Is it correct form to do concentration curls with your arm hanging freely? If not, why does it result in muscles bulging out more?

Question

All this time I thought it was ok to do concentration curls with your arm hanging freely, instead of your elbow being pressed against your thigh. Now I didn't see any videos or blogs which said anything against this, but I was just wondering whether it's correct form or not. Furthermore, which would aid in getting stronger biceps faster?

Also, after doing it the way I've seen in videos (with my elbows resting against by thighs) I've noticed that my biceps don't bulge out as much compared to when I do the curls freely. Does this mean this method is slower at muscle development compared to my method?

Answer 1

There's nothing wrong with performing biceps concentration curls in the manner you describe as long as you do them in a controlled manner. There's actually no correlation between the style of the curls you perform and whether you get “stronger biceps faster”. Stick with what works for you. And, biceps concentration curls are typically done as a “finishing” (does not mean at the end of your routine) exercise in order to improve the peak of the biceps (think of the peak on Arnold Schwarzenegger's upper arms).

As far as the “bulge” you speak about, there are plenty of factors that contribute to the muscle “pump” (bulge) you feel. What you are experiencing is an increase in blood flow to the biceps that produces a temporary “bulge”. So, again, there's no correlation between the “pump” and slow muscle development. I would encourage you to do both forms of curls.