Lately I've been training my biceps and forearms with just one exercise that leaves my arms super pumped after just one set.
I haven't been doing endless sets or this curl and that curl.
I've just been doing one exercise and I feel like I've never gotten such great results from one single exercise before.
I'll do just one single set and my biceps and forearms are pumped the way they would normally be from 4 or 5 sets.
I can do a mere 2 sets of this single exercise and it will be my entire workout for biceps and forearms. I'll leave the gym with an awesome arm pump.
What is this mysterious exercise that pumps up the biceps and forearms so well?
It's called Mixed Grip Barbell Curls.
It is a very simple exercise with one simple twist.
You will perform standing barbell curls with a “mixed grip.” One hand will be an overhand grip and the other hand will be an underhand grip.
Here is a photograph of a “mixed grip.” Note that one hand is an overhand grip and one hand is an underhand grip.
(NOTE: This is a photograph of a deadlift, I want you only to see the grip of the hands. One under and one over. You will use this exact same grip for your mixed grip curls.)
This is how you perform mixed grip barbell curls…
Grab a barbell with a weight light enough for you to perform 12 barbell curls, use an overhand grip with your right hand and an underhand grip with your left hand.
Curl the bar 12 times.
Your right arm will be performing a reverse barbell curl while your left hand will be performing a standard barbell curl.
Then rest for a moment and reverse your grip. Use your left hand in an overhand grip and your right hand with an underhand grip. Do 12 curling repetitions.
After these 2 simple sets of curls your biceps and forearms should have a crazy pump.
This exercise seems simplistic and it is. Simple always works the best.
Regarding just WHY this exercise works so well I cannot say, I can just say it works better than both standard barbell curls and reverse grip barbell curls.
I got the idea for this exercise from the most feared olympic wrestler of all time, Alexander Karelin.
Pictured: Alexander Karelin
Alexander Karelin was a crazy Russian wrestler known for his intensity both in competition and in training. His training sessions are legendary.
It was in one of his training videos that I saw performing mixed grip barbell curls. I was very interested and had to try them for myself and they are fantastic.
This training video is located below.
The training sequence only lasts about 2-3 seconds but you can see it enough to get the idea of how to perform this incredible exercise.
The exercise I'm talking about starts at 1:42 of this video.
Press play and the video will start at exactly the exercise I'm referring to.
If it's good enough for Alexander Karelin it's good enough for you and I.
What's the best weight to use?
Use a weight you can easily perform 12 curls with. This is your starting weight just to get you used to this exercise. When you are comfortable with this exercise you can add weight, always trying to attain 12 or more repetitions per set.
What's the best number of curls to perform?
It is best to perform over 10 repetitions for each set. The more reps you do the more blood will flow into your biceps and forearms giving you the incredible pump. I will do anywhere from 12 reps to 25 reps and anywhere in between. Often I will use the empty 45 lb/20 kg bar and perform this exercise at the end of my workout for 25+ reps just to get a great pump in the biceps and forearms.
How many sets should I do?
You should do at minimum 2 sets because you want to work both angles of each arm. You have to do sets in increments of 2 to make your sets “even”. You cannot do 3 sets because one bicep would be overworked and one forearm would be overworked. Your sets need to be in increments of 2 such as: 2, 4, 6, or 8.
Can I do other arm exercises with the mixed grip barbell curl?
Of course! You can do as many biceps and forearms exercises as you want. You don't ONLY have to do this one, but this is a fantastic one that belongs in every arm workout arsenal.
How often can I perform this exercise?
You can perform this exercise up to 3 times per week. It's always a killer way to end an awesome workout!
Happy pump, friend.
This is a great idea
Im looking forward to this whole month having each day a new article to read
I have a question.
Would this work with dumbbells?
And what is the difference between barbells and dumbbells in general?
Write an article on performing 100 pushups. I believe this is a foundational strength that every man should have.
Really.
I once had in front of me three marines in uniform doing 100 pushups, perfectly coordinated, with perfect posture. It was an incredible demonstration of masculinity.
1st day of the challenge, report: Success.
Woke up at 3:45am
Hit gym at 5am.
All other elements were met.
Most difficult parts: no snacking (surprising), and remembering the posture.
Best surprise: lots of energy, I was very effective at work and boss’s boss recognized that.
At the daily weight in this morning I lost 3.5lbs since yesterday.
My man.
Day 2 is here!
I usually wake up at around 5am anyway so that was not that hard.
I totally agree with you on the snacking being the hardest part.
Although, I do allow myself one protein-type snack because I am a hardgainer and need the calories.
Yes, the snacking part was totally unexpected. At work I never snack, but yesterday at home I found myself checking for a quick grab (one or two crackers, some cheese, whatever) multiple times. I guess that I never noticed before how mindlessly I snack while I am doing other stuff.
Will be adding these to my arsenal.
Just did it and I can tell you. Boy this works. Absolutely unbelievable. 2 sets with light weight and my arms were fully pumped!
Thanks a lot big man
Would be interesting to see an article of your stretching/flexibility routine
Another great post. This guy alesandr Karelin is a beast. Wrestlers are some of the worlds fittest people in the world. Many navy seals were wrestlers when they were younger and are familiar with hard training. Im definitely going to try this at the gym the next time i go.
Wow, I never heard of these in all my years of lifting. I can’t wait to try these out. Karelin was an absolute monster.
Day 2 of challenge-Still crushing. Had to stay up until 1 A.M. to finish my to do list for day # 1 after work but I got it done. The hardest part for me is usually remembering to make notes in my notebook for some reason.
Hey Vic, couple ideas in case you are looking for articles this month. I know you like to keep things short, so if you don’t want to read through the context:
“When you find success, how do you continue pushing for greatness instead of settling for good?”
1. How can you turn success into new hunger? Like for example - say I hit $10,000 a month. How can I stop myself from getting complement and instead be just as hungry to get to $100,000 a month as I was to get to $10,000 a month? I think the answer is getting the reward from doing the work, not from the money, but I’m not sure yet.
2. I was pretty anti-social for many years focusing on making money. Now that I’m making money I feel like I can finally reconnect with my friends. We often will have 3-4 beers or drinks of whisky, but I’m realizing that this is bad for testosterone and think I will switch to just a glass of red wine (which has some research as an AI). It can be easy to slip up with old buddies. I’ve been losing weight and I want to finally have a 6 pack but when you have some drinks then it leads to eating chips etc… Now that I think about it this is related to my first point, how can you stop from getting complacent when you find success? I lost a bunch of weight so now I feel like I can “treat myself” even though I’m not at my goal yet which is to look in the mirror and see discipline reflected. I like to answer my own questions so my answer is that I’m going to just have 1 drink with my buddies per night.
3. Do you regret your “living it up” period once you found success? Pride mansion, partying, spending money? Do you think you need to have a period of this to get it out of your system? I’m thinking of travelling or doing something big to celebrate that I’m finally making it in my business, I’m hoping that will get me back into “grind mode”.
Adding this to the end of my workout today.
Thanks Vic!
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170306-the-astonishing-focus-of-namibias-nomads
This article, Victor is very interesting suggesting how our vision, perception and focus has changed by living in modern life as opposed to those who live in tribes/primitive environments.
I feel that it will interest you.
I have also been reading nutrition and physical degeneration and he also talks about tribal men’s ability to see animals a mile away etc.
You weren’t lying, never heard of this before, going to give it a try tonight.
I can’t wait to try it!
I’m thinking the mixed grip lets you handle much heavier weight than a typical reverse curl would allow.
This should let you get the weight up but still have more overload on the negative, leading to that crazy pump. Gonna give this one a try.
Thanks Victor!
The email system is good, was going to be a lazy day eat crap do nothing productive the will power was low today, but seeing that 130kg Russian bear toss men around and work out like a monster is inspiring
cheers