Shouldn't these be easier?

J

jmurphy

Cathlete
Hi Cathe and Everyone,

I hope all of you are have a terrific Friday so far!

My question for you today concerns the barbell bicep curl.

Each time I lift with the bar, I fizz out way before the end of the set. This happens no matter which workout I am doing. The part that is strange to me is that with dumbbells I can go pretty heavy, 12-15 lbs. each hand. But...the bar is a different story. Yesterday on the bar curls, I could only manage about 15 lbs total, this was a good day for me. Shouldn't the bar curls be easier? I thought that with both hands working at the same time, on the same weight it would be easier to lift it. Shouldn't I be able to lift close to the same weight on the bar as with the combined dumbell weight?

I would be greatful for any reply about this. I am stumped.

Thanks in advance.

Happy Friday!

Jamie :)
 
YAY!! It's Friday!! :)
Maybe your arms are working unequally? Maybe your dominant arm is doing more of the lifting. That might explain not making it through the set, because with a 15lb barbell, it should be 7.5 for each arm, but maybe one of your arms is working harder than the other?? I am just taking a guess at it. Good luck!
Purplesky1120
 
Are you using a straight bar? Maybe holding your forearms in that position puts an additional strain on the muscles, and fatigues you faster. This does happen to many people and for this reason they make e-z curl bars.

Dumbbells are no slouchy way to do it and I often substitute them. It happens to me too, but I have an e-z curl bar and it's "e-z-er" with it!HTH
-Connie
 
Does the EZ curl bar allow you to heavy up on the weight you use for the bicep exercises?

Crazy 8s kill me everytime no matter what weight I use, I never seem to improve.

Susan G.
 
Does the EZ curl bar allow you to heavy up on the weight you use for the bicep exercises?

Crazy 8s kill me everytime no matter what weight I use, I never seem to improve.

Susan G.
 
I don't know what you mean by "heavy up!" It allows you to do bar curls without letting go of the empyt bar, LOL!

A lot depends on the shape and position of your muscle attachment and the length of your arms. Some people notice a big difference, and others less. You should give one a try at a gym or sport store.

EZ curl bars come in a variety of angles and widths too. Check out 2 different ones before you buy (unless the only one you try is comfortable).
-Connie
 
I don't know what you mean by "heavy up!" It allows you to do bar curls without letting go of the empyt bar, LOL!

A lot depends on the shape and position of your muscle attachment and the length of your arms. Some people notice a big difference, and others less. You should give one a try at a gym or sport store.

EZ curl bars come in a variety of angles and widths too. Check out 2 different ones before you buy (unless the only one you try is comfortable).
-Connie
 
I'm sorry - I meant heavy up to mean using heavier weight than usual. Like in the FIRM workouts, they say you can "heavy up" when they're encouraging you to increase your weights. Sometimes they say "increase poundage" too.

SLG
 
I'm sorry - I meant heavy up to mean using heavier weight than usual. Like in the FIRM workouts, they say you can "heavy up" when they're encouraging you to increase your weights. Sometimes they say "increase poundage" too.

SLG
 
It depends on what weight you start out with.

Try using dumbbells and compare. Can you heavy up easier with dumbbells? An e-z bar is similar to that at best.

Dumbbells are even more custom made to your alignment-- an e-z bar has a fixed angle, but dumbbells can be turned freely.

I'm an old Firmie too! They're such great workouts (the 3 classics) but I like Cathe's style so much that I just always reach for a Cathe video nowadays...

I thought the Firm was a great intro to Cathe.

Take care!

-Connie
 
It depends on what weight you start out with.

Try using dumbbells and compare. Can you heavy up easier with dumbbells? An e-z bar is similar to that at best.

Dumbbells are even more custom made to your alignment-- an e-z bar has a fixed angle, but dumbbells can be turned freely.

I'm an old Firmie too! They're such great workouts (the 3 classics) but I like Cathe's style so much that I just always reach for a Cathe video nowadays...

I thought the Firm was a great intro to Cathe.

Take care!

-Connie
 
Connie-

Thanks for the tips. I left all my FIRMs behind too, and do only Cathe workouts for about the past year. Her style is much more down-to-earth than FIRM, for my taste.

You take care, too!

SLG
 
Connie-

Thanks for the tips. I left all my FIRMs behind too, and do only Cathe workouts for about the past year. Her style is much more down-to-earth than FIRM, for my taste.

You take care, too!

SLG
 
I tried the e-z curl bar as Connie suggested and it worked. I was able to complete the set this morning during Bootcamp. I even increased the bar weight from 15 to 20 lbs. Yippee!!! Still lower than with dumb bells, but that is okay.

Thank you for the suggestions! :) And thank you to all of you who took the time to write!

Jamie
 
I have the exact same problem, I use the E-Z curl bar and it doesn't make any difference. I can lift a lot more weight using dumbbells, I have never understood that.
 
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