The biceps are the most popular muscle group to train among weightlifters, and there’s a good reason for that. The biceps are responsible for flexing your elbow joint, making them a key mover in any arm exercise.
Bicep curls are a great exercise for toning and building muscle in your arms. However, despite being one of the most common exercises we perform in our day-to-day routine, many people don’t know how many calories they burn.
This article will answer one of the most popular questions asked within the fitness community on the number of calories bicep curls burn. In addition, you will also find information on how and when not to do them.
How Many Calories Do Bicep Curls Burn?
On average, a set of bicep curl burns up to 10 to 12 calories per rep. The main muscle in the arm, the biceps brachii, is made up of two heads: long and short.
When you perform a curl, you primarily use the short head. The long head doesn’t do much work. The main set will burn up to 80-120 calories.
The Science Of Bicep Curls
Everybody can benefit from participating in a regular lifting routine regardless of their fitness level or athletic ability. Lifting will improve your focus and appearance and provide several less obvious benefits that you probably haven’t considered.
The primary reason for performing bicep curls is to develop strong and muscular arms. They work by creating tension on the bicep muscle, which causes micro-tears in the muscle fibers.
The body then creates new muscle proteins to repair these tiny tears, thus increasing muscle size and strength.
People need to know that their biceps do not consist of one muscle but rather two separate muscles that need to be worked out separately.
The main difference between these muscles is that the long head of the biceps is attached to the scapula (shoulder blade) while the short head attaches directly to the humerus (the bone in your upper arm).
The Best Way To Do Bicep Curls!
The standard way to perform a bicep curl is with a barbell, but it may be better to use dumbbells for this exercise.
Based on the research of 25 scientists, if you want to make your biceps as strong as possible, you should use dumbbells instead of barbells for your curls.
The best way to do bicep curls is to focus on the negative movement. If you have a weight that you can only do 8-10 times before failure, then you might want to try it. How to do this?
After doing your ten reps, lower the weight in a three-second count and push up for one more rep. If you do this, you will have completed a negative rep.
This will help build strength in your muscle fibers and make them bigger to withstand more work in the future.
How Heavy Should Your Dumbbells Be?
If you want to get bigger muscles, you should lift heavier weights. And what you also know is that lifting heavy weights will make it harder to perform reps. So it makes sense that the heavier the dumbbells, the fewer reps you can perform.
Men can start with 8-10 pound dumbbells, while women ideally start with 5-8 pounds.
How Long Should You Rest Between Bicep Curl Sets?
It depends on your workout, goals, recovery time, bicep curl form, and many other factors.
Many people have the wrong idea about resting between sets. They think that resting too long or not long enough will affect muscle growth or recovery time. The truth is, if you’re lifting weights properly, you should use the optimal rest periods.
The ideal and general rest period between bicep curls is 1-2 minutes. You can increase or decrease the time to your liking.
Should You Care About How Many Calories Bicep Curls You Burn?
You shouldn’t care about calories bicep curls burn or how many miles you can run on a treadmill, but you should care about the weight that you lose. How about tracking your weekly caloric intake instead of your biceps.
According to a study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, “Dropout rates were highest, and fat mass and lean mass were lowest among those using scales as their method of monitoring body composition.” Yikes!
Other Important Things To Consider When Doing Bicep Curls!
Muscles are like any other muscle in the body. They grow when you’re young, then stop growing once you’re an adult. However, there are ways to trick your muscles into growing at any age.
If you’re over 18 and want bigger biceps, here are some tips for building muscle mass.
The first step of the process is the counter-movement. During this phase, muscles are put on stretch as your arm moves downward toward your waist.
This causes tiny tears in your muscle fibers, which are then repaired by the body during the recovery period. The result is stronger, bigger muscles.
The second step is to lift a weight. When lifting weights, good form is key to avoiding injury.
Make sure you do not lean your body forward. If you want to avoid injury, do not bend your torso, stressing the back and shoulder muscles. Instead, try to stand straight and tall, holding the weights close to your body.
When you begin, lift the weight up slowly, then lower it down at a steady pace.
The third is to ideally go for a full range of motion on every rep, focusing on the top and bottom of each movement.
The Best Way To Get The Most Out Of Your Bicep Curls!
Did you know that if you do bicep curls, it can burn up to 42 calories in one minute? This is great news for people looking to lose weight without starving themselves. Being able to see results fast is an important motivation tool when trying to lose weight.
If you’re looking to build some serious muscle, few exercises can rival the bicep curl.
If you want to be the most ripped version of yourself possible, doing a set of 20 or so curls at the end of your workout is probably not going to cut it. But don’t worry, we aren’t asking you to start taking steroids.
A study conducted by researchers found that elite rowers and track and field athletes had more muscle mass in their upper bodies while performing similar exercises to the general public.
This suggests that endurance athletes may see a higher caloric benefit from arm exercises compared to other athletes.
The bicep curl is a simple exercise. You grab a weight and lift it back and forth in front of you until you can’t lift it anymore.
There’s one thing that many people get wrong about the bicep curl, though: how many calories they think they burn while doing it.
You don’t burn nearly as many calories as you think. And if you’re looking to burn more calories, you might have to engage in more than one type of exercise.
The first thing you need to know is that caloric expenditure can vary dramatically depending on your weight. To determine how many calories you burn during bicep curls, you’ll need to figure out your weight and the number of repetitions you complete for each set.
When You Should Not Do Bicep Curls
Bicep curls are a big staple in the gym. It is one of the most popular and common exercises that people do. However, you should not do bicep curls – especially if you have shoulder issues.
Bicep curling is an exercise that works out your biceps, a muscle at the front of your upper arm. But it also works another muscle known as the anterior (front) deltoid.
This is one of the most common shoulder problems among lifters, and it can lead to injuries if not taken care of properly.
Many people believe that the best way to strengthen the biceps is to perform as many repetitions as quickly as possible, which is incorrect.
Doing too many repetitions can result in serious injury to your shoulder joints, or it can even cause an acoustic neuroma, which is a tumor on one of your nerve roots. You also risk causing a rotator cuff tear which causes intense pain and long-term damage.
Conclusion
The bottom line is that if you want to get leaner arms, you should be performing arm exercises.
Indeed, bicep curls alone won’t get the job done, but compound movements like deadlifts and rows will also help improve your triceps, which are the muscles on the back of your arms.
Along with these exercises, it’s important to get enough protein in your diet since muscle building requires it.
