Cable Machine Exercises: Bicep Curl

Series Summary

Many people want to lose weight, and despite claims for quick fat burning pills and powders, the best way to lose weight is still through proper diet and exercise. Exercise does more than just maintain physical fitness though. Working out can also help build healthy bone density, muscle strength, and joint mobility. It can also reduce your general health risks, boost the immune system, and help with depression and insomnia. Whether your reason for exercising is to lose weight, or improve muscle mass, working out is always a good idea to help promote the health of your body and mind. Cable machines provide a wide variety of weight lifting and exercise opportunities. In this free video series, an experienced fitness trainer will demonstrate how to do cable machine exercises. Learn how to do cable machine resistance training exercises, such as the bicep curl, triceps press and shoulder press. Get tips on doing lat pulls, squats and hamstring curls with a cable weight machine as well. Cable machines can be intimidating for exercise newcomers but with help from an fitness expert anyone can master cable machine exercises.

Video Transcript

"Bicep curl with a cable pulley system, can be done with different apparatus. You can have a straight bar or an easy curl bar. I'm using ropes, which are very versatile, with your feet, hip width the part. And, cable pulley's good for adding resistance in the contraction, at knee center phase, so, contract, and return phase of the movement. We want our elbows, in by the mid-line of the body. Preferably you're looking straight forward, with your head in line with the spine. Active abs, support your core, and just like you would with a set of dumbbells, we're going to take that rope, which you can't do with a straight bar. So, that's another reason why I prefer to use the rope, when you can find this in your facility. And, contract, weight in the heels, and release. Just like a pair of free weights, only you're getting that contraction and variable resistance down, with those fixed plates, and release. Now, you can make it a hammer curl, by turning the heads of the rope straight forward, supinating your grip, and curling those wrists up towards that two headed bicep muscle. But, if you really want to focus on just the bicep, you want to turn out, supinate, so you got your wrist, elbow, and shoulder in line, and contract, with the elbows staying still. Elbows and shoulders serve as a stabilizer, so, you want to make sure that they're quiet, and just the bicep is responsible. Muscle over momentum, ten to fifteen reps, one to three sets."