Big basic exercises just like the bench press, pull-up, and barbell row are great for constructing your back, chest, and even shoulders, but they may not suffice to fill your sleeves and construct a formidable set of guns.
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Training your biceps directly won’t only contribute to specific muscle growth, but additionally joint health and performance. Traditional exercises just like the barbell curl can normally goal your biceps just effective, but when you need to take things to the following level and really give attention to your upper arms, consider including the spider curl in your training regimen. (1)
Amongst the various curl variations that exist, the spider curl takes advantage of gravity, leverage, and arm position to emphasise the short head of the biceps and supply a novel stimulus, resulting in more growth and larger arms. (2) Here’s why and the way you need to use this special exercise.
Methods to Do the Spider Curl
The spider curl, sometimes called the reverse incline curl, gets its more visual name since the position during which you perform the exercise resembles the arachnid dangling from its thread. Indeed, the load might be dangling out of your arms, and also you’ll use gravity and positioning to supply a novel biceps stimulus.
Step 1 — Set Your Bench and Get Into Position
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Set an adjustable bench at roughly 45-degrees, much like an incline bench press. Grab a barbell with a palms-up grip and lie chest-down on the bench. Have your head and neck protrude excessive of bench and let your arms hang straight toward the bottom.
Retract and depress your scapulae (pull your shoulder blades together and down) and maintain this position in the course of the lift.
Form tip: Discover a secure foot position so that you simply’re comfortable and stable on the bench, allowing you to totally give attention to working your arms. It will depend barely in your height, leg and torso length, and individual bench model. You could feel more balanced with a comparatively wide stance or along with your feet close together.
Step 2 — Curl the Weight Up
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Keep your upper arms vertical as you curl the load up so far as possible without moving at your shoulder. In the highest position, squeeze your biceps as hard as you’ll be able to for a second. Keep your elbows pointing toward the bottom the entire time.
Keep your wrists straight or bent barely backward to take care of maximum tension in your biceps and forestall your forearms from taking on the workload.
Form tip: In case your elbow shifts forward, you’ll reduce tension from the biceps by utilizing assistance out of your front deltoids (shoulders). You’ll also diminish the effective range of motion. The mechanics of the exercise already make it a comparatively short motion, as there is restricted tension at the underside of the movement. Should you start moving your elbows, you’ll lose much more tension at the highest.
Step 3 — Lower With Control
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Slowly let the load come right down to the initial position. Controlling the eccentric (lowering) portion of the movement will prevent you from bouncing or cheating, which might make the exercise less effective.
By moving with control, you’re keeping tension on the specified muscle, leading to raised results. Repeat for the specified amount of repetitions to finish a set.
Form tip: In case your wrists or elbows are vulnerable to tendonitis or pain, think about using an EZ-curl bar, as the marginally angled grip could be easier on the joints.
Spider Curl Mistakes to Avoid
Biceps exercises are sometimes butchered for the sake of ego, resulting in suboptimal results. Isolation exercises are technically easier than more complex multi-joint exercises, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to just wing it carelessly. Avoid these common blunders in the event you want the largest arms possible.
Going Too Heavy
There are big compound (multi-joints) exercises recruiting several muscle groups to maneuver heavy weights. Then there are isolation (single-joint) exercises which give attention to a single muscle group, typically with moderate weights to take care of targeted tension. Then, there are hyper-specific isolation exercises that give attention to a selected “part” of a muscle group.
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These laser-precision exercises are really not meant for moving heavy weight, but are as a substitute best used to bring up a really specific muscle part or emphasize a selected head of a muscle. The spider curl is considered one of these detail-oriented exercises, because it focuses on the short head of the biceps.
Using heavy weights will defeat the aim of the exercise since you will undoubtedly shift the workload to other body parts and encourage cheating.
Avoid it: Keep the weights relatively lighter and the sets relatively longer with more reps and a greater give attention to squeezing your biceps. Should you feel strong contractions someplace aside from your biceps, think about using a lighter load.
Using Momentum
Due to your arms’ position relative to gravity, there’s little or no tension on the biceps in the underside portion of the lift. The effective range of motion is already relatively short, primarily the upper half to three-quarters of the curl. Should you reduce the range even further by swinging the load, you lose a whole lot of time under tension and skip considered one of the important thing elements to muscle growth. (3)
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Furthermore, in the event you swing your arms around to make use of more weight, you exceed your biceps muscular strength. Because of this the extra kilos being lifted are stressing your connective tissues and joints greater than your muscles, and also you risk injuries only for the sake of ego.
Avoid it: Practice using a controlled tempo and, if crucial, an especially slower lowering speed. Should you can’t perform the specified amount of repetitions without resorting to momentum, reduce the load.
Methods to Progress the Spider Curl
The undeniable fact that your arms are hanging within the air in the course of the spider curl might prove difficult for inexperienced lifters to coordinate at first. Then again, some hardcore gym-goers will crave a harder challenge for constructing their arms. Try these progressions exercises in the event you belong in either category.
Preacher Curl
The preacher bench is specifically designed for isolated biceps training. It mimics the spider curl mechanics by setting your arm at an angle and it focuses on the short head as well, but offer the advantage of a secured and supported position from the bench pad.
With this equipment, there’s not much cheating possible. Use it to coach with perfect your form and construct a mind-muscle connection before trying the spider curl. Start with the more commonly used 45-degree pad and progress to using the vertical pad, identical to the unsupported spider curl.
Spider Concentration Curl
Should you’ve already mastered the barbell spider curl, you’ll be able to do this upgraded dumbbell progression, also called incline concentration curl. For a nasty biceps pump, perform it like an ordinary two-dumbbell spider curl, but press the pinky-side plates of the dumbbells together and squeeze them as hard as you’ll be able to the entire duration of the lift.
The short head of the biceps also contributes to bringing the arms together, so the isometric adduction (inward movement) will recruit this a part of your biceps even further.
Spider Curl Advantages
You’ll be able to count on arm-obsessed lifters to invent a myriad of biceps exercises, but they aren’t the product of vanity — each has distinct goals and advantages. The spider curl is specifically designed for aesthetic purposes with a laser-like precision, but that doesn’t mean only those with physique goals should include this movement.
Pure Biceps Training
The unique shoulder and arm position induced by this exercise is extremely effective for developing a mind-muscle connection and isolating the biceps for hypertrophy. (4) Should you recruit other muscles, your arms will begin to sway and the mechanics will change. Also, you can not cheat by swinging your body as much as with another biceps exercises.
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If you could have lagging upper arms, that is a fantastic way so that you can accumulate quality volume without recruiting or fatiguing other muscle groups. (5) Isolation exercises are excellent for developing symmetry and an aesthetic physique.
Focuses on the Short Head of the Biceps
Should you feel you’re lacking within the inner a part of your biceps, give this exercise a go. Specializing in the short head of the biceps will increase the “width” of your arm and provides the looks of a fuller-looking muscle.
The spider curl will goal this head more due to arm’s position, in front of the shoulders. The short head of the biceps attaches on the front of your shoulder joint and may perform a stronger contraction when your shoulder is “relaxed” within the stretched position.
Joint Health and Strength
This exercise could be useful for athletes competing in strength sports, comparable to powerlifting or strongman/strongwoman by directly contributing to overall pulling strength. It can also help with elbow and shoulder joint health by reducing repetitive use strain from performing a limited variety of biceps exercises.
Switching to the spider curl will provide variety and a distinct stimulus, leading to less stress in your joints and efficient training with lower overall weight used. This could have restorative advantages, especially when performed for higher reps.
Muscles Worked by the Spider Curl
The spider curl has one primary goal: to extend your arm size. Let’s see the way it contributes to this sought-after goal.
Biceps Brachii
The biceps is the largest and most visible anterior arm muscle. It flexes the arm, supinates the wrist (rotates the palm upwards), and barely contributes to numerous shoulder movements and stability.
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This muscle consists of two heads, each attached to the radius (forearm bone). The long head runs on the outer side of the arms and is attached to the shoulder blade. The short head is on the inner side of your arm and likewise attaches to the shoulder blade, but directly from the front of the shoulder.
The spider curl emphasizes the short head due to hanging arm position. The long head is in a “shortened” position and its involvement is restricted within the stretched position.
Brachialis
This deeper muscle is situated under the biceps brachii. It’s the first elbow flexor, being significantly stronger than the biceps itself and never involved in supinating or rotating your wrists. As such, it’s recruited during any curl exercise. Increasing its size will end in a fuller arm and will even “push” your biceps upwards, making it appear even greater.
Forearms
Several forearm muscles contribute to elbow flexion, notably the strongest of them — the brachioradialis. The spider curl will even make your forearms greater, which may visually help to make up for a genetically “shorter” biceps with long tendons near the elbow. Training these muscles may improve your elbow and wrist health and performance.
Methods to Program the Spider Curl
This exercise just isn’t suited to heavy weights, so programming is sort of straightforward. Get probably the most out of the spider curl using these repetition schemes.
Moderate Weight, Moderate Repetitions
This time-tested approach will yield a ton of results. It has been bodybuilders’ favorite for many years for a reason. Do three to 4 sets of eight to 12 repetitions for maximal muscle gains. It will provide training volume in probably the most effective hypertrophy range, driving muscle growth.
Light Weight, High Repetitions
Studies have shown that so long as you’re using 40% of your one-rep maximum and are taking muscles near failure, you’ll reap effective muscle gains, so don’t be afraid of going lighter sometimes. (6) Two to 3 sets of 15 to twenty repetitions will provide a fantastic stimulus, and an intense burn, ideal for a finisher while also being easier on the joints.
Spider Curl Variations
Variety is the spice of life, and that also applies to training. Should you don’t have a barbell or in the event you wish to supply your biceps a distinct training stimulus, try these variations.
Dumbbell Spider Curl
Using a pair of dumbbells as a substitute of a bar can address imbalances between each arm. Because each arm is moving independently, you’ll be able to’t use your stronger side to compensate on your weaker one.
That is the proper variation if you could have a blatantly weaker side or in the event you want probably the most symmetrical physique possible. It’ll, nevertheless, take a but more coordination and concentration to maneuver the weights at the identical time.
Cable Spider Curl
The spider curl is a fantastic exercise to focus on the short head of the biceps, however it’s doing a poor job of coaching the lengthened position of the muscle due to gravity’s limited effective in the underside position. Using a cable pulley is the answer.
Arrange a bench at a low cable station to supply muscular tension in the course of the lift. This boosts the muscle’s time under tension and increases the necessity for a controlled eccentric. It’s also possible to feel a greater stretch in your biceps.
Concentration Curl
This old fashioned exercise uses the identical general mechanics because the spider curl, along with your working arm prolonged down, but you don’t need an angled bench. Grab a dumbbell and train one arm at a time. Lean forward and curl while being as strict as possible — don’t start swinging your torso.
It is a harder variation as you could have to stabilize your body and really focus on your biceps. Some lifters claim it emphasizes the alleged biceps “peak,” but it would mostly provide good, focused work while isolate your biceps as much as possible.
FAQs
The spider curl might be not the primary exercise that pops in your mind when you concentrate on biceps training, in order that’s effective if you could have some questions on this lesser known lift.
When should I do the spider curl in my workout?
Generally speaking, isolation exercises are best done at the top of the session. You should start with heavy poly-articular (multi-joint) exercises like rows and presses if you’re fresh and may lift probably the most weight. Use isolation movements to complete your muscles and drive hypertrophy with less neural constraints.
Should you’re doing an arms-only session, keep this one at the top. The spider curl is considered one of the strictest exercises there’s, specializing in a particular a part of a single muscle group, where you should use the least weight. See it more as a “finisher.”
Will it construct the height of my biceps?
Not specifically. It’ll improve your biceps as a complete, but when you need to goal your biceps “peak” (the a part of the biceps the grows vertically and offers a taller appearance to the muscle), you could have to focus on the long head of the biceps and hope your genetic lottery will yield the outcomes you’re after.
The spider curl focuses on the short head, making your arms relatively more impressive from the front since it contributes to “width” greater than “peak.” Couple it with an exercise that emphasizes the long head, just like the incline dumbbell curl, for complete biceps development.
References
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- Schoenfeld BJ, Contreras B, Krieger J, Grgic J, Delcastillo K, Belliard R, Alto A. Resistance Training Volume Enhances Muscle Hypertrophy but Not Strength in Trained Men. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2019 Jan;51(1):94-103. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000001764. PMID: 30153194; PMCID: PMC6303131.
- Thiago Lasevicius, Carlos Ugrinowitsch, Brad Jon Schoenfeld, Hamilton Roschel, Lucas Duarte Tavares, Eduardo Oliveira De Souza, Gilberto Laurentino & Valmor Tricoli (2018) Effects of various intensities of resistance training with equated volume load on muscle strength and hypertrophy, European Journal of Sport Science, 18:6, 772-780, DOI: 10.1080/17461391.2018.1450898
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