Any of you guys use '21' barbel curl?

[Petrucci]

 Hello guys,

 I dont know if someone knows this type of exercise, or if you call it like this, but here we call it 21-barbell curls...
 Its more or less like this: First you do 7 repetitions, going only from the start position (with your arms down) to the first part of the movement (so going from down to only parallel to the ground).
 Then after that you do 7 more repetitions, from the parallel position to the highest part of the curl. Then you do more 7 reps doing the complete motion.
 I did this yesterday and it gave me a hell of a burn and pump.
 Do you guys think its a good exercise to gain mass, or its more to 'define' the muscles? (or it doesnt do any good at all?)
 THanks in advance


                                                                                                                     

[Exal]

you can't "define" muscles because the looks of your muscles is genetic

[Petrucci]

you can't "define" muscles because the looks of your muscles is genetic

Yeah, you are right. My question if it is a good exercise for gainning mass and/or if someone here has experience with it.

[bald]

They burn like a bitch.  I hate training bis, but these are good.

[CliffNPCBB]

How would you gain mass by training with sets of 21 reps?  (Make that half-reps.)

[clever_username]

It's tough to pick a failure weight when dealing with reps that high. I would just recommend a couple sets that stress the lower end of the movement (preacher curls with a nice stretch), a couple sets that stress the upper end of the movment (incline DB curls with full contraction), and a couple sets for the overall development (standing barbell curls).

[davie]

21's are a kinda finishing move for bis that i would at end of arm workout to leave u with pump (if desired) and to use up last of strength.
I usually do standing ez curls
hammer curls
and incline 2 handed db curls.

Mix it up tho,throw in cabl work isolation etc to keep bi's guessing.

davie

[Bear03]

They burn like a bitch.  I hate training bis, but these are good.

Agreed, with all of this.  People too often use low reps as an excuse to not train till the pain is intense- which is what's really gonna build the muscles.  If it hurts in a good way, it's probably building your muscles.

[JPM]

"21's" have probably been around since the 50's and Vince Gironda (spelled wrong?), with his training idea's used them (Vince G.was also one of the first to use the low carb diet for BB'ers). They have also been called "7's". Any one can use higher reps  but 7 reps seems to work the best, why they do is beyond me. I and some people I've known have used them with good results for short periods of time. They are not a finishing exercise but used as a main and only bicep exercise in a workout. Very intense when done correctly. Usually, at most, one or two cycles are used in a bicep workout. But the full 7 reps have to be used in each phase of this exercise, so judging the weight used on the bar may take a little time. One other version is doing the complete range of motion first, than the top to half way down and last the partial from the bottom to the half way position. What ever gets you there and gives you results, I guess. This exercise seems to work best with a BB or EZ bar.

There's another partial rep style combined with full ROM that gives good results. It's the old one & one half system. Very intense for the biceps so you don't have to do a lot of extra sets to get good results. Curl a BB up all the way, than lower it half way down (slight pause at this half way position) and than back up again. From this top position lower the bar all the way to the bottom. That would be considered one rep. This is a killer when 8 to 10 reps are down in this style. Usually two sets will fry the biceps when preformed in a slow, steady fashion. Can also use this method for the triceps, delt or just about any other exercise you can think of.This would be the only bicep exercise you do in a workout. As with this exercise and the one above, you can also do reverse BB curls for good results. Good Luck.

[Petrucci]

Thanks for the replies, it was very informative.
I enjoyed the exercise very much, as it gave me a lot of pump, but now i have another doubt!
I now do 3 exercises for biceps, going between 8-12 reps, in a pyramid way...
I was thinking in change it a bit and do something like this:
Standing dumbell curls 3 sets 6-8 reps
Hammer Curls 3 sets 6-8 reps
21īs like 3 sets
reverse grip barbell curls (to attack most the forearm) for like 3 sets of 6-8

Do you think this is too much for a bicep workout? I do triceps on the same day, and i train them usually one time per week (because all the other parts are trained one part per workout)...Im doing 3 exercises for biceps and 3 for triceps, so i was thinking in maybe do 4 for part now, and decrease the reps a little to use more weight
Thanks once again

[a_joker10]

When I hear 21's I hear Arnold. Zeven zen Zeven zen Zeven.

In all seriousnes. Try getting more out of your back days. Heavy pullups and Rows. These are the best. Building big biceps comes from having a big back. Not the other way around.

[mesmorph78]

i do them at the end of my work out but i do
30's not 21's

[triple_pickle]

good stuff, i do 21s once in a while but not too often.  i have no idea whether they are good for mass building but they provide quite a shocker to biceps which should spur growth.  drop sets are also awesome.

[Bear03]

I was going to do them with my biceps workout after my leg workout today, but i didn't have the energy or the cajones....