Incline dumbbell curl

Dumbbells, incline bench

Also called incline curl

Sit back on an incline bench with arms hanging straight down, then curl. The incline stretches the biceps.

Movement

Main movers get full credit for a set, helpers half.

Upper body

Scores 1-5 averaged over sources. Tap a rating for the claims behind it. Claims are our summaries of the linked sources, fact-checked by AI.

Muscle growth higher is better4.3
Very good; among the better picks for the muscle. 3 sources.
- 4/5 Lower A; solid stretch focus, but a study showed it grew biceps slightly less than preacher curls. Jeff Nippard, The Best And Worst Biceps Exercises @ 5:06videoExpert opinion2024checked by AI
- 5/5 One of his favorite biceps moves; arm behind the body targets the long head and activation stays fairly high through the whole range. Highly recommended. Jeremy Ethier, The Best Science-Based DUMBBELL Biceps Exercises For Size And Shape @ 3:05videoStudy2019checked by AI
- 4/5 Shoulder extension stretches the long head so it stays active across the whole range, unlike preacher curls, per a cited study. Jeremy Ethier, The Best Science-Based Bicep Workout | ARMS (Part 1/2) @ 2:05videoStudy2017checked by AI
Loaded stretch higher is better4.5
Peak tension at a deep stretch. 2 sources.
- 4/5 Reclining pre-stretches the biceps at the shoulder and lets gravity load the stretched bottom, so it beats a standing curl for tension in the stretch. Renaissance Periodization, How to Pick the BEST Exercises for Muscle Growth @ 3:05videoExpert opinion2025checked by AI
- 5/5 Hyperextended shoulder puts the long head in a stretch, keeping it active through the whole range. Jeremy Ethier, The Best Science-Based Bicep Workout | ARMS (Part 1/2) @ 2:36videoStudy2017checked by AI