Spider Curl
Hanging your arms straight down over the high side of an incline bench, chest against the pad, sets up the spider curl — a movement that keeps the biceps under maximum tension exactly where most curls go easy: the top. With gravity pulling straight along the vertical arm, there is no resting point and no way to cheat. It pairs naturally with incline curls, which load the stretch, while spider curls own the squeeze.
How to do the spider curl, step by step
- Set a bench to about 45 degrees and lie chest-down against the pad, feet braced on the floor.
- Let both arms hang straight down over the top edge with a dumbbell in each hand, palms forward.
- Keep your chest glued to the pad and your upper arms pointing at the floor.
- Curl the dumbbells up until the biceps are fully contracted, elbows staying still.
- Hold the squeeze for a full second at the top.
- Lower for two to three seconds back to straight arms and repeat without swinging the dumbbells forward.
Form cues that fix most reps
The one-second squeeze at the top is the entire personality of this lift — never skip it.
Keep the upper arms hanging plumb; if the elbows sweep backward, tension drains out of the biceps.
Go light — the fully contracted position is far weaker than the middle of a standing curl.
Common mistakes (and the fix)
Spider Curl sets and reps
Match the rep range to your goal, not the other way around. These are the standard evidence-based ranges:
| Goal | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Strength | 3–5 × 3–6 | 2–3 min |
| Muscle growth | 3–4 × 8–12 | 60–90 sec |
| Endurance | 2–3 × 15–20 | 30–60 sec |
Spider Curl FAQ
What muscles does the spider curl work?
The biceps brachii, with the arm position in front of the body placing extra emphasis on the short head, plus the usual assistance from the brachialis and forearms. The vertical arm keeps the biceps loaded hardest in the fully shortened position.
Spider curl vs preacher curl — aren't they the same?
They are cousins but not twins. The preacher pad angles your arm forward and makes the stretched bottom brutal; the spider curl's free-hanging vertical arm makes the squeezed top brutal. Preacher curls emphasize the bottom half, spider curls the top half — programming both covers the full curve.
How many sets and reps should I do?
Three sets of 10–15 reps with a deliberate pause at the top works best. This is a tension exercise rather than a load exercise, so progress it by adding reps and squeeze time before adding weight.
More biceps exercises
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