How to Do Dumbbell Curl: Muscles Worked & Proper Form

Muscles Worked in Dumbbell Curls

Primary muscles worked:

• Biceps

Secondary muscles worked:

• Forearm Flexors

How to Dumbbell Curl

1. Hold a pair of dumbbells in an underhand (supinated) grip, arms hanging by your sides.
2. Lift the dumbbells with control, by flexing your elbows.
3. Don’t let your upper arms travel back during the curl. Keep them at your sides or move them slightly forward.
4. Reverse the movement and lower the dumbbells back to the starting position.

Commentary

For the best training effect on your arm flexors (i.e. biceps), you should probably maintain a strict form, where your muscles are under constant tension. To accomplish this, you could try to avoid letting your elbows travel backward during the lift, and also keep tension in the muscles in the bottom position.