Eccentric Body Drag Curls

To perform the regular Body Drag Curl, instead of curling the bar up and around in an arc in front of you, you basically "drag" the bar up yor body, with your elbows coming up and back behind you. It puts a fantastic contraction on the biceps.

This version is just a very simple adjustment that will allow you to use more weight in the "drag" part.

Here's How to Do Eccentric Body Drag Curls...

You're going to do a NORMAL curl up, instead of a Body Drag Curl (in the video, it's a bit of a "cheat" curl rather than a strict curl...I would actually lighten up the weight a bit next time, to be honest).

Take a shoulder-width grip on the bar.

Curl all the way up to the top position, bringing the bar to your chin. The elbows CAN and SHOULD come forward a little at the top of a curl. The biceps attach inside the shoulder joint and the small movement of bringing the elbows forward actually gives you a bit more complete contraction.

Once the bar is at the top in the peak contracted position, lock down your biceps into a strong isometric contraction.

Now, keeping the biceps locked, bring your elbows behind you, bringing the bar to your chest. This movement happens ONLY at the shoulders. Think of it as a rotational movement here, with the shoulders as the pivot point.

This puts you into the top position of a Body Drag Curl, using heavier weight than you could normally use for a regular Body Drag Curl.

You will feel an incredibly strong contraction in the biceps here.

Now FIGHT the negative all the way down. In other words, don't just lower the bar under control....that's not enough damage. Try to actually CURL the weight up as gravity bears it down against your efforts.

This is how you perform a truly effective eccentric rep. It should be a hard-fought battle...not a controlled retreat.

Fight it all the way down to the bottom then reset for another rep.

Aim for about 4-6 reps total with this. If you can get more than that, you're not using enough weight.

You could also potentially do this exercise with dumbbells, though I find the "locking in" that happens with a barbell makes the contraction more intense and effective with the Body Drag Curl.

This is a great exercise to pair with a stretch-focused exercise like a Stacked Plate Incline Dumbbell Curl.

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