Lifters often get disappointed because of their biceps size.
They put in effort and work every day at the gym, but they can’t seem to achieve the results they want.
While effort and consistency play a crucial role, having an exercise that provides effective muscle activation is also important.
The dumbbell spider curl is a unilateral exercise designed specifically for your arms.
The effectiveness of this exercise is impressive, as it targets the biceps in a unique way that many other exercises do not.
By isolating each arm, you can ensure balanced muscle growth and focus on developing both strength and size.
By consistently using proper technique and incorporating this exercise into your workout routine, you can overcome the frustration of slow progress and finally see the biceps growth you have been working towards.
What Muscles Do Dumbbell Spider Curl Work?
The dumbbell spider curl is an excellent exercise for isolating and strengthening the muscles in your upper arm.
The position of the bench helps activate the long head of the biceps brachii first, which is one of the main muscles in your upper arm responsible for elbow flexion.
The long head is located close to the short head, and together, they make up your biceps.
During this exercise, the secondary muscles that are engaged are the forearm and brachialis.
These two muscles are more likely to be activated during the lowering phase.
They mostly work as secondary muscles for most biceps exercises, providing additional stability and support throughout the movement.
How to Do Dumbbell Spider Curl
Equipment: Dumbbell/Pair of Dumbbells, Bench
Grip: Supinated Grip
Primary Muscle Work: Long Head (Biceps Brachii)
How to Do
- Start by adjusting your bench to a 45-degree angle. Grab a dumbbell and lay face down on the bench.
- Keep your legs spread wide on the floor to maintain stability. Ensure you are comfortable and that your chest rests just at the height of the bench.
- Curl the dumbbell to the top, squeezing your biceps.
- Lower the weight all the way down to isolate your forearm muscles.
Dumbbell Spider Curl Pro Tips
- Mind the Elbows: Keep those elbows tucked in close to your body throughout the curl. Don’t let them flare out to the sides, which takes the focus off your biceps.
- Peak Contraction Hold: At the top of the curl, when your biceps are fully contracted, hold the squeeze for a second or two before lowering the weight. This adds extra stress to the muscle fibers, promoting growth.
Benefits of the Dumbbell Spider Curl
Without any incentives, lifelong exercisers may shy away from picking up a dumbbell. Two reasons to give dumbbell spider curls a try today.
Increased Isolation of the Biceps
The upper body position on the incline bench helps you isolate your biceps brachii.
As you go through the movement, the dumbbell moves freely, allowing your muscles to contract better.
Additionally, the gravitational pull at the bottom fully extends your arm, which further engages your bicep.
These benefits make it easier to effectively isolate your biceps and boost their growth.
Less Chances Cheating
The less your body has to work during any exercise, the fewer chances you have of cheating.
The spider curl bench is designed to support most of your body, allowing you to concentrate more on the movement and less on maintaining your position.
This increased stability ensures that your biceps are doing most of the work, leading to better muscle engagement.
Additionally, the position of your legs, spread wide like two pillars, provides further stability and prevents any unwanted movement.
This setup helps you maintain proper form, making your workouts more effective and reducing the risk of injury.
Common Mistakes
Preventable errors can be the key to keeping your body injury-free and enhancing bicep growth.
Heavy Lifting
The reason for labeling weights with lb tags is to inform lifters of the weight they are lifting.
Starting with heavier weights may seem appealing, but it may not yield the desired results.
While every lifter wants to appear strong, effectiveness should be prioritized over sheer strength.
Although the incline bench may seem capable of handling heavy weights, the spider curl exercise is not intended for heavy lifting.
Lifting heavy weights can lead to muscle strain, joint displacement, soreness, and other serious consequences.
It’s essential to start with light weights and gradually progress to heavier ones to minimize the risk of injury and ensure effective training.
Using Momentum
Bad habits can catch up to you anytime, anywhere, and this applies to weightlifting training as well.
While the bench position may limit body movement, it doesn’t guarantee that you won’t use momentum.
Many individuals resort to using momentum during the lifting phase to complete repetitions fully.
While this may not entirely diminish the effectiveness of the exercise, it doesn’t provide as much tension to your biceps as it should.
It’s essential to focus on proper form and avoid relying on momentum to ensure that your muscles are adequately engaged and that you maximize the benefits of each exercise.
Incomplete Range of Motion
During the lowering phase of the exercise, the focus shifts primarily to your outer forearm muscles, specifically the brachioradialis.
To effectively engage your forearm muscles alongside your biceps, it’s crucial for your arm to fully extend, releasing tension around the forearm.
This extension not only activates the forearm muscles but also enhances arm flexibility and strengthens the elbow joints.
Incorporating this full range of motion into your workouts can contribute to overall arm strength and flexibility while reducing the risk of injury.
Alternatives and Variations
- Lying Bicep Cable Curl
- Seated Preacher Bicep Curl
- Barbell Spider Curl
- Dumbbell Neutral Grip Spider Curl
Lying Bicep Cable Curl
The commercial gym cable machine offers a range of exercises, among which the laying cable curl stands out in the biceps exercise category.
This variation of the dumbbell spider curl is executed while lying opposite the machine and bench, curling the cable similar to a traditional biceps curl.
This movement effectively activates your biceps brachii and other arm muscles.
While the exercise may initially appear confusing, it’s relatively straightforward to perform and highly effective for promoting biceps growth.
Seated Preacher Bicep Curl
Best known as the preacher curl, this exercise is highly effective for muscle activation and is performed on a special preacher bench.
Although it can be done while standing, it is better to perform it seated because this allows you to focus more on the motion, which is beneficial for muscle growth.
The primary muscles worked are both heads of the biceps, with the forearms and brachialis serving as secondary muscles.
One quick tip: always follow the recommended weight guidelines when performing preacher curls, as using weights that are too heavy can be dangerous for your muscles.
Barbell Spider Curl
Forgetting the barbell spider curl when discussing dumbbell spider curl variations would be disrespectful to the fitness community.
Unlike dumbbells, the barbell spider curl provides a fixed movement, which is beneficial given the bench position.
The bilateral hand position helps you control the weight perfectly.
The primary muscle targeted by this exercise is the short head of the biceps brachii.
Overall, the barbell spider curl is effective and involves less body movement, which can help increase biceps growth.
Dumbbell Neutral Grip Spider Curl
Combined with two movements, the neutral grip spider curl is a perfect variation to perform for growing your forearms and biceps.
If you already perform dumbbell neutral grip exercises, this will be very easy for you.
The exercise starts with a neutral grip (palms facing each other) and involves going up and down without changing grip positions.
The neutral movement is excellent for increasing forearm strength and size.
Additionally, the lifting phase isolates your biceps, promoting overall muscle growth.
Featured image by fitlopedia/YouTube edited by SA
