Exercise of the Week: Gironda Curls
November 20, 2012 by danny · Leave a Comment
It has been awhile since I’ve done an “Exercise of the Week” blogpost. Maybe I should change the name of this series to “Exercise of the Quarter,” since I’ve been doing this about once every 3 months. Anywho…
Today’s exercise is called “Gironda Curls.” Also known as the Gironda Perfect Curl. You can perform these using either a barbell or dumbbells. They’re named after legendary bodybuilding coach, Vince Gironda. I throw these bad boys into my training once or twice a year. When working any body part, variety is a good thing. But variety without effectiveness is a waste of time. When changing around exercises, make sure the exercise selection is done for the right reasons… variety AND effective exercise selection = smart and fun training. That’s a good recipe for success.
Vince Gironda
The Gironda Curl
Here’s a video of me performing Gironda Curls during a recent training session…
You can read the notes going across the bottom of the screen to get a few tips on how to keep the exercise safe and effective.
What I like about Gironda Curls
-Like I mentioned above, they provide good variety.
-It is a unique exercise because you are changing angles throughout the course of the set. In the bottom portion your biceps are in a stretched position… kind of like an include curl. In the top position your are leaning forward and this helps you get a good squeeze… kinda like a preacher curl.
-You don’t need a lot of weight to make this exercise difficult. Sometimes it’s good to get in some quality exercises without ALWAYS loading up the bar and over-stressing your joints.
When you are working a muscle, quite often more weights = more effectiveness. But like bodybuilders discovered years and years ago, sometimes it’s just as effective to lighten the load and get a good pump.
As I’ve mentioned previously, if you’re a newbie, don’t worry about this kind of stuff. Just get stronger at the basic lifts (squats, deadlifts, chin-ups, push-ups, etc).
Ah, go find the squat rack. Oh, and a LARGE cheeseburger... you need it!
After you’ve put in a couple years adding weight to the bar, THEN you have “earned the right” to perform some of these more unique exercises that require you to lighten the load.
If you have any favorite “unique exercises,” what are they?
Until next time…
Exercise of the Week
April 12, 2010 by danny · Leave a Comment
The exercise of the week is the chin-up. The chin-up is a great compound movement that works many muscles simultaneously. The latissimus dorsi is the prime mover. But other muscles of the back also come into play – the rhomboids, teres major, lower traps, etc. The biceps get a good amount of work with chins as well. Also, whenever I go a couple training blocks without doing chin-ups, my first day back at them, my abs get very sore the next day – especially when adding a lot of weight and going with lower reps. This happens because our abdominals fire like crazy to help stabilize us. As you can see, chin-ups (and pull-ups, which are done with the palms facing away from the body) are a BIG bang for-your-buck movement!
Proper Form
Start each rep from the full hang position. To initiate the movement activate the lats and picture pulling with your elbows (this helps you to pull with the proper muscles). Keep your chest high, and shoulder blades down and back. I tell me clients to, “go get the bar with your chest.” In other words, if the chest leads the way up, it will help you keep your shoulder blades down and back. As soon as you lose range of motion (you can’t get your chin above the bar), or you start shrugging your traps, stop the set. Make sure you do NOT look up and hyper-extend your neck up over the bar. You cheater you! Keep your head/neck neutral throughout (look straight forward).
The first video is a video of me doing chins with weight added. You’ll notice I pause between each rep because I am performing “classic clusters.” If interested in what a classic cluster is, you can read more about it here.
Modifications
Strength-wise, if you aren’t ready for chin-ups on your own, you can always have a partner push up on your feet on the way up, and you do all the work on the way down. Or, what we usually do is use bands for assistance. The thicker the band, the easier it is. We use bands from performbetter.com. You can see the link up and to the right of your screen. Just search for “superbands.”
