How To Correctly Perform Dumbbell Concentration Curls (with Video)

Spring is finally here, the birds are singing, flowers are blooming, and for many of us, the sun is shining. Summer will soon be here and you know what that means ‘sun’s out, guns out’. In all seriousness though, summer does obviously allow us to wear less clothing, which can get us a great deal of attention, especially if we’ve built a lean and muscular physique.

If you’ve weight trained, one of the first exercises you ever learnt will probably have been the standing dumbbell curl to help train your biceps. Dumbbell curls are ideal for building bulging biceps, but many people seem to forget about concentration curls. Dumbbell curls are great for building the biceps, but if you want to build bicep peaks that look like mountains, concentration curls should be part of your routine.

How To Do Them:

Here’s how to perform this simple but highly effective exercise.

• Begin by sitting in a chair or on a bench, with your feet placed firmly on the floor, wider than shoulder width apart. Point your toes away from your body on each foot. Imagine a clock face. Your right foot should be pointing at 2 o clock, and your left foot at 10 0 clock.
• Next, hold a light dumbbell in one hand, one that you can perform around 8 – 12 reps with. Hang that arm down between your legs, positioned between your legs, and next to the thigh of the arm you’re using, so right arm, right thigh.
• Use your other hand to stabilise your body by placing it firmly onto the thigh of the opposite leg.
• Bend at the waist but ensure that you keep your back as straight as you possibly can.
• You’ll next curl the dumbbell up between your legs and then back down again, slowly and carefully. Make sure the dumbbell doesn’t bump against your leg.
• Repeat this process for however many repetitions you’re intending to perform.

Things To Remember While Doing Dumbbell Concentration Curls:

• Remember to brace your abdominal muscles,
• Take a deep breath before you begin the exercise.
• Exhale as you begin to exert yourself.

The muscles that this exercise works:

This exercise works the biceps and the brachialis of your upper arm.

Alternatives and Variations of the Concentration Curl

You can also perform this exercise by utilising a hammer grip as you would with hammer curls, as this will allow you to engage your lower arm muscles, including your forearms. The main difference with this lift, is that the dumbbell will be horizontal on the curl.

If you’d like to see an example of how to perform this exercise, click this video to see for yourself.