Dumbbell Incline Curl
A seated incline curl that stretches the long head of the biceps before every rep — the cleanest peak builder there is.
How to do it
- Set a bench to about 60 degrees and sit back against it with a dumbbell hanging from each hand.
- Let your arms hang fully straight, palms facing forward, and pin your shoulder blades back into the bench.
- Keep your elbows tucked at your sides and resist the urge to swing them forward as the rep begins.
- Curl both dumbbells up by bending only at the elbow, squeezing your biceps as the weights rise.
- Stop the curl just before your elbows drift forward, then squeeze hard with a brief pause at the top.
- Lower the dumbbells under control over 2-3 seconds back to the fully stretched bottom position.
Key technique cue
Shoulder blades into the bench, elbows back — keep the stretch.
Common mistakes
- ✕ Letting the elbows drift forward at the top, which removes the long-head stretch that is the whole point of the exercise.
- ✕ Rolling the shoulders forward off the bench, swapping biceps work for front-shoulder tension.
- ✕ Rushing the negative and skipping the stretched bottom, where most of the growth comes from.
- ✕ Going too heavy, which forces a swinging cheat curl and loses strict isolation.
Benefits
- ✓ Builds the long head of the biceps for a visible peak.
- ✓ Loads the biceps through a deep stretch for a hypertrophy stimulus.
- ✓ Removes momentum cheating thanks to the seated, locked-in position.
Progression: from easier to harder
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Step 1 You are here - Dumbbell Incline Curl
- Bayesian Curl
About the exercise
The Dumbbell Incline Curl is a curl performed seated on an incline bench with the arms hanging behind the body. This position pre-stretches the long head of the biceps before the rep even starts, making it one of the most effective curls for adding a visible peak to the upper arm. It is the specialist curl any serious arm program should include after the standard standing curl. It fits arm days, hypertrophy pull days, and training aimed specifically at developing the long head.
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