Concentration Curls -- What Can People Do?

[kyle102887]

Looking good.....should find a way to make all of the chain come off the ground.

Thanks - I actually got an e-mail from a friend of mine today saying the exact same thing. It might be possible to rework the collar and hang the chain by the middle. I ran the numbers - it is approximately 42" above ground at top of movement. Including crimps in the chain, it looks like it would be 12"+ off the ground at the top of the movement if I did that - so it would sort of defeat the purpose of continuous increases. Believe me, it is hard with two 30-pound chains on each side - honestly, every chain you add feels like another 20-pounds in plates.

When I was able to use chains on the pulldown stack, I noticed something rather curious - I could get more reps with 300-pounds than with a 220-pounds plus 90-pounds of chains despite the fact, it weighed anywhere from 265 to 310 pounds depending upon where you were in the movement. How can an average resistance of 287.50 feel heavier than 300-pounds?

Also, I will try doing another shoot in a couple weeks as I was disappointed in my form with the two chains on each side - I had great ROM on the three sets of three, but did not record them. Overall, I really enjoy training with the chains though.

Yeah I can imagine it adds a different dynamic to the movement. Which may be the reason it feels heavier than the 300. My only reason to saying you should find a way to make the chains come all the way off the ground is because when I see 60 pounds+ 120 pounds of chains. I was thinking a 180 pound concentration curl. Which is what I got, except not all the weight left the ground. I still think it's amazing what your doing, I was just expecting at one point all of the chains would leave the ground.

[G-Man]

I was thinking a 180 pound concentration curl.

Thanks man, but that is unreal. If I had been that strong, I would have went to Mohegan Sun Worlds this year - and in all probability - might have won.

Edited September 18, 2007 by G-Man

[kyle102887]

I was thinking a 180 pound concentration curl.

Thanks man, but that is unreal. If I had been that strong, I would have went to Mohegan Sun Worlds this year - and in all probability - might have won.

LOL true....but remember no limitations.

[G-Man]

65 + 120 pounds of chains x 5 + 2R

http://video.tinypic.com/player.php?v=4l7crwm

Compare the ROM in the above link with the below clip of 65 + 120 x 6R - I felt a HUGE difference today. I honestly was only shooting for four reps with a decent ROM and came real close to getting seven.

While my tendons were still sore from two weeks ago, I got even stronger today.

This was my workout:

75 x 12

75 x 12

65 + 60 chain x 8R/5L

65 + 120 chain x 6R

65 + 120 chain x 5R

65 + 60 chain x 19R/6L

I had to cut it short due to other committments. I plan on taking at least three weeks off before I do curls again.

Here are some clips:

Intro

http://video.tinypic.com/player.php?v=125tmyc&s=2

65 + 120 X 6R (almost 7!)

http://video.tinypic.com/player.php?v=67troj&s=2

65 + 60 x 19R (almost 20!)

http://video.tinypic.com/player.php?v=2a62n93&s=2

Edited September 30, 2007 by G-Man

[pawel r]

motionless trunk - only biceps

http://pl.youtube.com/watch?v=PbzdDjcqVRQ&...arski%20czernik

Edited October 4, 2007 by pawel r

[Robert Bishop]

not exactly full range of motion. Are those meant to be hammer curls?

[pawel r]

not exactly full range of motion. Are those meant to be hammer curls?

Yes, it is not full range of motion. this is "biceps in corner of work". it is armwrestling

see pictures in my gallery-for example picture: Rustam -range of movement http://www.gripboard.com/uploads/119047339...17_623_3742.jpg

Edited October 5, 2007 by pawel r

[jad]

not exactly full range of motion. Are those meant to be hammer curls?

I'm assuming you're the national champ from MI, from the NE board; What do you think about the half hammer/half regular type curl he was doing? I know they weren't full ROM and weren't intended to be but do you mess with the db curls where you're hand isn't strictly in palms up nor in a true hammer grip. Do you think this grip/curl is useful for AW?

Thanks

Josh

[Robert Bishop]

That might work for him but for me i like working it seperate and i mostly do full range but there are many that swear by holds and half motion reps.I do curl at that angle every weak except i dont turn my hand at the angle he has.For me the only time i do partial range is in ham curls on my last two or three reps i'll hold the weight or do partials until failure.In my opinion a person needs to do hammer curls and pulling on a table isnt enough to build good back-pressure. I also consider doing bent rows good for armwrestling.

[Robert Bishop]

sometimes i like using a rope for holds at the end of a workout like you would use for triceps. I'll grab the one end lock out about half way up over my preacher bench.To me the rope feels like it puts more pressure on the hand and wrist than using a dumbell.

[G-Man]

I am still too sore to train heavy today. Here's a sampling of the plates I use.

25-pound plate weigh-in

http://video.tinypic.com/player.php?v=spd8qh&s=2

[jad]

thanks Robert. I like the rope hc's too.

[filipvk]

Hello, I can do 5 reps with a 30kg dumbbell with 3" thick handle.

I'm weak.

[Robert Bishop]

Garret when are you gonna take the chains of and find out if your any stronger?

[G-Man]

Garrett, when are you gonna take the chains of and find out if your any stronger?

Robert,

I don't plan on taking the chains off any time soon. I felt a HUGE difference within two weeks, even though I was NOT doing everything that I should have been doing AND I was still sore.

It will be a few weeks when all my tendon soreness is gone. When that time comes, I will attempt this ...

Intro to 115 + 60 chain

http://video.tinypic.com/player.php?v=6yiljb&s=2

I feel confident that I should be able to do this for a rep or two. I am shooting to get this done a week from this Sunday (at the earliest). If I am still sore, I will push it back another week.

[pbo4muscle]

Compare to most of you guys I am a complete wuzz, I can only use 21,5 kg for 6 - 8 reps on concentration curls, but they are strict and full range of motion... I prefer to stand up when doing them.

[G-Man]

Before I went heavy, I did a lot of high reps.

This was from the first thick bar training session I ever taped (the day I started this thread).

75-pounds, 3"+ handle, concentration curl for 34 + 2 reps --right handed

http://video.tinypic.com/player.php?v=2l9ijiw

[G-Man]

peter paul 150lb dumbel curl!!

Powercurls with 150's! I thought, "Iron Bull" Jimmy Pellechia was the only Powerbodybuilder in the world, who could do that! ...well, maybe Bertil Fox could do it too!

When I wrote the above post, I remember feeling frustrated because I could not edit it – I was quoting someone who found a 150-pound standing dumbbell curl impressive as I do not, having done 145 x 9 before (right arm only, Fall of 1995, Golds Gym, West Springfield, MA).

July 15, 2007

Little did I know, at the exact time I was caught up in this very mild annoyance, something truly tragic was unfolding. A friend of mine – Michele Vitale – whom I had known for about seven years was in the fight of her life after being pulled from the Delaware River.

The details are a little bit sketchy – Michele was bartending at a club in Center City, Philadelphia. Her ex-husband stopped by. Some say there was a fight. Thirty minutes after he left, she took off running to the Ben Franklin Bridge (“about 20 to 25 minutes on foot” I was told) and jumped. While she could not swim, she somehow made it to the bridge pilings and miraculously, was rescued alive. She later died the next day in the hospital due to internal injuries.

This had been especially tough to deal with on many levels: I knew Michele for a number of years (since she was 19). She was very pretty, very highly intelligent and so full of life with a very charming personality.

This is what she looked like:

http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~nd87/michele.JPG

From her brother’s site

http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~sfv23/Picture...s%20wedding.jpg

My favorite one

http://crab.rutgers.edu/%7Ecultlab/members/vitale.jpg

Pic from obituary (an older pic - I would guess late 1990’s)

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h110/gst...pg?t=1192117476

Michele had incredible potential. I would say she had either a genius or near genius IQ. A few weeks before her death, she told me that she was getting ready to “graduate at the top of her class” (Rutgers University) and that she was recently promoted to “Marketing Director” where she was interning. She was easily one of the hardest working people I knew.

Michele was in phenomenal shape. The fact that she initially survived a jump her rescuer put at "150 feet" is testimony to this. She dabbled in competitive barroom dancer and even briefly dabbled in women’s bodybuilding. She had great business savvy, having once boasted to me of having made “$50K in one day” from a real estate sale a couple years ago.

I grew closer to Michele in the final months before her death. In fact, the night before I started this thread; I hung out with her and had an “awesome” time (her words as well as mine). Honestly, she had never seemed happier, more passionate, and more full of life. I had NOT a clue as to what she was struggling with.

Trying to solve the mystery of Michele’s suicide was tough as she left behind no note and it seems to have been an impulsive act. I heard she was struggling with Bulimia and when I read the “at risk groups” she seemed to fit the bill to the “t”.

I did some research and found that she and her ex sold their home just over two weeks before she took her life. It was taken for granted by those who knew Michele that there were money issues and that a turbulent relationship with her ex may have been a triggering factor. Other than that, there’s not a whole lot else that people either know or are willing to talk about.

Silent Lucidity

Watching over Me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUqK50hEQlA

The Obituary

http://216.109.125.130/search/cache?ei=UTF...=1&.intl=us

Some final words from family and some of those who knew her:

http://www.pancoastfuneralhome.com/memoria...hp?ObitIdNo=591

Michele was born 27 years ago today

I am writing this tribute today as today would have been Michele’s 27th birthday, had she lived to see it. Earlier this year, I said I was training to do something no man has ever done before – I don’t want to be too specific, but it involves the concentration curl. I feel my progress has been nothing short of amazing, minus the chronic elbow soreness. I hope to do this within the next year or two (hopefully not much later), get it certified, documented, witnessed and recorded and made available on the Internet.

When I finally achieve this, I will dedicate this to Michele’s memory.

May she rest in peace.

Edited October 11, 2007 by G-Man

[pbo4muscle]

That was a beautiful and loving obituary, and it hurts reading even from a long distance... I am sorry for your loss. My she RIP

The last thing between you and her was an awesome time and from experience I know that is comforting.

[lifesnotfair]

Yep, even reading that was painful. May she RIP and I wish you accomplish your curling goals and dedicate it to her.

[G-Man]

The last thing between you and her was an awesome time and from experience I know that is comforting.

Thanks for the kind words. Because of the fond memories, it is precisely why her death was especially painful. She touched a lot of lives.

One of her best friends had this to say:

Finally - the saddest part of this to me is the fact that she didn't swim (we had discussed her taking swimming lessons so she could go on a trip after graduation). After the fall - if she had wanted to die - she could have easily let herself drown. As you know - she made it to the pilings and was lucid on her way to the hospital. What absolutely rips my heart out is - at the end - she did not want to die.

Please do not share the pic with others - I'm sending it to you because you truly seem to deserve the memory of one of the most beautiful people (inside and out) ever to grace this planet.

Michele's death was by far the toughest thing I ever had to deal with emotionally - if it was a "10", my next most grueling experience was maybe a "3.5" or a "4."

All of this has been a learning experience. I've learned to better appreciate my elders and not to carry grudges against people - and that any of us can go at any time, even an otherwise healthy 26-year old female. I don't fear pushing myself in the gym any more - even if I feel I am going to pass out. Worst-case scenario is that you die but that will happen to everyone eventually anyways. It's important that you achieve your dreams while alive and be the best you can be.

Despite the horror and tragedy of it all, I feel this experience has given me the motivation and sense of urgency I need to go after my goals and dreams.

Edited October 12, 2007 by G-Man

[G-Man]

Amazingly, my tendons were still a little sore today - probably from all the pulldowns a week ago Friday. I am a little heavier - my weight is back up to 265.

Here's what I did:

75 x 12

75 x 12

65 + 60 chain x 8R/4L

115 + 60 chain x 1R

105 + 60 chain x 2R

85 + 60 chain x 8R

65 + 60 chain x 8R/3L

65 + 60 chain x 8R/4L

65+ 60 chain x 8R

Here's what I taped:

Final warm-up: 65 + 60 chain x 8R (last seven reps taped only)

http://video.tinypic.com/player.php?v=4gkh84&s=2

115 + 60 chain x 1R

http://video.tinypic.com/player.php?v=34i5k55&s=2

105 + 60 chain x 2R

http://video.tinypic.com/player.php?v=zyagra&s=2

85 + 60 chain x 8R

http://video.tinypic.com/player.php?v=2ldxb14&s=2

Strength and endurance seems down a little bit - possibly took too many anti-inflammatories trying to get rid of the soreness before today.

I think this will be the last round of taping training arms for a little while. I skipped the heavy leg presses today so I could be at my best - however, as a result, I did not get the natural GH advantage doing heavy legs before training arms.

[kyle102887]

Abandoned the thick bar?

I can't remember.....

What is the reason your training the curl so much for? Was it to possibly curl the inch?

Also have you attempted to see what your true max is? Without the chains and with little body english?

[lifesnotfair]

The 85 + 60 chains x8 reps is my favourite, of that bunch. You use a little bit of body english, but that's expected from heavy curling I guess. With the heavier weights you use a little too much body for my taste. Anyways, 85+60chains with that form is very impressive, maybe the 7th-8th rep had worse form but the first reps were pretty good I'd say!!

[G-Man]

Abandoned the thick bar?

My original bar broke so I ordered some of these:

http://www.gripsleeve.com/

In the meantime, I am training with the thin bar. Ideally, I'd like to get up to 115 + 60 chain x 5 before switching back over to the thick bar - and then alternate back and forth between thick and thin.

What is the reason your training the curl so much for? Was it to possibly curl the inch?

I would like to curl more than anyone has ever done before and eventually curl the Inch - it's tricky and I fully accept that I may have to do 200+ thick bar before being able to do the Inch (because of the wobble).

Also have you attempted to see what your true max is? Without the chains and with little body english?

I have not tried to max out in the concentration curl in almost ten years. My best guess would be that 115 + 60 chain feels like 150-155-pounds. I ALWAYS had "body English" in maxing the curls - and as long as the ROM was decent, I got a great workout.