I am not a big fan of muscle-isolation exercises like bicep curls. Why would you bother with this when you can do chins ups? But sometimes it's handy for circuits to have an extra exercise to throw in, especially when you are too tired to be able to do many chin ups. There are many varieties of bicep curl - straight bar, z-bar, dumbbell, hammer, seated, standing, 'preacher' curls - so for now I will just post videos of the one I have recently done, then add others when I have time.
My own experience is that using a straight bar is not good and can cause injuries over time - the ez-bar seems to offer a more natural angle for the wrists. Others say that you need a straight bar to fully engage the biceps. I'd rather have smaller biceps and be injury free. Dumbbells, of course, allow your arms to move through a range of motion that suits their geometry, so I would favour these.
Hammer Curls
You can do these standing up or sitting down. This video talks about slowly lowering and strict form - I tend to just do these fast as part of a circuit and not worry about form too much.
Barbell Curls
It's only practical to do these standing up. This guy does not have perfect form - but then I rarely do either - as I said above, for circuit work there's little point. I prefer to avoid burnout by cheating - it's a lot more convenient than running off to get a lighter bar. Note: there are some aspects of form that are important - such as a good stance and straight back - I am not advocating the abandonment of all aspects of good form!
This is a good video of the strict technique, but my view is that you can choose to involve as little of your legs as you choose according to how much emphasis you want to put on them. As a rule, the heavier the weight, the more you will need the legs.
Single-Arm Dumbbell
This is a slightly unusual video, but it's the only one I could find that illustrates what I believe to be a single-arm dumbbell clean. Some people seem to think other, more controlled, rear-delt targeting movements can be classed as cleans. I disagree.
I think this exercise, strictly speaking, should be done using gymnastic rings. I will find a video of this being done, but for now am focusing on the version that uses a bar, since that is what I do.
Using a Bar
This is the basic form using a bar - he does swing a little bit, but not enough to classify this as a 'kipping' muscle up (see lower down.)
Jump-Assisted Using a Bar
I don't have a video of this, but essentially this involves standing on a box under a bar and jumping into the movement so I can provide additional momentum to allow me to perform the muscle up. By reducing the size of the box, then the extent to which I rely on a jump, I hope to progress towards the unassisted version.
Swing-Assisted, Uneven Muscle Ups Using a Bar
This was how I achieved my first muscle up - by swinging and then doing an uneven muscle up so that my strongest arm took priority. In other words, I just did my damnedest to get up there. Now I can work backwards from here and try to tighten up the form.
Partial
These are a lot like dips - you start in the normal end position - arms straight. Find a wall or other platform and then get yourself into the position as if you had just done a successful muscle up on it. Then lower yourself as far down as you can go whilst still comfortably then pushing back to the straight-armed position. To progress, increase the depth to which you go before pushing up.... Read more
This is a great substitute for bent-over rows if you want to workout with bodyweight and/or cannot make it to a gym. Ways to make this exercise harder:
Raise your feet by placing them on something like a bench
Ask your training partner to put a weight on your chest
Any combination of these!
With Bar
This could be a barbell or smith machine bar in the gym (second video) or, as in the first video, any horizontal pole or bar at roughly the correct height.
Under Table
I started doing this version when I was in hotel rooms or at home. Here I am doing it in my apartment.
I love chin ups. Great for the biceps and upper back. To show the basic movement I picked a video that makes me laugh because the whole set-up is about as far removed as you can get from the kind of gym rat scenario normally seen in YouTube videos. Plus, her impromtpu oblique workout on the last rep is highly unusual!
This is considered to be a good mass-builder for the upper back and this video illustrates well how the muscles are engaged by the movement.
Barbell
You can vary the grip width and angle of the back to suit. I prefer to have my back as close to horizontal as possible. I believe that the wider the grip, the less the biceps are engaged and therefore the more you isolate the lats.
Single-Arm Dumbbell
I like this guy's videos. He just gets on with it. The only thing I would say is that he appears not to pull the dumbbell right into the base of his ribcage, which I find gives me a better squeeze.
It's not often I get a chance to do this, but when I do, I find it an excellent upper back and biceps worker. You don't need much rope: you can just climb up and down as many times as it takes to achieve the desired level of fatigue...
This is an upper body exercise that also uses the biceps and rear delts. The first video shows strict, basic pull-ups with a roughly shoulder-width grip, followed by someone using a kettle bell to do weighted pull ups. The wider the grip, the less bicep recruitment. I am not a big believer in strict form on pull ups because our bodies were not designed for that. When climbing trees as hunters, we would have done what was necessary to get up as quickly as possible, not dangled our legs uselessly beneath. Next, videos of the inverted pull-up, a great variation.
Basic Pull Ups
Parallel-Grip Pull Ups
I guess this works the muscles in a slightly different way - I tend to only do these when there is no straight bar available, but since the grip is arguably halfway between a chin up and a pull up, I guess throwing these in now and again is a good way to mix things up.
Weighted Pull Ups
I use an old, sturdy belt which I loop through the handles of Olympic weights, but this guy is using a kettle bell with what looks to be the kind of belt you can buy specially for this purpose.
Inverted Pull Ups
Inverted Under-Table Pull Ups
This variation is great way to give your upper back and biceps a decent workout when you have nothing to hang from, but access to a sturdy table. Also works the abs. This is often my saviour in a hotel room situation and stops me having to stalk the streets at 7am looking for appropriate tree branches or street signs. This is a video of me doing a couple of reps under our table at home.
Personally I favour cleans as a superior exercise - it hits similar muscles and is a more natural movement - but I do use upright row in circuits.
Barbell
Dumbbell - Alternating
I find alternating with dumbbells a much better way to get a good squeeze, and it feels more natural and less likely to injure. Getting a good rhythm going helps - this guy is doing it a bit slower than I do.
