Spider Curl
Trains the Biceps.
- Equipment
- An adjustable bench and either an EZ bar or a dumbbell
- Mechanic
- Isolation
- Force
- Pull
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Set an adjustable bench to roughly forty-five degrees and lie face down along it, chest against the pad.
- Hold an EZ-bar or a pair of dumbbells with an underhand grip and let your arms hang straight down from your shoulders.
- Keep your chest on the pad and your upper arms vertical throughout.
- Curl the weight up until your forearms are roughly parallel to the floor.
- Squeeze hard at the top, then lower under control until the arms are fully straight.
Common mistakes
- Letting the upper arms swing back as the weight rises. Vertical upper arms throughout is what makes this variation different — the resistance is hardest at the top, where most curls are easiest.
- Lifting the chest off the pad to help. Same rule as any chest-supported movement: the support is what removes the rest of the body.
- Using a heavy weight. Because the hardest point is the top and the arms are hanging vertically, the usable load is lower than a standing curl. That is the exercise working, not a problem.
- Confusing it with a preacher curl. A preacher is hardest near the bottom, a spider curl near the top — they load opposite ends of the same range.