Spider Curl

Climb onto the incline bench like a curious bear on a tree trunk, let your arms dangle, then curl with zero wiggle. Spider curls keep your biceps doing all the honey-hauling work, giving you a big squeeze at the top. Slow paws, strong squeeze, and no swinging around the forest.

Instructions

1. Set an incline bench to about 30–60 degrees and lie chest-down with your feet planted.
2. Hold a dumbbell in each hand (or an EZ-bar) with arms hanging straight toward the floor, palms facing forward.
3. Brace your chest on the pad and keep your shoulders down and back.
4. Curl the weight up by bending your elbows, keeping upper arms mostly perpendicular to the floor.
5. Squeeze the biceps at the top without letting the elbows drift forward.
6. Lower slowly to a full stretch under control and repeat.

Benefits

• Strong biceps isolation with minimal cheating
• Great peak contraction and mind-muscle connection
• Reduced lower-back strain versus standing curls
• Improves control and strict curling mechanics

Key Points

• Keep your chest glued to the bench to eliminate momentum.
• Move only at the elbow; avoid shoulder involvement.
• Use a controlled tempo and emphasize the stretch at the bottom.
• Stop 1–2 reps before form breaks if you start swinging.

Common Mistakes

• Letting the shoulders roll forward or shrugging
• Swinging the weights or bouncing out of the bottom
• Allowing elbows to drift forward, turning it into a front-raise/curl combo
• Cutting range of motion short at the bottom
• Using weights too heavy to control