Strict barbell curl

Strict biceps curl

is a competitive strength exercise aimed at determining the strength of the biceps brachii muscle. Recently, it has begun to gain popularity all over the world, and especially in Russia. Competitions in this strength discipline are held by such federations as: AWPA/WPA, Russian Powerlifters Union, WRPF and some others.

In the WRPF, competitions are held only in the division without undergoing doping control, and in the SPR (Russian Powerlifters Union) - with passing a doping control and without passing a recreational test. In the SPR Federation, strict biceps curls are included in the discipline of powersports. You can perform both as part of powersports and as a separate movement.

In the powersports discipline, within the framework of the Union of Russian Powerlifters / SPR competitions, it is performed only with a straight classic bar weighing 20 kilograms, and according to the WRPF rules, the bar must be factory-made, EZ or WZ type.

Before starting the exercise, the athlete goes to the platform and takes the barbell (from the floor or rack) so that it is located in the middle of the thighs. The arms are fully straightened, only a straight grip is allowed (palms facing away from you), the width of the grip is variable.

Age categories[edit | edit code]

Men/Women:

Boys/Girls: from 13 to 19 years old (inclusive)
Juniors/Juniors: from 20 to 23 years old (inclusive)
Open: from 24 to 39 years (inclusive)
Veterans:

from 40 to 49 years (inclusive)

from 50 to 59 years (inclusive)

from 60 years and older

In relation to athletes who have reached the age of 13, the following condition applies:

The athlete must be 13 years old by the day of the competition.

On the day a youth turns 20, he is no longer eligible to compete in the youth category.

On the day a junior turns 24, he is no longer eligible to compete in the junior category.

When did he appear

In the mid-30s of the 20th century, on the southwestern coast of the United States near the town of Santa Monica, such a sports and cultural phenomenon appeared - “ Muscle Beach”.

Masses of young people uprooted by the Great Depression found there the opportunity to train and demonstrate their success in the field of developing strength and muscle size.

During World War II, Muscle Beach gained even more popularity due to the fact that veterans were recovering from injuries there.

But gradually, by the second half of the 40s of the 20th century, quantitative changes in training methods gained critical mass, and structural innovations were required.

WRPF Rules[edit | edit code]

The athlete is positioned facing the front of the platform.
Only a reverse (outside) grip is allowed, with palms up and forward. The thumb should grip the bar from the outside into a lock. The grip width can be any, the main thing is that it does not interfere with the technically correct execution of the movement.
The grip of the bar can be carried out by areas of bends that do not exceed 45 degrees from the longitudinal axis of the bar.
The athlete independently removes the barbell from the racks, without the judge's command. After removing the barbell from the rack, the athlete must move back to the wall to take the starting (starting) position: Legs must stand flat on the platform and be straight at the knees. The athlete's heels should be located no closer than 25 cm from the vertical support. The athlete's upper back and buttocks must be pressed closely against the vertical support. This position must be maintained throughout the entire movement. The apparatus must be placed in the athlete's hands, the arms must be fully straightened at the elbows.
The athlete must wait in the starting position for the signal from the chief judge. The signal will be given as soon as the athlete is in a stationary position and the bar is correctly positioned. The head judge's signal consists of an upward movement of the hand and the voice command "Curl" - Bend.
After the command of the senior judge on the platform, the athlete bends his arms until his arms are fully bent at the elbow joint. In the final position, the bar is in bent arms at the level of the athlete’s throat or chin.
During the lift, do not use your legs (hips) or core to generate momentum to complete the exercise. As well as raising the shoulders using the trapezius upwards (shoulder shrugs).
When the bar is held motionless and the athlete has reached the final position, the head judge gives the signal by moving his hand downward along with the clear command “Down”. The athlete releases the bar after the senior judge’s command. Releasing the projectile along with the command is an error in taking the final position.
Any upward movement of the barbell or any deliberate attempt to lift the barbell is considered a used attempt. However, if the athlete started the movement without the command “Curl” from the senior judge, and did not take the final position, he can take the starting position again and, after waiting for the command to start the exercise, perform the approach.
The beginning of the exercise is the command of the senior judge - “Curl”, the end is the command - “Down”.

What kind of sport is this

Powersport is a strength discipline that appeared in Russia in 2015. Every year, competitions with clearly established rules and regulations are held in all regions of the country. Powersports competitions may be sanctioned by the following organizations:

SPR - Union of Powerlifters of Russia.
WPA.
ASM "Vityaz".

Depending on the organization, standards may differ and this is important to take into account. Below in the article the standards for each of them will be presented.

Also, powersports is a so-called dual event, that is, it consists of two exercises, namely: a strict biceps curl and a standing military barbell press.

SPR rules[edit | edit code]

The athlete stands facing the front of the platform. The barbell is lifted from the platform or removed from the racks and then must be held horizontally at hip level. Palms facing up, fingers should clasp the bar. The legs should be level on the platform, the knees and arms should be fully straightened. One foot can be in front of the other (staggered feet) as long as the knees are straight and the feet are level on the platform.
The athlete in the starting position awaits the command of the chief judge. The command is given as soon as the athlete demonstrates readiness and the bar is positioned, the proper signal is an upward movement of the arm along with the distinct command “Curl.”
As soon as the command is given, the athlete must lift the barbell, arms fully bent at the elbows (barbell at chin or throat level, palms facing back). Your knees should remain straight and your shoulders aligned (at right angles) or back throughout the exercise.
When completing the lifting phase, the knees should remain straight and the shoulders should be straightened or pulled back.
The legs and hips should not be used in any way to generate the push to complete the exercise. The athlete should not lean back to assist in lifting the weight. Any pushing with legs or hips is prohibited.
When the final position is reached, the head referee gives the signal by moving his hand downwards along with the clear command “Down”. The signal is not given until the bar is secured and the athlete has reached the final position.
Any upward movement of the barbell or any deliberate attempt to lift the barbell is considered a used attempt.
The athlete is given an additional attempt with the same weight of the barbell if the mistake was made due to the fault of the assistants setting the weight.

"Russian biceps"

This is a new separate discipline that emerged from powersports. Recently it has been carried out, for example, by the WPSA federation (and not only). By analogy with the Russian bench press, a strict biceps curl with a barbell is performed here, but not just once with the maximum weight, but for the maximum number of repetitions with a given weight . You have 2 minutes to complete one attempt.

For men, the weight of the barbell is 35 or 50 kg to choose from (20 kg for boys). For women - 20 or 30 kg (15 for juniors). The rules for performing the movement are similar to powersports, but the Start command is given only once at the beginning of the approach.

WRPF standards[edit | edit code]

Without undergoing doping control

Men
Weight category	MSMK	MS	KMS	I	II	III
52	50	42.5	40	35	32.5	25
56	55	50	45	40	37.5	30
60	60	55	50	45	40	32.5
67.5	67.5	62.5	55	50	45	35
75	72.5	67.5	60	52.5	47.5	37.5
82.5	77.5	72.5	62.5	57.5	50	40
90	85	75	67.5	60	52.5	42.5
100	87.5	82.5	70	62.5	55	45
110	90	85	72.5	65	60	50
125	95	90	77.5	70	65	55
140	100	95	85	75	70	60
+140	107.5	100	90	82.5	75	65
Women
Weight category	MSMK	MS	KMS	I	II	III
44	37.5	30	25	22.5	20	17.5
48	40	32.5	27.5	25	22.5	20
52	42.5	35	30	27.5	25	22.5
56	45	37.5	32.5	30	27.5	25
60	47.5	40	35	32.5	30	27.5
67.5	50	42.5	37.5	35	32.5	30
75	52.5	45	40	37.5	35	32.5
82.5	55	47.5	42.5	40	37.5	35
90	57.5	50	45	42.5	40	37.5
+90	60	52.5	47.5	45	42.5	40

Example of training programs

For training, two types of bars are necessarily used - with a diameter of 5 and 7 centimeters. Before starting a workout, a warm-up is mandatory, then the athlete moves on to holding the bar, holding the rolling, and finally holding the selected weight. The program and specific weight are determined for each hand separately.

The training begins for the arm that is weaker in the athlete, in order to pump it up as quickly as possible. When choosing a weight, you need to make sure it is really heavy, this is how you can increase your strength and endurance.

In addition, it is necessary to add to the program various complexes and exercises for the development of the forearms in the gym and at home. An example of a basic workout would be the following.

SPR standards[edit | edit code]

Bicep curls with doping control

Men
Weight category	Elite	MSMK	MS	KMS	I	II	III
52	55	50	42.5	40	35	32.5	25
56	60	55	50	45	40	37.5	30
60	65	60	55	50	45	40	32.5
67.5	72.5	67.5	62.5	55	50	45	35
75	77.5	72.5	67.5	60	52.5	47.5	37.5
82.5	85	77.5	72.5	62.5	57.5	50	40
90	90	85	75	67.5	60	52.5	42.5
100	95	87.5	82.5	70	62.5	55	45
110	97.5	90	85	72.5	65	60	50
125	102.5	95	90	77.5	70	65	55
140	107.5	100	95	85	75	70	60
+140	115	107.5	100	90	82.5	75	65
Women
Weight category	Elite	MSMK	MS	KMS	I	II	III
52	45	40	37,5	32,5	27,5	22,5	20
60	47,5	42,5	40	35	30	25	22,5
67,5	52,5	47,5	42,5	37,5	35	30	25
75	57,5	50	47,5	42,5	37,5	35	32,5
+75	65	60	50	45	42,5	37,5	35

Together cannot be divided

There is no comma in the title to indicate the depth of disagreement between powerlifting and bodybuilding , based on a common foundation. The reason becomes clear when taking an absolute look at the goals of these sports:

Bodybuilding (bodybuilding) – muscle hypertrophy to form a body with ideal proportions and symmetry.
Powerlifting is the development of maximum physical strength in certain movements.

The accumulation of practical experience led to a paradoxical conclusion. It turns out that some muscle groups that look very impressive do not contribute to the growth of physical strength at all.

For example, biceps favorably emphasize masculinity and an athletic physique, but have almost no noticeable effect in lifting weights. At the same time, a clear division of different types of training was formed. Some of them were purely strength training, others contributed to increasing muscle mass.

Up to a certain level of athletic performance, almost all bodybuilders were involved in powerlifting. This made it possible to lay a powerful foundation for a further base of specialized training. But gradually, athletes are divided into pure “ posers ” (bodybuilders) and strength athletes (powerlifters).

Therefore, there is now a clear understanding that powerlifting is an exclusively strength sport. But this does not prevent powerlifters from having a powerful and beautiful figure.

Advantages and disadvantages

pros	Minuses
Accessible to people of all ages and skill levels.	A non-Olympic sport, one cannot expect support from the state or anyone else.
New acquaintances, socialization.	Not suitable for people with problems with nutrition, recovery and complex work schedules.
It is easier to control stress and negative emotions in everyday life.	Quite expensive for the money - in addition to a gym membership, you will need tights, wrist and knee bandages, the services of a trainer to set up techniques and draw up a program, barbells for squats, wrestling shoes for deadlifts, and payment of fees for competitions. Additional equipment may be required.
The competitive process serves as motivation for regular exercise.	If a person really loves powerlifting, over time he will have a focus on powerlifting - his work schedule will be adjusted to his training, his children will start bench pressing, his vacation will coincide with competitions, and “extra” people will leave his life. This may also apply to wives, husbands and other relatives.

Adviсe

Beginning armlifting athletes often make mistakes in training, which can lead to injuries, as well as incorrect execution of exercises that will not be counted in competitions.

Exercises should be performed as slowly as possible. Firstly, performing the exercise slowly will allow you to pump up your muscles as quickly as possible, and secondly, it will help you avoid injuries.

During training, the roller should not touch the leg or other parts of the body. You cannot help yourself lift the load; the projectile is lifted only by the force of the hand and forearm. Having lifted the load, the athlete must straighten up completely; only in this case will the exercise be counted by the judges.

It is also worth paying attention to the fact that the free hand should not touch any part of the body.