Incline Bicep Cull is an isolated single-move exercise that targets the most significant muscle in the bicep region, biceps brachii. It was invented by George Zottman in the 19th century. He intended to target his biceps as well as forearms at the same time.
It is a weight training exercise that can be performed with the help of a barbell, resistance band, dumbbell, etc.
| Utility | Basic or Auxiliary |
| Mechanics | Isolated |
| Force | Pull |
Muscles Worked by the Incline Bicep Curl
As mentioned earlier, the incline bicep curl is an isolation exercise that targets the bicep muscle group. In scientific terms, it activates the biceps brachii, brachialis, and brachioradialis muscles. These are three flexor muscles located in front of your arm.
It must be noted that brachioradialis and brachialis play a very little role when it comes to incline bicep curl. But nevertheless, it forms a part of a major bicep muscle group that gets activated with this exercise.
Benefits of Incline Bicep Curl
Challenging your normal and monotonous workout routine can be beneficial for two reasons:
- More range of exercise
- Targeting a specific muscle group
As the incline bicep curl works on the bicep muscle group, you will surely get stronger and bigger arms. But are there more merits to it than that? For sure!
The following reasons will help you gain more insight into this exercise and establish concrete advantages:
Isolated Exercise
As mentioned earlier, the incline bicep curl is an isolation exercise that focuses only on the bicep muscles. This can come in handy for all those who are in the advanced stage of body training.
Isolation exercises, such as the incline bicep curl, targets a specific area that might get overlooked in your other workout sessions. People tend to focus on such practices when they are unable to reap specific benefits from compound exercises.
If your aim is to build upper arms, specifically your biceps, you cannot go wrong with this exercise.
You get a proper form and technique that can further help you build muscle. Lastly, such exercises can also prevent any injury that might be prevalent in compound exercises.
Bicep Strength
Every bodybuilder or established lifter knows the importance of the strength of the biceps.
When you perform the incline bicep curl, your arms move in such a way that the long head of the bicep gets stretched. The stretch reaches the shoulder as this specific muscle goes over the shoulder joint as well.
Due to this, when you stretch this muscle, it is able to undertake and carry most of the load during a workout session. As the mass of the biceps peak consists of this long head, you get the desired strength as well as appearance.
It goes without saying that incline bicep curl is also helpful for athletes. Tossing or swinging during a game requires bicep strength as well as strong forearms. This can be achieved through an incline bicep curl.
General Health Check
You can also use the incline bicep curl to keep your health in check.
This exercise helps in improving bone density. This helps in bone loss and the prevention of frequent fractures.
With your muscles strengthened, you can also perform athletic exercises in a better manner.
Helps with Concentric Contraction
Concentric contraction is a type of muscle activation that shortens your muscles while flexing on them. In simple terms, when your muscle shortens, you get in the position to move an object. The incline bicep curl is one such concentric movement that puts resistance on the biceps brachii, thereby engaging and tightening it.
It helps in producing muscle mass, making it easier for you to move heavy objects.
How to Perform the Incline Bicep Curl?
When exercises are performed with improper form, you could end up with:
- More stress on joints
- Neck pain
- Bad posture
- Damaged back arch
To avoid such consequences, especially while performing the incline bicep curl, you must do it correctly. In order to make things easier for you, we have formulated the following step-by-step instruction. Follow it to the T, and you will be able to gain maximum benefits from the incline bicep curl:
- Sit back on an inclined bench with your back resting on the pad.
- Keep your head facing forward and do not bend or turn it sideways.
- Keep your arms close to the pad while holding the dumbbells.
- While keeping your palms facing upwards, lift both the arms and bring them close to the armpits.
- Inhale while slowly lowering your arms and exhale while curling them back up.
- Repeat the process.
Common Mistakes to Avoid While Performing Incline Bicep Curl
Are you a beginner who is new to the world of lifting or bodybuilding? If yes, the chances of making a mistake while performing an exercise stand high.
While performing the incline bicep curl, you must be careful and avoid the following mistakes:
Bench Incline Degree
Let us start off with the most fundamental mistake that lifters make. The posture or inclination of the bench is necessary while performing bicep curls.
You can keep the degree of the bench incline according to the length of your arms. As your arms must not touch the ground while holding the dumbbells, you can alter the angle. For reference purposes, you can keep it to 30° or 45°.
Seating Posture
When you seat yourself on the bench to perform incline bicep curls, your posture can determine the entire exercise. People tend to make the majority of the mistakes in this step.
You must not rest your head on the bench. Moreover, your chest must not be extended in the front, and there should be a subtle back arch. Failure to comply with such a posture can compromise your posture.
Shoulder and Elbow Movement
While lifting the weights, your shoulders must remain locked, and there must be minimum movements in the elbows. When you start moving your shoulders, your front deltoids get activated, but that is not the purpose of this exercise.
You need to concentrate maximum tension in your biceps and, therefore, must not move the shoulders.
Wrist Position
Mainly, there are three types of wrists movements: supinated, neutral, and protonated. People tend to keep their wrists in a supinated position while lifting the dumbbells but quickly change it to neutral while stretching. Such a swift change can lose the tension in your biceps.
You must contract and stretch in the same wrist position, i.e., in a supinated position.
Moreover, you must not flex your wrists while lifting or lowering the dumbbells. They should remain straight throughout the exercise.
Overstretching
When you lower your dumbbells, your elbows must not stretch. In other terms, your arms should not come parallel to the shoulders.
Sets, Reps, Programming Recommendations for Incline Bicep Curl
According to BoxRox, the following are the recommended sets and reps for gaining maximum benefit from the incline bicep curl:
If you are a beginner, you must not rush with this exercise. Start with two sets of fifteen reps each.
With time, you can increase it to four sets of ten reps each.
Variations of Incline Bicep Curl
You can flaunt your guns by including several types of bicep exercises. If you want to try something along the way of an incline bicep curl, we have the following variations for you:
- Barbell Curl
- Hammer Curl
- Concentration Curl
- EZ-Bar Reverse Curl
- High-Pulley Cable Curl
- Kettlebell Curl
- Cable Curl
- Reverse Curl
- 21s
- Preacher Curl
Safety & Precautions for Incline Bicep Curl
We have the following tips and precautionary measures that could help you avoid any injuries while performing the incline bicep curl:
- Avoid training your biceps daily.
- Keep the bench inclined at the right degree.
- Use the weights that you are comfortable with.
- Discontinue if you get arm pain.
- Maintain a constant wrist position.
- Engage your core strength while lifting.
- Keep a steady speed.
Alternatives of Incline Bicep Curl
To widen your workout routine, we have the following alternatives of the incline bicep curl:
- Burpee
- Superman Exercise
- Downward Dog
- Bicycle Crunches
- Chin Up
- Sphinx Pose
- Plow Pose
- Handstand
