Dumbbell Lying Supine Curl

How to do the Dumbbell Lying Supine Curl

1. 1Lie face-up on a flat bench holding a dumbbell in each hand, with your arms hanging straight down toward the floor on either side of the bench.
2. 2Set your grip in a neutral-to-supinated position, keeping your wrists firm and your shoulders relaxed against the bench.
3. 3Pin your upper arms still and let your elbows act as the only hinge throughout the movement.
4. 4Curl the dumbbells up by flexing your elbows, leading with your forearms and keeping your upper arms motionless.
5. 5Squeeze the elbow flexors at the top, where your forearms are roughly vertical, without letting your elbows drift forward.
6. 6Lower the dumbbells under control until your arms hang fully extended toward the floor again.
7. 7Complete your reps, then sit up and set the dumbbells down safely.

Form tips

• Use a neutral or slightly supinated grip to bias the brachioradialis, the target muscle for this curl.
• Keep the tempo slow on the way down to use the full stretched range the lying position gives you.
• Hold your upper arms pinned at your sides so the elbows do all the work and the front shoulders only stabilize.
• Pick a lighter weight than you would for a standing curl, since the hanging-arm position removes momentum and exposes any cheating.

Common mistakes

• Swinging the dumbbells up with shoulder or torso movement, which shifts the load off the brachioradialis and onto momentum.
• Letting the upper arms drift forward as you curl, which turns the lift into a partial front-raise and loses elbow-flexor tension.
• Cutting the bottom of the rep short instead of letting the arms hang fully extended, wasting the deep stretch this variation offers.
• Bending the wrists to heave the weight up, which strains the wrist joint and takes work away from the forearm.

Frequently asked questions