Pump up your arm muscles with bicep curls

The bicep curl is a weight-training exercise that works the muscles of the upper arm. Curls are a typical exercise used in upper-body strength training routines. Do a biceps curl if you want big arms. If you want even bigger arms, do different variations of the biceps curl. Small changes let you target your arms from new angles while emphasizing different muscles within your arms. Over time, that means more strength and more size.

How do you properly do a bicep curl?

Select dumbbells of a weight you can lift at least 10 times with good form. To start with, it is suggested to start with weights that are 5 pounds or 10 pounds per dumbbell. If you are a beginner, recovering from an injury, or returning to exercise after a long time, you can even start with 2 pounds.

Start standing with a dumbbell in each hand. Your elbows should rest at your sides and your forearms should extend out in front of your body. Bring the dumbbells all the way up to your shoulders by bending your elbows. Once at the top, hold for a second by squeezing the muscle. Reverse the curl slowly and repeat.

Ideally, your bicep curls should be done at the end of a workout to specifically target the biceps after you have worked them through several compound ‘pulling’ exercises. 

Common mistakes

1. Going too fast. Focus on proper form rather than rapid execution. Lift the weights with a smooth motion, and take as much time to lower the weight as you do to lift it.
2. Improper Elbow Position. The position of your elbows should not change during the curl. They should remain close to the side of your body. Make sure that only the lower arm moves. If you notice your elbows moving away from your torso or floating in front or behind the body, you are probably lifting too much weight. 
3. Using momentum. Don’t use the shoulders or torso to swing the weights up when doing the dumbbell curl. This can end up feeling like a swinging, twisting, or heaving movement.

Concentrate on maintaining a tall, upright spine and a tight core. Your shoulders should be relaxed and make sure that they don't move forward to initiate the movement. Choose lighter weights or reduce the number of reps if this occurs.

Safety 

This exercise is generally recommended and safe for most people. However, if you have an arm injury or experience pain while doing this, stop immediately. Normally you will feel fatigue and even burning in your biceps and forearm muscles after a few lifts, and this is to get your muscles to strengthen and grow. But do not force extra repetitions once you are unable to do the curls with good form--take this as a queue to rest before doing the next set.

Don’t lift too heavy a weight to begin with, and stop if you feel any pain. Building big biceps is popular, but don't rush to get to heavier weights before you're ready. Injury to the elbow or wrist can occur, and that'll put a damper on your entire workout routine.