Incline Dumbbell Curl
The incline dumbbell curl has you sit back against a reclined bench with your arms hanging behind your torso, then curl a pair of dumbbells up toward your shoulders. Leaning back moves your arms behind the line of your body, which stretches the biceps at the bottom of the rep more than a standing curl does. It's a good pick for lifters who already curl comfortably and want more length under tension without adding weight.
Why it works
When you stand and curl, your arms hang straight down beside your torso, which is a fairly short starting position for the biceps. Leaning back on an incline bench pulls your shoulders behind your hips, so your arms now hang slightly behind your body instead of beside it. That extra few degrees of shoulder extension puts the biceps in a longer starting stretch before the curl even begins, which is a big part of why the same dumbbells feel noticeably heavier on an incline bench than they do standing. The backrest also removes most of the ability to rock your torso for momentum, so more of the work stays on the biceps instead of leaking into your back and hips.
Set up
- Set an incline bench to a moderate angle, around 45 to 60 degrees.
- Sit back with your shoulders and upper back against the pad, holding a dumbbell in each hand.
- Let your arms hang straight down, slightly behind your torso, with palms facing forward.
How to do it
- Curl both dumbbells up toward your shoulders, keeping your upper arms still.
- Avoid letting your elbows drift forward as the weight rises.
- Squeeze the biceps briefly at the top of the curl.
- Lower the dumbbells slowly back to a full arm extension before starting the next rep.
- Keep your shoulder blades pressed into the pad throughout the set.
- Repeat for the target number of reps.
Form cues
- Keep your upper arms still, curl only from the elbow.
- Let your shoulders stay pinned to the backrest.
- Lower all the way to a full stretch each rep.
- Curl with a steady speed, not a jerk.
Breathing: Exhale as you curl the dumbbells up, inhale as you lower them back down.
Common mistakes
Letting the elbows drift forward as the dumbbells rise.
Fix: Keep your upper arms fixed against your sides through the whole rep; forward drift shortens the range and lets the shoulders take over.
Stopping the lowering phase early instead of returning to a full stretch.
Fix: Let the dumbbells travel all the way down to straight arms before curling again, since that bottom stretch is the main reason to do this variation.
Using a bench angle so shallow it barely differs from standing.
Fix: Set the bench closer to 45 to 60 degrees so your arms actually hang behind your torso, not straight down beside it.
How to program it
- Two or three sets of 8 to 12 reps is enough for most lifters, since the added stretch makes this feel harder than a standard curl at the same weight.
- Twice a week works fine for this single-joint biceps exercise if you give it a day or two of rest between sessions.
- Use lighter dumbbells than your usual curl the first time you try this angle, since the deeper stretch catches most people off guard.
- Pair it with a hammer curl or a triceps exercise on an arm-focused day rather than programming it alone.
Safety notes
- Set the bench angle gradually rather than jumping straight to the steepest setting, since a deep stretch under load feels different than it looks.
- Ease off the weight if you feel a sharp pull at the front of the shoulder instead of a stretch through the biceps.
Exercise profile
- Force
- Pull
- Mechanics
- Isolation
- Category
- Strength
Frequently asked questions
How many reps should I do for the incline dumbbell curl?
Two or three sets of 8 to 12 reps is a good starting point. Use less weight than your usual curl, since the deeper stretch makes it feel harder for the same load.
What's the difference between this and a standing curl?
Leaning back on the bench puts your arms slightly behind your torso, which stretches the biceps more at the bottom and removes most of the swing a standing curl allows.
What can I do without an incline bench?
Standing Inner Biceps Curl trains the biceps through a similarly deep stretch without needing a bench.
Why do my shoulders feel tight during this exercise?
The reclined position stretches the front of the shoulder along with the biceps. If it feels sharp rather than like a normal stretch, use a shallower bench angle.