Curls

[Sean Plant]

Are curls worth doing in the novice program?
I mean, do they have any real benefit besides making the arms grow a bit?

Or are they just a waste of time?

Thanks.

[Reddy]

I think the program generally prefers chin ups, if arm work is to be done at all during LP. I forget where it was placed in the program exactly, but I remember that being the suggestion - check your book!

Chins do more than just work the biceps, unlike curls, and are for this reason preferred.

[Erik Y]

Curls aren’t in the program, but it sounds like you want to do them anyway. You can do them after everything else.

They do have some utility later on. I’ve begrudgingly added them into my program recently. I’m pretty far into intermediate programming, though.

[wsmoran]

Who Wants to be a Novice? You Do | Mark Rippetoe

Curls on the LP are talked about here. When and how, if you've decide to.

[FatButWeak]

Curls have some value. However do not let them detract you from the core lifts: dont major in the minors. Just LP them. They will move very slowly, since they use even less muscle mass than the press does. Thats okay. if you want, you can start with X pounds for 3 sets of 8; then, the next workout, do three sets of 9 with X weight, then 3 sets of ten; 3x11, 3x12, then after 5 workouts or so, add some weight and start over back at 3x8reps. Microplates will be your friend here.

Once your'e an intermediate, or advanced Novice, you will get more strnegth and size on your biceps, forearms etc, from chins.

[Les Hahn]

I would throw curls in there, but go light and try to hit higher volume. I do 5 sets of 15 with a wide grip barbell curl. The weight is really not high, so I don't think it will tax your other lifts at all. Benching will also help build your arm size, but doing that with curls will help your arms grow.

[Jeff LC]

Chinups grow my biceps and gave me more curling strength than curls ever did. But there's no reason you can't add curls on top of that, for extra arm growth, if you have the time.

[Sean Plant]

So I suppose they’re a bit like doing conditioning in that sense? They’re not necessary but can be useful depending on what you’re trying to achieve.

[Erik Y]

And also in the sense that it’s best if you can hold off on them for the two to three months you need to run out LP. I curl more than most of the curlbros in my gym even though I never did them for years up until a few weeks ago. At this point, you’ll get more bang for your buck from the presses and chin-ups you’re already doing. But you’re going to do them anyway (I did my first time through), so just get the important stuff out of the way first and you’ll be fine.

[Sean Plant]

Probably no point if I’m doing chin ups once or twice a week. I’ve been managing 25-33 reps across the three sets per workout, so may as well leave them for later.