Machine bicep curls are very good to isolate bicep muscles but you may want other options. Discover exercise alternatives to this machine that offer similar results.
The bicep curl machine is made to isolate your biceps brachii (slightly more focused on the short head), brachialis, and brachioradialis muscles as much as possible without engaging any other muscles.
In turn, using a bicep curl can lead to more growth and strengthening in these muscles compared to other bicep curl variations.
Whether you don’t enjoy machine bicep curls, you don’t have the equipment available, or you want an alternative for any other reason, these machine bicep curl substitutes can offer you some or all of the same benefits.
1. Preacher curls
Not all gyms have the actual bicep curl machine but most do have a preacher bench. This is a slanted surface that is similar to the one built into the machine.
Besides this piece of equipment, you also want some type of resistance. Preferably a bar if you want to simulate the isolation of machine bicep curls as much as possible.
Once you have these, take the following steps to do a preacher bicep curl with dumbbells:
- Take a seat behind the preacher bench with the back of your upper arm resting on the slanted surface. Each of your hands holds a dumbbell with your hand palms facing upward in starting position.
- Slowly fold your arms at the elbows as far as you can. Keep your upper arms in the same position throughout the exercise.
- Lower the dumbbells back into starting position in a controlled motion.
Preacher curls are similar to the machine bicep curl in that they keep your upper arms in the same position.
By choosing equipment like an EZ curl bar or straight bar you avoid to some extent the usage of balancing muscles you would get when doing dumbbell preacher curls.
Preacher curls are not the perfect substitute for machine bicep curls but they come relatively close. Even the upper arm angle in relation to your body is the same which means the same focus on the short head of the biceps brachii.
One potential downside of this alternative is that do need a preacher bench to do the exercise.
2. Spider curls
For the next machine bicep curl alternative, you need an incline bench at about a 45-degree angle and some type of resistance.
Once you have these things, take the following steps to do a spider curl with dumbbells:
- Lie on the bench on your front, your chest should just reach the top of the bench. Let your arms hang down with a dumbbell in each hand with your hand palms facing forward in starting position.
- Slowly fold your arms at the elbows as far as you can. Keep your upper arms in the same position throughout the exercise.
- Lower the dumbbells back into starting position in a controlled motion.
Because you are lying down on a bench when doing spider curls, it becomes harder to use your body to lift the weights compared to standing bicep curl variations.
You do still have to pay attention to keeping your upper arm in place.
The angle of your upper arms in relation to your body during spider curls is similar to the bicep curl machine. This leads to slightly more focus on the inner part of the biceps brachii muscles.
To resemble the isolation of the bicep curl machine even more you can use two-handed free weights.
One downside of using these for spider curls is that they can be less convenient to get into position compared to one-handed options.
3. Concentration curls
You can do concentration curls without a weight bench but you still need something sturdy to sit on at about knee height and some form of resistance.
Take the following steps to do a concentration curl with a dumbbell:
- Sit on the object with your upper legs at about a 90-degree angle with the dumbbell right next to the foot of the arm you want to work out.
- Put the lower back of your upper arm of the dumbbell side on the inside of your leg on the same side. Hold the dumbbell but keep your arm slightly less than stretched.
- Slowly fold your arm with the dumbbell at the elbow as far as comfortable. Keep your upper arm in the same position throughout the exercise.
- Lower the dumbbell back into the position of step 2 in a controlled motion.
- Repeat the same number of repetitions on the other side.
Concentration curls are similar to the machine bicep curl in that they keep your upper arm in place which helps you avoid momentum and using the rest of your body.
Another similarity is the angle of your upper arm in relation to your upper body.
One benefit of concentration curls is that they are very easy to do at home, even if you don’t have a lot of fitness equipment.
A potential downside of this alternative is that you need to use some type of one-handed resistance. This requires you to engage more balancing muscles during the exercise compared to machine bicep curls.
4. Reverse grip lat pulldowns
For this next machine bicep curl alternative, you need a cable machine and a lat pulldown attachment. Often the lat pulldown has its own cable machine setup in the gym.
This is basically a seat with pads to brace your upper thighs against in front of a cable machine. The pads are there so you don’t pull yourself up during the exercise.
You may also be able to do lat pulldowns with sturdy resistance bands at home or in the gym, especially if you have some type of straight bar attachment.
Take the following steps to do a close-grip underhanded lat pulldown:
- Take place the seat with your legs anchored behind the thigh pads. Select the desired weight.
- Grab the handle with an underhanded grip, this means hand palms facing backward, with your hands close to each other. Lean back slightly with your upper body.
- Slowly pull down the bar by folding your elbows and squeezing your shoulder blades together until the bar reaches your chest.
- Lower the bar back into the position of step 2 in a controlled motion.
As the name implies the standard version of this exercise mainly focuses on your latissimus dorsi also known as your lats. By changing your grip this exercise also engages your biceps a nice amount.
Close-grip underhanded lat pulldowns are more of a substitute for machine bicep curls if you are looking for a bicep compound exercise.
This is not the best exercise choice to isolate the short head of the biceps brachii muscle as much as possible.
5. Standing EZ curl bar curls
For the next exercise, you will need a loaded EZ curl bar. Once you have that, take the following steps to do a standing EZ curl bar curl:
- Stand up straight with your feet at about shoulder width. Hold the EZ curl bar in the lowest position possible while still standing upright.
- Slowly fold your arms at the elbows as far as you can. Keep your upper arms in the same position throughout the exercise.
- Lower the EZ curl bar back into starting position in a controlled motion.
One reason people look for an alternative to machine bicep curls is that their wrists and/or elbows hurt when doing the exercise. EZ curl bars are made to resolve this issue.
To still resemble the biceps brachii, brachialis, and brachioradialis muscle isolation of the machine bicep curl as much as possible you preferably do this exercise with a preacher curl bench.
If that is not an option, you can do the standing version and focus on keeping your upper arms still.
6. Hammer curls
Take the following steps to do a hammer curl:
- Stand up straight with your arms hanging beside you. Each hand holds a dumbbell with a neutral grip which means that your hand palms are facing each other in starting position.
- Slowly fold your arms at the elbows as far as you can. Keep your upper arms in the same position throughout the exercise.
- Lower the dumbbells back into starting position in a controlled motion.
Hammer curls are more of a machine bicep curl alternative in the sense that they work the same upper arm muscles but in a slightly different ratio.
By changing your grip compared to the regular curl, hammer curls work your brachialis and brachioradialis muscles more. This can be an upside or downside depending on your training goals.
To make hammer curls slightly more of an isolation exercise for these muscles you could use a tricep bar. However, these are not the most popular so they may not be available in your (home) gym.
