Incline Dumbbell Curl
Movement demo
Watch a video demonstration of this exercise on MuscleWiki. The demo opens on an external site.
Muscles worked
Primary:Biceps
Secondary:None listed
Effectiveness
★★★★☆ 4/5
An 8-week trial found incline curls produced greater proximal elbow-flexor thickness gains than preacher curls, with the reverse pattern distally, indicating regional growth differences. Evidence comes from a single trial in young women.
How to perform
Reclined on an incline bench, the lifter curls dumbbells with the arms hanging behind the torso, which places the biceps brachii under stretch at the bottom of the movement. The biceps brachii drives elbow flexion, with the brachialis assisting. The incline position lengthens the biceps relative to the standing curl.