Non-cheat Plate-curls

[Dave H]

I have been doing Plate-Curls now for about two years. I first learned of them from my friend, Merle Meeter, who covers the Armwrestling articles in Milo. When Merle first told me about them, his intructions were to do them seated, in the Concentration-Curl style with the elbow planted firmly against the inner thigh. This prevents swinging the plates and all the pressure is on the wrists, forearms and fingers - where it should be.

Recently, I saw a video of a lifter on the Gallery-movies doing Standing Plate-Curls, and while it is always impressive to see Plate-Curls done, there was just to much swing for my liking. Also, everyone now-days seems to be using plates that have an edge, or lip on it, so they can hook the thumb over the lip for leverage. This is another thing that I do not like.

I use only plates that are thin, tall and smooth. There are several reasons for this:

1. The longer the plate, the more leverage works against you in addition to the weight of the plate. The longer the plate, the heavier it feels.

2. The smoother the plate, the harder you must press with your fingers and thumb. Thus, building much more strength in those target areas.

3. With a plate that has no edge, or lip, the thumb has to match the force applied with the fingers and thus strengtening the thumb much more than with the thumb hooked over a lip. In fact, hooking the thumb over a lip is not making the thumb stronger at all, it's just hooked over the lip and allowing the lifter to use it as a leverage device. While this may be a clever ploy to lift the plate, it is not improving thumb strength at all. And we all know that pinch-gripping is much about thumb strength.

Over the last couple of years my Plate-Curling has gone up and down, depending on several facters of which I will not get into at this time. But quickly, my focus on gripping, Wrist-Curling and Barbell-Curling (no, I don't curl for the girls, I curl so that I may devolop very strong hands and arms for work, and in other areas in life. And yes, strong arms do count in this area) has a bearing on my Plate-Curl progress. Anyway, when I'm not focusing on these other areas, I hit the Plate-Curls hard. And I have - at times - worked up to 45x3.

Currently I am doing my working sets with 25's (smooth plates with no lip) in the seated Concentration-Curl style. Saturday's workout with the Plate-Curl ( which is done after heavy Hammer-Curls, heavy Center-Plate Loaded Wrist-Curls, and heavy Table-Curls) looked like this;

(NOTE: 5-5, 5-5 means 5 reps on right hand, 5 reps on left hand. I show that in my log as 5-5, 5-5. That's 5 reps each hand for 2 sets.)

Plate-Curl;

25x 5-5, 5-5. 25x 20-20, 20-20, 20-20. (First two sets are warm-up, then I go to my working sets. On occassion, when I go a little heavier, it may look something like this;

Plate-Curls; 35x5-5, 5-5. 35x 7-7, 7-7. 35x 10-10, 10-10, 10-10. 35x 7-7, 7-7. 35x 5-5, 5-5.

Then, every now and then I will take a crack at 45.

Summary: Drop the swing, do them Concentration-Curl style. Use only smooth plates so you can't hook the thumb. That way the lift is pure. And use moderate weight and high-reps. That will build a base that will allow you to work up to a high 1-rep max. At least it does for me and all those who use my principles.

Sixgun

[apdwler]

I've used one of those preacher curl things....a lot tougher than standing....Someome mentioned it here before...

[jad]

I've recently switched to plate wrist curls, that way I don't have to worry about swing or my wrist not being straight. These are also great for negatives. I've never seen a 45 with no lip only 50's. Where do you get a smooth 45 at? The ones I curl have a slight lip. They don't give me any leverage advantage they just dig a nice little groove into my thumb.

[John Wood]

I have been doing Plate-Curls now for about two years. I first learned of them from my friend, Merle Meeter, who covers the Armwrestling articles in Milo. When Merle first told me about them, his intructions were to do them seated, in the Concentration-Curl style with the elbow planted firmly against the inner thigh. This prevents swinging the plates and all the pressure is on the wrists, forearms and fingers - where it should be.

Im curious, where did Merle get the idea to do them this way, i.e. seated, catch at the top etc?..

[Dave H]

iad

The standard one-inch plates, the kind made for a 1 inch bar, I buy them at a place called Berry's Barbell. And your right, they don't come in 45's. Only 50's. What I do to go up to 40 and 45 pounds is simply bolt a 10 pound plate to the 35 pounder with a bolt through the whole and that gives me my 40 and 45 pound plates. The plates are smooth, with no lip.

If Olympic plates are all you have, just try not to involve the thumb in the hook if you can help it. But let's face it. Any type of Plate-Curl is better than none at all.

Sixgun

[jad]

But let's face it. Any type of Plate-Curl is better than none at all.

Sixgun

Roger that and thanks for clearing that up about the 45's.

[Dave H]

John,

I don't know where he got the idea. He lives near Allen Fisher and the two of them train together often. I don't know if that's how they all do them out there or not. I don't like the catch at the top. It takes pressure off the lift. I have dropped the catch and just let the plate back down almost to floor level and then reverse and start back up. But you're right, I think Merle does use a catch.

Sixgun

[Dave H]

apdwler

I will try the Plate-Curls over my Preacher-Bench. That sounds nice. I can't believe I have not thought of that.

Sixgun

[Arne]

My ultimate goal is to do a perfect Platecurl with a 20 kg (44lbs) Eleiokoplate in those two styles.

http://www.cyberpump.com/gallery/album113

http://www.bigsteel.iwarp.com/Gallery/Read...ersGallery.html

[jad]

My ultimate goal is to do a perfect Platecurl with a 20 kg (44lbs) Eleiokoplate in those two styles.

That would be AWESOME. My ultimate goal woud be plate wrist curl with a 45lb plate but it just feels impossible. I feel like I'll close the #4 long before I ever accomplish this.

[Arne]

The hardest part in platecurl is to have the wrist in a absolutely straight position during the whole movement.

[Dave H]

Arne,

Yea, that's right. I do them like that, and sometimes I'll move the wrists in little Wrist-Curl type movements within the curl it self for extra umf, so to speak.

Sixgun

[jad]

Yeah...I have to agree with Arne on wrist straightness being the hardest part of plate curling. I've noticed when I plate wrist curl that it's that last little bit before my wrist becomes straight that is the hardest part for me. For example, if I fail on a rep, I will use my other hand bring it up and then perform a negative and I can hold the weight in the straight position, it just that last little transition before wrist straightness that gets me.

[slazbob]

sixgun

i think if you use a lip or not it doesn't really matter, it's purpus is to strengthen the fingers and wrist. if you need to train thumbs, and pinch, i would use more than 25lbs. so i wouldn't say it's bad...it's all i got. i'm not being a d#*k, just posting an opinion

[Dave H]

Slazbob,

Yea, the purpose is to strengthen the fingers and wrist. But using a lip takes pressure OFF the fingers and wrist by allowing leverage to do some of the work! The thumb becomes a fulcrum. A fulcrum is defined by Webster's as: "the support on which a lever pivots in raising a weight." And if you are trying to build maxumim strength, then you don't need to use any leverage in your favor.

That's why using a non-lipped plate is harder. I can use a lipped plate and do 35 and 40 pounds for many, many reps. But it's not a effective in building the strength in the fingers and wrists as a non-lipped plate. And the thumb IS part of the strength in the fingers. High reps, I'm taking about very high reps, will build a strength base.

But as I said earlier, any type of Plate-Curl is better than none.

Sixgun

[Rick Browne]

Yea, the purpose is to strengthen the fingers and wrist. But using a lip takes pressure OFF the fingers and wrist by allowing leverage to do some of the work! The thumb becomes a fulcrum. A fulcrum is defined by Webster's as: "the support on which a lever pivots in raising a weight." And if you are trying to build maxumim strength, then you don't need to use any leverage in your favor.

Actually the elbow is the fulcrum in this situation. The thumb serves a function

as part of the lever. (hand, fingers and forearm etc). I agree with you in that

the thumb will have to work harder in using a flat surface plate to statically hold

the plate in position. The thumb will only have to act as a sort of clamp in using

a lipped plate

[jad]

I agree that the thumb will have to work harder on a smooth plate vs a lipped one but I'm a horrible pincher and thumb strength or lack therof has never been the limiting factor when I TRIED to curl a smooth 50.

[wsm_fan_uk]

I had never considered the thumb being able to take pressure off the fingers before in this movement, it is a very good point though.

Has anyone tried plate curls with the plate the opposite way uo to conventional style? It would get around the thumb problem but without a trip to the gym I couldn't say if it would open another can of worms.

[Dave H]

WSM Fan'

That's a great idea! I would say that if you were going to Plate-Curl with plates that have a lip, then that would be the way to do them. With the thumb hooked onto the lip, it does make the weight easier to curl simply by pulling back with the thump against the lip and pulling the weight off the fingers. Flipping the plate might be the way to go.

The few times I have used a lipped plate, I have always Plate-Curled much more weight than I have with just flat plates. And my fingers and thumb are much more pumped and stressed after doing my sets with the flat plate than they ever are by using the lipped plates. That is an indicater that the fingers and thumb are working much harder than they do with the lipped plate.

I'll just keep using the flat plates, and then when I have to show some one a Plate-Curl with a lipped plate, I'll have the strength - along with hooking the lip- to blow the thing right off the map.

Sixgun

[jad]

Kind of off topic but I've read that Clevio Massimo(spelling?) did a 50lb plate for 10 reps with either hand, Does anybody know if these were strict or were they plate swings. If they were strict I consider that one of if not the greatest grip feat of all time.

Anybody know what Landby, the guy doing the bicycle lift in the gallery, could plate curl?

[Dave H]

Yea,

I think that is the World Record right now. But I don't know who did it. Merle mentioned that in Milo a few issues back. But again, they were setting down, in the Concentration-Curl style if I remember right. That way, there can be no swing.

Sixgun

[Strong Man]

Anybody know what Landby, the guy doing the bicycle lift in the gallery, could plate curl?

have you ever tried the bike lift with one finger.

[Arne]

Remember that the old type of swedish bicycle Sixten Landby was able to lift weight around 20 kg (44 lbs).

[Griparn]

I have heard one old man a friend of Landby say it could weight up to 25-30 kg.

By the way, I dont think Landby trained with any weigth plates at all. He got most his training from manual labour.

Edited April 8, 2004 by Griparn

[Arne]

Sixten Landby did also train with regular weights.