My Favorite Exercises: Iron Cross Two-Arm Cable Curls

Everyone seems to love to do some kind of bicep curl. I have found a new biceps curl exercise that has become one of my favorites: I call it the iron cross two-arm cable curl.

Most biceps curls involve starting with the arms down and then bending the arms to bring the hands to the shoulders. These are great, but they do get boring year after year!

My new favorite bicep curl takes an entirely different tack. Here's how it's done.

1. On the cable pulley machine, set the handles on both sides to be about ear height or a little higher.
2. Standing in the middle, grab both handles and let the arms fully extend straight from your shoulder.
3. Holding the upper arms completely still, bend the arms and bring the hands toward your ears. This is similar to that classic bodybuilder pose to show off the biceps. Say, "Cheese" as you do this.
   
4. Return the arms to the beginning position and repeat.

With the usual dumbbell curls, it's too easy to use momentum and get other muscles involved; i.e., it's easy to cheat. So often, I see this as the exercise people use to try to impress the other gym-goers. They often use dumbbells that are way too heavy and compensate by trying to swing them and contorting their bodies in the strangest fashion.

I like the iron cross cable curl because you are forced to isolate the bicep muscles. It's hard to work anything except the biceps.

Like most other pulley exercises, you may find you need to lower your weights significantly. That's OK. You'll still see the muscles working hard, and you will feel it! If it burns, you're getting a maximum workout. Stop looking at the numbers and focus on how the exercise feels.

Try this cable curl and add some variety to your upper-body workout.