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Barbell Prone Incline Curl
A barbell curl performed lying chest-down on an incline bench, also called a spider curl, which fixes the upper arms and isolates the biceps in their shortened range.
ArmsBarbellElbow flexion
GoLightWeight mediabarbell-prone-incline-curl
Demonstration coming soon
Primary
Biceps brachii
Secondary
BrachialisBrachioradialisForearm flexors
Equipment
Barbell
Pattern
Elbow flexion
Setup
- 01Set an incline bench to about 30 to 45 degrees.
- 02Lie chest-down with your head past the top of the pad and feet braced on the floor.
- 03Let the arms hang straight down holding the bar with an underhand shoulder-width grip.
- 04Keep the chest pressed into the pad throughout.
Execution
- 01Curl the bar up while the upper arms stay hanging vertically.
- 02Squeeze the biceps hard at peak contraction.
- 03Lower the bar slowly back to a dead hang.
- 04Fully straighten the elbows before starting the next rep.
Checkpoints
- -Chest and torso stay motionless on the pad.
- -Upper arms point straight at the floor the whole set.
- -Elbows reach full extension every rep.
- -The squeeze at the top lasts a full one count.
Common mistakes
- -Pushing off the floor with the legs to swing the bar up.
- -Letting the upper arms drift forward to shorten the rep.
- -Choosing a load that forces half reps.
- -Craning the neck up instead of keeping it neutral.
Programming notes
- -Use 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps as a strict isolation movement.
- -Pair with incline dumbbell curls to hit both shortened and lengthened biceps positions.
- -Drop the weight around 20 percent from your standing curl loads.
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