Spider Curl

How to Perform the Spider Curl

Set an adjustable bench to approximately a 45-degree incline angle.
Lie face down on the bench with your chest against the pad and your chin over the top of the bench.
Let your arms hang straight down, fully extended, while holding a dumbbell in each hand (or a barbell or EZ bar) with an underhand grip.
Curl the weights upward by contracting your biceps, keeping your upper arms stationary and perpendicular to the floor.
Squeeze your biceps hard at the top of the movement for a peak contraction.
Lower the weights back down slowly under control to a fully extended position.
Repeat for the prescribed number of repetitions without swinging or using momentum.

Swinging the upper arms forward to help lift the weight

Keep your upper arms completely stationary and perpendicular to the floor; only your forearms should move.

Not achieving full extension at the bottom

Lower the weights until your arms are completely straight to ensure a full range of motion on each rep.

Using a bench angle that is too steep or too flat

Set the bench to about 45 degrees so your arms hang freely without the dumbbells hitting the bench.

✓Eliminates momentum and cheating, ensuring the biceps do all the work
✓Provides peak tension at the fully contracted position, which is ideal for biceps growth
✓Excellent for developing the short head of the biceps and the biceps peak

●Use a lighter weight than you would for standard curls since the spider curl eliminates all momentum.
●Focus on a 2-3 second eccentric (lowering phase) for maximum biceps stimulation.
●This exercise is excellent as a finishing movement at the end of your biceps training.

Strength

4-5 sets of 6-8 reps

Hypertrophy

3-4 sets of 10-15 reps

Endurance

2-3 sets of 15-20 reps

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