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Table Curl Question


popeye76

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i have heard that table curls are beneficial to arm wrestling, is that true. can somebody post a pic of a table curl? also what is the proper way to perform them. thanks!!!

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IMO they're just worse on your elbows with not much an advantage for carryover to the table than concentration or preacher curls.

I would stick with regular curls if any at all. pull ups and chin ups are working great for me and of course your every day grip and forearm work.

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ive tried trabel curls and they really hurt my right wrist and left albow. this was after doin them for a couple of weeks twice each week. so i dont do em no more. id rathert spend that time wasted on doing tabel curls on actual time at the table, which is 10 times better.

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A table curl is a great way to measure max strength but I don't recommend them for a normal routine as they are pretty hard on the elbow.

Basically take a standard dumbbell and put it on a table, place your elbow down on the same table, grab the dumbbell and use any means necessary to lift the dumbbell off the table while keeping your elbow on the table. You can imagine that you can do a lot more weight than a normal curl but it is hard to cheat. So when you weight increases you know you got stronger and not just better at cheating.

I also agree with more pullups and chinups.

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I've been doing a modified version of them with my bands on my AW table. The bands seem to alleviate any elbow strain, at least for me. Sometimes I just do a regular table curl with the bands and other times I set up like I'm in the losing position on a hook and fight out of it using the bands. It's a nice change of pace too since the bands get harder towards the top where as the db gets easier.

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what kind of weight are people doing on these in case i want to try this on my arm day?

First off, Bob is right I only do table curls every 3 weeks.

The last time a did a set I did 105lbs for 3 sets of 4.......any more reps or sets and my elbow hurts for days.

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i did 35kg but thats the biggest weight at my gym, is pretty easy for me. did taht first time trying it so yeah you can usualy do alot more weight table curling than regular curling

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Not to ask a stupid question, but what's the point of doing a TC when you could just use a preacher curl pad backwards?

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  • 2 weeks later...

I find the elbow issue is removed with extra padding under it, theres many variations too like using the other hand to help it into a static hold, negatives, cheat curls blah blah, I have done them mostly when having a few beers with mates, seeing who can crank up the most weight :D

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  • 6 years later...

Just started doing table curls a few months ago for the first time in 18 years.

From today, here's 96.4 pounds x 46 reps. I only got 23 with my left so it was not worth uploading:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-1b2CWAIMY

I am making great progress and should be back into significantly heavier weights in the near future.

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I love table curls. I also find a benefit in using kettlebells. I think it's more challenging as you need to stabilize the wrist more. You can also add fatgripz which makes wrist control much harder.

Edited by Evan Raftopoulos
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I always thought that kettlebells were something of a gimmick but I could see a huge advantage to occasionally doing table curls with them for wrist stabilization. I would be open to buying plate-load kettlebells specifically for that purpose.

Right now, I break the wrist stabilization stuff into a second training session. I use a 14.6 pound Olympic dumbbell bar and put a six pound collar on it and do hammer raises in many different directions.

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You can easily mess up your elbows doing table curls but there are ways in minimize damage.

What I've incorporated:

  • Try not to do them more than once every two weeks (unless your elbows feel great)
  • Treat arm wrestling table time like table curls - don't do them more than two weeks apart unless your elbows feel great
  • Load up on Ibuprofen the day before and take two before doing table curls
  • Stretch and apply ice between sets
  • Mix up other exercise in advance of doing table curls that take about 20-30% off what you can do but don't tear your elbows up (i.e., heavy one armed rows and/or pull-up locks)
  • Do a lot of cardio so as to keep inflammation from building up in your body
  • Do heavy full hack squats (or squats) before doing them so you get that testosterone surge that really seems to help
Edited by G-Man
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Thanks, I will consider your recommendations. There's is definitely a lot of stress on the elbow especially with side pressure on a table/cable setup (at medial elbow where flexors attach). I try to warm up well and progressively increase resistance. I also go for reps/endurance and rarely do 1 rep max on the table.

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Two other bullet points I wanted to add:

  • Take plenty of time to warm up
  • Do lots of wrist curl and related movements the following day or days (this seems to help a lot with alleviating elbow soreness)
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  • Do lots of wrist curl and related movements the following day or days (this seems to help a lot with alleviating elbow soreness)

I agree, I have a 2.5 pound hammer that I do range of motion exercises with throughout the next day to rehab the soreness

Edited by Evan Raftopoulos
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  • 2 weeks later...

PS. put something soft under your elbow...

Edited by pawel r
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couldn't resist, had to try this (1 rep max)

Edited by Evan Raftopoulos
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is there a video online of the official world record? I noticed in your vid you mentioned Al Turner has the record with 217 pounds. Is that with strict form and full range of motion?

Edited by Evan Raftopoulos
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  • 2 weeks later...

found this pic of the late Al Turner doing a table curl from here http://northeastboard.com/thread/17509/al-turner

There's no video on-line of any world record. It was quoted as a record in Milo Magazine and I trust them. I suspect its pretty straight forward: lift the weight off the table and curl it towards you. Once you get past the first 2-3 inches off table, it gets much easier.

I have heard people claim they have done more. In 1990, I trained with a guy a few times who claimed to have table curled 230. It's not recognized as an official record and I have not seen any videos nor seen anyone do it so I would use the "official" record as a better benchmark.

Edited by G-Man
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