Wrist curl

[Roark]

Wrist curls this morning- right forearm still not healed.

empty bar 13 reps

70 x 10

100 x 10

a40 x 10

160 x 10

180 x 6

200 x 6

dumbell over bench corner:

50 x 6

70 x 6

no after-effects, so withing 2 or 3 weeks should be

back to full strength. I need a tattoo on each forearm

which reads: 'Remember to warmup!'

[amaury]

Hey Joe that's some good poundages for an old bag like you...  

i'm really impressed ! Do you still do some gripper training or pinching workouts sometimes ?

BTW why a password for ironhistory.com (I donated to cyberpump and registered as a donator but i think i must have forgotten my password or maybe am i still not authorized ??? ) ?

IronHistory was the only thing i was interested in on cyberpump along with the grippage !  

[Roark]

amaury,

If you donated to cyberpump, you should have

access to the donator's area. Contact TheEditor,

he will be able to help.

The popularity of cyberpump was overwhelming the

mechancis of the site- as I understand it, and computers

are not something I understand. It was free for seven

years and then when TheEditor ask for donations, there

was more combined hesitation shown than by the cast

of Fear Factor on TV.

So to continue, major parts were made available to only those

who donate/pay/contribute/come up with the moolah/stop

being cheap, and who put their money where the mouse is.

After I saw this attitude, I told TheEditor that if he caused

ironhistory.com to be made available to non-donators then

he could find someone else to write it.

Grippers do not interest me very much- I have given

or traded most of mine. Pinching is something that

points out to me just how weak my thumbs must be.

I enjoy wrist curls because it is also a 'bodybuilding'

producing movement.

[Guest mg6680]

Mr. Roark,

I believe you've already answered this question but I'll ask it again.  How do you do your wrist curls and what type of bar do you use?

[Roark]

I use an olympic barbell. Straddle the bench lengthwise,

hands sticking past the knees enough so that the back

of the hand cannot find support on the knee. Thumbs under

the bar, hands about a foot apart from each other, and

curl up, then lower to just past parallel and repeat.

I rest the bar across the bench, and when ready, put

hands on the bar while I amd standing, leaning over the bar,

then rock back and bring the bar up to the finished position

which is really my starting position for the set. Slow and

easy reps, no jerking.

For variety place forearms on the bench lengthwise,

hands together, or 2" apart. Be careful of your back when

deadlifting the bar into this position- better to have

some type of stand at the end of the bench to keep the

bar at starting height.

There are other way, of course, but this is what works

for me.

[Roark]

Still not pushing it, but hopefully within the next couple

weeks will get in gear:

This morning's wrist curls after warm-up:

140 x 6, 160 x 6, 180 x 6, 200 x 6.

I want to be able to get 225 for a set of 6 or 10 reps

anytime I decide to- make that my mental can-do-always

set. Then work up.

[gollan]

Is there any particular reason you prefer wrist curls with a bar over dumbells? Those are impressive weights you are wrist curling.

[Roark]

I sometimes use dumbells, or one bell at a time- never

enjoy using two dumbells at once for wrist curls.

I prefer a barbell though because it keeps my wrist from

turning 'sideways'. The barbell seems safer, and I have

lost enough time due to injury.

[gollan]

I prefer a barbell though because it keeps my wrist from

turning 'sideways'

Roark, this is one of those "aha" moments. You have just solved a wrist training mystery for me! I appreciate your taking the time to answer my question. I just got back from trying out wrist curls with the bar (yes at midnight). I will be using the bar from now on for heavier wrist curls. I tried the bar in the past but I wasn't using it properly. I recently saw some good advice on the GripBoard on positioning the hands and elbows for BB wrist curls.

I have been having a problem with my left wrist twisting with the heaviest dumbells. The twisting causes my wrist bones to bind up during wrist curls, especially when I'm searing and burning on the last few reps. The crunchy wrist joint is painful and quite distracting. The bar will solve that for me. Thanks!

[Roark]

Glad it helped. I also found that when using heavy

dumbells, one end of the bell wants to arc more toward

the forearm, which, though a normal range of motion,

becomes ackward in wrist curls.

Ellington Darden once wrote a magnificent description on

how to perform wrist curls, and some of my thoughts on the matter should be credited to him:

-hands need to be spaced wider than the elbows

(the forearms should not be parallel to each other)

-elbows need to be on a higher elevation than the hands

(so no 'resting' spot at the top can be achieved) But keep

the entire forearm length on the thighs or bench- no

elbows rising off them.

-shoulders need to be lurched forward to remove biceps

involvement

If you have access to a power rack with pins all the way

to the floor which allows a low enough setting for the

support bars, then you can go to failure and literally let

the barbell fall on to the support bars. I accomplish the

same thing by straddling the bench and allowing the bar to safely collapse on to the bench.

Ellington is a thinker, though apparently he has vanished

from sight

[Roark]

The tingling in my arms is returning, so my goals my

have to be delayed. I think the wrist curls are irritating

my elbows- not my wrists!

Anyway,

after warmups:

100 x 10

120 x 10

140 x 6

160 x 6

180 x 6

140 x 6 x 4 on decline

[Roark]

Wrist curls this morning:

bar x 13

65 x 10

95 x 10

120 x 6

140 x 6

160 x 6

180 x 6

200 x 2

160 x 6 x 3

[Roark]

I have been on the road for much of the past few weeks so my wrist curl training was limited to using some bent bent olympic bars in a gym I visited while in Florida, and

then a couple of workouts after coming home.

A BENT olympic bar ruins a wrist curl workout!

Anyway, this morning got back into the groove with 180 for six and 200 for 3, but I must now get off my comfort

zone (I can do those numbers ANYTIME) and push myself to make progress.

Did a plate curl with a 25 pounder, right and left handed,

still cannot wrist plate curl a 25, but need less and less

assistance from my other hand, so it is on the horizon.

What is the point of keeping several bent olympic bars

in an otherwise nicely furnished gym, where the machines

are updated occasionally but the bars remain untended and unreplaced?

[Jonathan McMillan]

Your traveling gym woes sound fustrating! I know some people prefer squatting with a bent bar....but I doubt this is why the gym was stocked with rotten bars.

You might have to focus on the plate wristcurl and dumbell wrist curls when you travel that way again.

Once I hit a 35lb plate wristcurl I'll start focusing on the barbell one more and see if I can reach your instant respect poundages!

Jon@han

[Roark]

Good luck on the 35 pound wrist plate curl- if I waited until

I could match that feat, I would never again perform wrist curls with a barbell

The gym I was at had dumbells only up to about 60 pounds, so that wasn't helpful either.

At my local gym I tried dumbells a couple days ago and

did sets of 5 reps with 60, 70, 80, after my barbell sets.

Still hesitant to push to the limit.

[Tyrannosaurus Dave]

I did wrist curls with bent dumbbells for a while. If you can hold it secure, the leverage increases as you curl and the plates turn away from you. Interesting but frustrating too.

I once squat cleaned 205 on a bar bent about 2 inches. The whole works went through this big circle before hitting my chest. I almost went over backwards. Keep the updates coming.