HIT Training 101

Although High Intensity training offers the soundest gym-tested advice in the realm of the fitness industry, what cannot be overstated is the fact that this can become just another useless methodology if the greatest amount of stress is not properly transferred to the muscle receiving the workout.  Barbell curls is one such movement that has become the epitome of bad form.  In an attempt to feel strong or powerful, many will swing this weight up and down like a bad ballroom dancer.

When we use momentum to our advantage, we are unwittingly using a physiological maneuver to alleviate the stress that should be applied to the biceps but instead transfer the load to other muscle groups to assist in the process.  I say ‘unwittingly’ and ‘alleviate’ because we genuinely do not even realize why we do this.  Think about this for a moment: Isn’t it true that as people we tend to avoid problems in the workplace, negative people or hard situations regarding family or friends? 

The bottom line is that we tend to avoid difficulties like the plague.  But avoiding the maximum amount of stress and difficulty on your biceps only leaves them in a place of stagnation and lack of growth.  If this rock-back-and-forth method were the best approach to building bigger biceps, then everyone would be doing it.  As a matter of fact, most do but that is why their development has stagnated.  Even those with large biceps could reach greater heights.

There are two rules ultimately to remember: 1) keep a shoulder width grip and 2) your upper arm should be perpendicular to the floor at all times, that is, it should remain parallel to your body.  In regards to rule #1, it is quite misguiding to assume that if you want to develop the inside of your arm that you should take a wider grip.  There is actually a place on the barbell that will position your biceps at their strongest and that is at shoulder width.  The further they move away from this position, the weaker they become.  For the sake of exaggeration, grip the barbell with your arms out as far as they will allow and try to curl it.  It would be very awkward.  Now imagine that you move them closer, inch by inch and can eventually curl much better.  Although you can, this does not mean you should if your goal is to place as much stress as possible on the biceps.  Stay as close to exact as possible with a shoulder width grip.

In regards to rule #2, it is common for most when arriving at the stop position at the top to elevate their elbows and pause for a second or two with the weight hovering over their shoulders.  The elbow serves as the axis point for the lift and when the axis point moves in the same direction as the weight being curled, the stress is taken off the biceps and transferred to the shoulders.  The elbow is the axis or fulcrum point because of its ability to direct stress downward towards the biceps when the stopping point stays in front of the axis point rather than behind it such as when the elbows are elevated and the stopping point is above the shoulders.  When curling, you should not even be able to see your biceps as it is ascending into the upward position because of the stationary position of