactly at the mo... 30 on a barbell


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## Guest (Jul 4, 2010)

-tommyboiii- said:


> when measuring around your arm do you tense ?


I think so, i do.


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## -tommyboiii- (Mar 4, 2008)

i have....no measuring tape :I , i do 14kg db's :S


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## -tommyboiii- (Mar 4, 2008)

i do 25 on a barbell, 3x8, can do a a set of 6 on 30 kg barbell and as et of 6 on 16kg dumbells


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## flynnie11 (Jan 24, 2009)

NikstaC said:


> *30*... 3 sets x8 then... not much at all, trying to improve on mass for biceps, always was more focused on triceps


ur lifting 30kg for reps and u only have 14inch arms ? .. i use 25kg and mine are close to 18 inches.

i love to see ur form lol. i think u would wanna take up darts if ur arms arnt growing using the 30,s


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## big_jim_87 (Jul 9, 2009)

55kg cant remember reps now some were like 8-12 each arm (hammer curls tho)


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## Guest (Jul 4, 2010)

flynnie11 said:


> ur lifting 30kg for reps and u only have 14inch arms ? .. i use 25kg and mine are close to 18 inches.
> 
> i love to see ur form lol


I only just started doing curls man... i always focused on my tric... and neglected biceps a lot... always just been doing pull ups and dumbbell curl for them...

Only been doing curls properly for less than a month man... Im struggling like mad doing them at the mo to be honest, sweat like a pig after each set from pressure...


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## -tommyboiii- (Mar 4, 2008)

my biceps are 12.4" , im 10.5 stone , 14kg dumbells, 25kg barbell, 3x3 perfect form , only been doing free weights for about a month....was purely on MACHIIINES  before, but i've seen the light


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## Guest (Jul 4, 2010)

-tommyboiii- said:


> my biceps are 12.4" , im 10.5 stone , 14kg dumbells, 25kg barbell, 3x3 perfect form , only been doing free weights for about a month....was purely on MACHIIINES  before, but i've seen the light


Ive tried machines back and gym but never likes them at all... to honest i find it so much easier and more fun to work with free weights.


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## sammym09 (Mar 22, 2010)

20kg db and 45 barbell


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## BillC (Jun 11, 2009)

It's all subjective. Plenty guys with cracking guns get by on 20kilo db's. Me, I curl 35kilos plus with good form and still have pants arms at 18". Gimme a bar and I'll rep out 70kilo and more and still crappy arms.


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## forza84 (May 28, 2010)

i can only do 20kg on dumbbell and 45kg on barbell, and iv been doing weights for about 6 months lol, i must need to work harder if guys are doing 30,s.


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## -tommyboiii- (Mar 4, 2008)

lol im the opposite, i enjoyed the machines....but i guess if i really want to grow im gonna have to use free weights, my form is pretty bad on most apart from bicep routines, but good form will come in time i hope, i only benched for the first time this week !


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## littlesimon (May 24, 2010)

When I used to curl I was using 30kg dumbells. Had 19" biceps.

I just stick to heavy bb rows and chins now. Currently 18.5".


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## tom0311 (Nov 17, 2008)

NikstaC said:


> I only just started doing curls man... i always focused on my tric... and neglected biceps a lot... always just been doing pull ups and dumbbell curl for them...
> 
> Only been doing curls properly for less than a month man... Im struggling like mad doing them at the mo to be honest, sweat like a pig after each set from pressure...


Did you mean 30kg dumbbells? Or barbell?

I can do 25's for 3 sets of 6-7. Arms are about 16.5 cold I think, haven't measured for ages I lost my tape.


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## Guest (Jul 4, 2010)

tom0311 said:


> Did you mean 30kg dumbbells? Or barbell?
> 
> I can do 25's for 3 sets of 6-7. Arms are about 16.5 cold I think, haven't measured for ages I lost my tape.


No man, at the moment i use 30 bb curl... which is like the most i can do on a bb... and 20 db, alternating. Have you got any good routines for biceps by the way? I used to neglect them a lot and train my tric more.

At the mo i do preacher bb curls, standing alt db curls. And i always done pull ups. Is there anything else i can do? Im a bit of a noob when it comes to building biceps, kind of embarrassed to admit it because its only body part i ever never liked to work, plus always though tric are so much easier for me personally to train.


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## tom0311 (Nov 17, 2008)

NikstaC said:


> No man, at the moment i use 30 bb curl... which is like the most i can do on a bb... and 20 db, alternating. Have you got any good routines for biceps by the way? I used to neglect them a lot and train my tric more.
> 
> At the mo i do preacher bb curls, standing alt db curls. And i always done pull ups. Is there anything else i can do? Im a bit of a noob when it comes to building biceps, kind of embarrassed to admit it because its only body part i ever never liked to work, plus always though tric are so much easier for me personally to train.


Ah ok that's where the confusion was coming from, we thought you meant dumbbells. I don't do much bicep stuff, I just do standing bicep curls against a wall and preacher curls once a week. Always found rows and pull ups have given them a lot of stimulation anyway. I find biceps pretty boring I prefer doing bigger movements like rows/bench press/squats etc. Isolation exercises I find tedious.


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## Guest (Jul 4, 2010)

tom0311 said:


> Ah ok that's where the confusion was coming from, we thought you meant dumbbells. I don't do much bicep stuff, I just do standing bicep curls against a wall and preacher curls once a week. Always found rows and pull ups have given them a lot of stimulation anyway. I find biceps pretty boring I prefer doing bigger movements like rows/bench press/squats etc. Isolation exercises I find tedious.


Yeah me too man... well originally its me being a tit actually... because i read bit on how much can you curl... accept missed out on db bit. lol

hahaha...

TIT!

I reworked my plan 2 weeks ago... and just decided it was good to start doing them properly... just to increase arm size as much as it will go... so i do my tri and bic on the same day at the mo to see how it will respont to it.


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## tom0311 (Nov 17, 2008)

NikstaC said:


> Yeah me too man... well originally its me being a tit actually... because i read bit on how much can you curl... accept missed out on db bit. lol
> 
> hahaha...
> 
> ...


Close grip chins are also a good bicep builder.


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## Guest (Jul 4, 2010)

tom0311 said:


> Close grip chins are also a good bicep builder.


Yeah thats all i did ever for them... i love pull ups all variations of them... you seem to be able to heat all the upper body doing different variation of them.

My pull up bar is probably the best kit I could ever own.


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## QBall (Apr 12, 2010)

22kg's my limit... however, thats strict for for 10+reps


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## -tommyboiii- (Mar 4, 2008)

close grip pull ups ? how close does your grip have to be, i have alsways done pulls ups with each hand at each end of the first bar, (after the first bar theres a metal bit then and other bar on each side for wide grip pull ups)


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## Milky (Nov 30, 2008)

22.5 on gear 15 when not l think.


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## Guest (Jul 4, 2010)

-tommyboiii- said:


> close grip pull ups ? how close does your grip have to be, i have alsways done pulls ups with each hand at each end of the first bar, (after the first bar theres a metal bit then and other bar on each side for wide grip pull ups)












I do them like that... for my back and shoulders, then close grim with fingers facing me for bicepts... then wide grip with fingers facing other way... for forearms shoulders again, feels like it hits my lats too... and as i do pull ups i bring my legs up for abs workout too...

I do alternating shoulder pull ups too... like pull one side of body and lower your self then the other side...

I really admire this kid... 



 watch him do it man... amazing.


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## -tommyboiii- (Mar 4, 2008)

yeah i do those too for back and shoulders, for biceps i was always doing them with hands faceing opposite direction and a tiny bit closer in, i'll start getting my hands real close together see if it makes any difference


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## Guest (Jul 4, 2010)

-tommyboiii- said:


> yeah i do those too for back and shoulders, for biceps i was always doing them with hands faceing opposite direction and a tiny bit closer in, i'll start getting my hands real close together see if it makes any difference


I get you... i think man... basically at the end your hands are next to each other.


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## -tommyboiii- (Mar 4, 2008)

when ive done it like that in the past, it feels like one half of me is going up more then the other, thats why ive never really done them, i was doing 6x8 pull ups for my biceps, but ive stopped as people tell me it wont help me grow at all :S


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## tom0311 (Nov 17, 2008)

NikstaC said:


> I get you... i think man... basically at the end your hands are next to each other.


I do chin ups with my hands shoulder width apart. Anything closer starts to wreck my wrists.


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## Guest (Jul 4, 2010)

tom0311 said:


> I do chin ups with my hands shoulder width apart. Anything closer starts to wreck my wrists.


Yeah i had that, so i started hooking my hands without using the thumb around... kind of takes strain of wrists.


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## -tommyboiii- (Mar 4, 2008)

i do that on the ones i do for shoulders, just grip with my fingers but not my thumb, a lot easier , and doesnt strain your wrists, which is good for me cus my wrists are smaller than a 12 yr olds


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## Bulkamania (Feb 16, 2009)

It doesn't really matter IMO. It's an isolation movement, you should be concentrating on getting a good contraction instead of how much you can swing.

But just for the records, can curl 20kg comfortably for about 10 reps.


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## cheef (Dec 1, 2009)

24'sx12 strict 28'sx8 hammer

adn reply about chins i find cg actullay dose more lats and bicep long head mainly wg more trap teres major etc


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## WRT (May 21, 2009)

Bulkamania said:


> It doesn't really matter IMO. It's an isolation movement, *you should be concentrating on getting a good contraction instead of how much you can swing.*
> 
> But just for the records, can curl 20kg comfortably for about 10 reps.


I tried that, it did fuk all. Tried heavy as fcuk (for me) DB curls with sh1t form and my arms grew.


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## Bulkamania (Feb 16, 2009)

WRT said:


> I tried that, it did fuk all. Tried heavy as fcuk (for me) DB curls with sh1t form and my arms grew.


Well I don't mean to the extreme as in curling 10kg dumbells real slow, but I mean I don't think there's alot of point in sticking 40kg on a dumbell and just literally swinging it. But I know what you mean, cheating a little bit is fine.


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## -tommyboiii- (Mar 4, 2008)

so swinging a little is okay ? that means i could go up to 16's, as i can do 14s with no swing fine


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## TinyGuy (Dec 7, 2009)

At the end of my routine on back bicep day i use 15 kg dumbells for hammer curls right after ive bb curled 30kg attempting 4x12.

no swinging.


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## Bulkamania (Feb 16, 2009)

Well as long as you're not using too much momentum or too much swing to get it up then yeah. But when you use every other muscle to curl it up then it's pretty pointless IMO. It's ok to cheat sometimes, occasionally I'll stick 70kg or so on a barbell and do cheat curls, just not every session.


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## paulbp (Jul 3, 2010)

I'm doing 16kg dumbells standing


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## BlitzAcez (Mar 6, 2008)

16kg at 13.5 inch arms.


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## -tommyboiii- (Mar 4, 2008)

i find hammer curls reall yhard....because my hands slip to the top grip part of the dumbell, even on a low weight :/


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## Bulkamania (Feb 16, 2009)

I find hammer curls much easier, have done 30kg dumbells for 3 sets of 10 before.


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## -tommyboiii- (Mar 4, 2008)

its not the weight i find hard, ive got small hands, smaller than my mums actually :I so i find gripping hard


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## WRT (May 21, 2009)

Form I use is similar to this


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## Guest (Jul 4, 2010)

WRT said:


> Form I use is similar to this


That guy is awesome... accept because of him people think big guys are stupid, lol... ah!


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## big_jim_87 (Jul 9, 2009)

in your face


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## -tommyboiii- (Mar 4, 2008)

BEAAAAASSSSST !!!


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## WaxOnWaxOff (Mar 11, 2010)

I feel like a little girly man in this thread.

Started training in Feb and could only do 10kg  for 8 reps I can just about do 14's now although doing what that Kevin Levrone is doing I could prob do more.


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## -tommyboiii- (Mar 4, 2008)

thats the same as me, though i've been at the gym A LOT longer, but havent been doing free weights, recently started


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## -KC (Feb 12, 2010)

Im doin 22kg dumbells 3sets x 10 reps. Standing though, not seated


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## bigbear21 (Oct 11, 2009)

usually do seated db curl with strict form keeping palms up at all times and get up to 30kg dbs for 8 just starting to step up to 35kgs but only getting 4-5 at the mo arms are 23inch pos just a touch over but bf is shall we say a touch on the high side


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## WRT (May 21, 2009)

WaxOnWaxOff said:


> I feel like a little girly man in this thread.
> 
> Started training in Feb and could only do 10kg  for 8 reps I can just about do 14's now although doing what that Kevin Levrone is doing I could prob do more.


So by cheating a little you could add more than 30kg to your curl? PMSL

Oops read that wrong, I get ya.


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## -tommyboiii- (Mar 4, 2008)

haha nearly double my 12.4" arms


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## TinyGuy (Dec 7, 2009)

so, is it actually advisable to perform dumbbell curls like the guy in the video, for anything other than showing off?


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## WRT (May 21, 2009)

TinyGuy said:


> so, is it actually advisable to perform dumbbell curls like the guy in the video, for anything other than showing off?


Not advisable no, but I don't buy into all this perfect form stuff. I can safely say apart from on a few exercises my form is nowhere near perfect, just lift as heavy as I possibly can as long as my form isn't shocking. I'm sure people will disagree with me but personally if I stick to a weight where I can use 100% perfect form I will not grow. Feels like a waste of time.


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## bigbear21 (Oct 11, 2009)

wrt where are you based?


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## -tommyboiii- (Mar 4, 2008)

what are the benefits of doing db curls whilst seated instead of standing ?


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## warren (Jun 16, 2008)

-tommyboiii- said:


> what are the benefits of doing db curls whilst seated instead of standing ?


for me it stops me swinging and hoisting my back into them


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## WRT (May 21, 2009)

-tommyboiii- said:


> what are the benefits of doing db curls whilst seated instead of standing ?


Less likely to cheat as you can keep your back flat against the bench.


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## -tommyboiii- (Mar 4, 2008)

ahhh i see, when standing i always put my other arm behind my back...been told by people too...i dont know what difference it makes though :S ?


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## gringo (Jul 13, 2009)

-tommyboiii- said:


> close grip pull ups ? how close does your grip have to be, i have alsways done pulls ups with each hand at each end of the first bar, (after the first bar theres a metal bit then and other bar on each side for wide grip pull ups)


I do my pullups and chinups in the smith rack with the bar at the top. That way I can use any width I like. I think its good to vary it within what's comfortable, and that is different for different people.

As well as palms facing and away, I also grip either side of the bar and then pull up with my head on the other side of the bar to my closest hand. The further away the other hand on the bar, the more of the load is on the closer hand, if you see what I mean. So each set concentrates on one arm more than the other.

I'd like to be able to do this, ideally


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## scobielad (Feb 27, 2010)

Just last week was doing DB Hammer Curls with 20kg DBs, 3 sets of 8 reps.


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## sizar (Nov 13, 2008)

it depends HOW YOU CURL .. Some curls more like clean and jerk lol .. there is no need to load a bar and use all your body and swing all over the place. use reasonable weight strict form isolate the muscle see how that works.


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## gringo (Jul 13, 2009)

You've got to eliminate the "style" differences for any comparison in curling weight.

How about strict preacher curl with an EZ bar? Armpit to pad all the way.

That's pretty much all arm muscle.

Havnt done these in a while but I like the reverse grip version as a brachialis and

forearm exercise and can get to 45Kg on those.


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## Simon m (Apr 3, 2008)

17 1/2" cold arms

I've curled 32kgs DB's for 3 set of 6 reps

I've done strict DB preachers with 22kgs for 3 sets of 10

yesterday after back I did 10 sets of 10 reps curls with 16kgs db's

best exercise for me is DB Preachers, followed by heavy hammer curls - that kills your biceps and you're done in a total of 6 sets.


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## H22civic (Oct 6, 2009)

25kgx8 reps. Biceps arent my strong point at all, but i dont put much emphasis on weight as i get better results from using lighter weight with tighter form.


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