Why Bicep Curls Won't Give You Nice Arms

If you've read more than a few of my posts, you know I'm a proponent of compound exercises for the majority of your strength training. Generally speaking, they're more functional, they're more efficient because they use multiple muscles at one time, and they burn more calories than isolation work.

Since most of my clients are time crunched and interested in fat loss and are not body builders or figure competitors, you'll find very few isolation exercises in my programs.

That said, I'll occasionally toss in some bicep curls. My mistake. :-) The other day I had my boot campers doing some dumbbell curls, which is rare; it was actually more of a break than anything. So what happens? One of my (relatively new) campers chirps in with something like, "I vote for more bicep curls in our workouts. You can really feel that burn."

It goes back to the belief that you can spot reduce or spot tone. People think if their inner thighs burn from leg lifts, they'll get smaller or that bicep curls will give them nice arms.

It doesn't help that we got a slew of "Get Michelle Obama Arms" articles after the president was elected. Unfortunately, many of them focused on arm isolation exercises and failed to acknowledge that most Americans are overweight.

The bottom line is that to get the look that most people want, you need to get rid of the fat covering your muscles. The key to fat loss is good nutrition and challenging workouts involving multi-joint movements. Leg lifts, tricep kickbacks and bicep curls won't cut it.

Most people like doing curls and there's nothing wrong with occasionally adding them to your workout if you have extra time but don't make it a habit. There are better ways to spend your exercise time if you want results.

I Do Believe, I Do Believe

Recently one of my Body & Soul members "confessed" that she had been adding some exercises at the end of her routine. She'd been doing some Bicep Curls and Tricep Pushdowns because she liked the way they felt, even though she knew I didn't "believe in" doing exercises like that.

Obviously, my stance on the superiority of compound exercises has been misunderstood by some.

It's not that I'm opposed to Bicep Curls or Tricep Pushdowns. (Tricep Kickbacks? Now, that's another story.) Here's what I think...

Most of my members and personal training clients are limited on time and have a primary goal of fat loss. In that case, exercises like Pullups, Rows and Pulldowns are preferable because they work your back and your biceps at the same time and burn more calories. The same is true for triceps; Pushups and Presses work multiple muscles and challenge your body more than isolation work.

Am I saying that no one should ever do isolation exercises? No. In fact, I did some Bicep Curls the other day.

If you have some extra time and you enjoy it, there's no reason not to add some direct bicep and tricep work that day. Or, if your body is pretty much how you want it, go ahead and include some Curls and Pushdowns. And, obviously, if you're a bodybuilder you'll want to perform isolation work.

I still think the main part of your workout should consist of compound exercises; they're more functional - more similar to the way our bodies work in real life. Compound exercises are also more challenging and our muscles and bones need that.

That doesn't mean I "don't believe" in ever performing isolation exercises.