So in addition to doing more videos and projects, we will also be bringing you new types of posts! Introducing Exercise Spotlight and Food Spotlight! These will be to-the-point posts where we focus on a certain exercise or certain food item to showcase its value. We believe a key to staying hungry and fit is constantly expanding your repertoire of knowledge and sharpening what you already know. We’re starting off with a fairly simple exercise: the dumbbell curl.
What is it?
A dumbbell curl is literally curling the arm with a dumbbell (a weight). The concentric action is you curling the weight up and the eccentric action is lowering it (with control). You are lifting a weight up and lowering it.
Why should I do it?
This will increase the muscle endurance, strength, and/or size (depending on how many reps you do) of your biceps. The biceps is the “arm” muscle, below your shoulder on the anterior (front) side of your body. Everyone should be doing this exercise to increase endurance, strength, size, bone density, and more!
How should I do it?
Stand in a neutral position with a dumbbell in your hand. Slowly bend your arm so that your hand is going towards your shoulder. You will be able to feel the tension in your biceps if you’re using enough weight to do so. Once you reach the top, slowly lower your arm back to the starting position. It’s important to go slowly up and down to really work the muscles. Do not use your back muscles when you do this. You should strictly just be bending your elbow and using your biceps muscle to lift. If you find that you’re kind of leaning with it (using your back), either use a lighter weight, or stand against a wall while you do it.
How many repetitions and sets should I do?
Remember, a repetition is how many times you are lifting the weight in a short period of time. And sets are groups of repetitions. So…
- For muscle endurance, do 12+ reps for 2-3 sets
- For muscle hypertrophy (growth), do 6-12 reps for 3-5 sets
- For muscle strength, do 1-5 reps for 4-5 sets
We are excited to learn what you want to learn more about! Let this be a way for you to try new things each and every time we post. Is there a certain exercise you want to try, but feel you don’t know enough about? What about a food item you’re curious about? Please let us know in the comment section below so we can help you stay hungry and fit!
