How to do the Incline Dumbbell Curl
Step by step
- Sit back on an incline bench with a dumbbell in each hand, arms hanging down.
- Let your arms hang straight behind your torso with palms facing forward.
- Curl the weights up toward your shoulders without moving your upper arms.
- Squeeze at the top, then lower slowly all the way to the stretched hang.
The thing people get wrong
The incline puts your arms behind your body for a bigger stretch - let them hang fully at the bottom rather than cutting the range short.
Coaching cue
Keep your shoulders back against the pad so your elbows stay behind your body.
Make it easier or harder
- Easier: Sit more upright on the bench if the stretch bothers your shoulders.
- Harder: Pause two seconds at the bottom with the arms fully stretched.
Muscles worked
- Primary: Biceps
What to do instead
Same job, different movement — useful if you don't have the equipment or it doesn't feel right today.
Daily Coach builds this into a real weekly plan. It picks the exercises for your equipment and experience, swaps around injuries you tell it about, and tracks what you actually lifted.