Dumbbell Bicep Curl

Biceps
Forearms

Equipment: Dumbbell

New to this

Your first dumbbell bicep curl

What weight should I start with on the dumbbell bicep curl?

10 or 15 lb dumbbells for 2 sets of 10. If you can do 15 clean reps without your elbows moving, go up 5 lb.

Biceps are small and they progress in small jumps. Going from 15s to 20s is a 33% increase, which is a bigger step than it sounds. Expect to sit on the same pair for a few weeks.

Curl both arms at once to start. Alternating lets you rest one side mid-set, which makes it easier to cheat the last few reps.

What usually goes wrong on the dumbbell bicep curl?

Your elbows swing forward as you curl. Pin them against your ribs and keep them there. If they move, the front of your shoulder is doing part of the lift.

You lean back to get the weight up. That means the dumbbells are too heavy. Drop 5 lb.

You stop halfway down. Lower until your arm is almost straight on every rep. The bottom half is where most of the growth comes from.

If the dumbbell rack is picked over

Any curl trains the same muscle. A barbell or EZ bar puts both arms on one load, which lets you add weight in 5 lb jumps instead of 10.

How to do it

Stand up straight with a dumbbell in each hand at arm's length. Keep your elbows close to your torso and rotate the palms of your hands until they are facing forward. This will be your starting position.
Now, keeping the upper arms stationary, exhale and curl the weights while contracting your biceps. Continue to raise the weights until your biceps are fully contracted and the dumbbells are at shoulder level. Hold the contracted position for a brief pause as you squeeze your biceps.
Then, inhale and slowly begin to lower the dumbbells back to the starting position.
Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.