You can accomplish this by dynamically adjusting your body position during the exercise, changing the angle of the torso as you curl the dumbbells up.
How do you accomplish this? By using the end of a bench as a pivot point.
This allows you to go from a massive stretch with a horizontal torso position all the way to a strong contraction with a vertical torso position, at the start and finish of every single rep.
This puts incredible muscle-building tension on your biceps.
For equipment, you'll need a flat bench or (ideally) an adjustable-height bench. When I was doing the exercise, I found the flat setting worked fairly well but the dumbbells contacted the feet of the bench at the bottom.
So I raised the elevation of the bench just slightly...one notch, and that was perfect. It allows for the exercise to be performed without any contact to the bench at the bottom.
You could also potentially do something similar to this using a Swiss ball, however I've found when I've done this, the shape of the ball supports the upper arms too much and takes stretch loading off the biceps at the bottom. The bench works much better.
How To Go From Peak Bicep Stretch to Peak Bicep Contraction In One Rep...
First, set the bench against something solid, like a wall or rack...anything that braces it so it won't slide will work.
Squat down in front of the bench and set your mid-back against the end of the bench.
Now reach down and grab your dumbbells - I'm using a pair of 30's here. You don't need heavy weight for this...it's all about tension.
Next, lie back until your torso is horizontal, allowing the arms to come back into the stretch. Keep your palms facing forward (fully supinated) to maximize the stretch.
Now start to curl up. As you curl up, start dropping your hips at the same time.
Keep going in this fashion...this changes the leverage while you're doing the exercise.
Come all the up to the top of the curl while bringing your torso to the vertical position.
This is why you want to have the bench braced against something solid...you'll need to be pushing backwards with your legs in order to keep your back braced against the bench.
You will feel a massively strong contraction at the top here...squeeze the biceps hard.
Now lower the dumbbells back down, raising your hips back up as you do so, until you're back in the horizontal position.
Repeat for 6-8 reps, under complete control, focusing on stretch tension at the bottom and a strong contraction at the top.
This one will light your biceps on FIRE...they get no break in tension or loading.
After performing your sets of this exercise, finish with a few sets of Beside-the-Head Concentration Curls for peak contraction training on the biceps.
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Want more unique and challenging exercises to work your entire body with simple equipment? All you need is just a barbell, dumbbells and a bench. Check out The Best Home Gym Exercises You've Never Heard Of!
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