Flexor Incline Dumbbell Curls
An incline dumbbell curl with two deliberate changes: you slide your grip toward the far end of the handle so the inner plate hangs heavier, and you hold the wrists cocked back throughout. The offset makes the bar want to rotate out of supination, so the biceps has to hold the turn as well as bend the elbow.
Own the movement
Set up first, then execute. Every cue below is something you can check on your next set.
Before the first rep
- Set the bench at 45 degrees, sit back until your shoulder blades and head are in contact, and let both arms hang free behind your torso.
- Slide each hand toward the outer plate so your thumb and index finger touch the inside collar and the far end hangs heavy.
- Turn the palms fully forward, thumbs pointing away from you, and hold that rotation before the first rep starts.
- Pull the wrists back into slight extension so the knuckles point up toward the ceiling.
- Pin both elbows just in front of your ribs; they stay there for the whole set.
Every rep
Breathing & tempo — Exhale as you curl, inhale as you lower. One second up, one second squeezed, three seconds down — the slow lower is where the supination hold actually costs you something.
Sets, reps & load
Where to start, and what to change when it stops being hard.
Take whatever you use for a standard incline curl and drop about a quarter — 8-12 kg per hand is a realistic starting point for most trained men, 4-6 kg for most trained women. Add weight only when you can hold the palm level and the wrist cocked back through every rep of every set; if the little finger dips on rep 8, stay where you are.
What goes wrong
The errors that show up most often, and the cue that fixes each one.
Physically jam thumb and index finger against the inside collar before each set, and check the far plate is the one hanging low when your arm is straight.
Drop 2 kg per hand and hold slight wrist extension throughout. If the knuckles fold, the load is being carried by your forearm flexors, not your biceps.
Actively drive the little finger up toward the ceiling on the way up and hold that on the way down. Go lighter until you can hold the turn for every rep.
Keep the back of both shoulders glued to the bench and end the set the moment one lifts off. That extra rep is coming from your front delt.
Why bother
The biceps does two jobs — it bends the elbow and it turns the palm up — and an ordinary curl only loads the first. Gripping the handle off-centre, thumb side crowded against the inner plate, leaves the outer end heavy and gravity constantly tries to rotate your little finger down. Holding the palm level under that torque is supination work you cannot get from a barbell.
Cocking the wrists back is the other half. Most people finish a heavy dumbbell curl by curling the wrist in, which drags the forearm flexors into a job the biceps was supposed to do and leaves the wrist aching before the arm is fatigued. A slightly extended wrist keeps the handle stacked over the forearm and blocks that cheat outright.
Where it fits
Treat it as the second or third arm movement on an upper-body day, after something you can load properly. The offset grip forces you 20-30% lighter than a normal incline curl, so it earns its place as a quality set, not a top set. Two sessions a week, 3-4 sets each, is plenty for a beginner-level isolation lift.
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Asked and answered
Does the offset grip actually do anything?
Yes, but modestly. The heavy outer end creates a rotational torque your biceps has to resist for the whole set, which loads supination in a way a symmetric grip cannot. It is not a different exercise and it will not add an inch to your arm on its own — it is a way to make a light dumbbell feel meaningful when your elbows are already beaten up from heavy pressing.
Why keep the wrists cocked back? It feels awkward.
Because the alternative is worse. Curling the wrist in at the top recruits the forearm flexors and puts the load through a small, fatigue-prone joint. Slight wrist extension keeps the dumbbell stacked over the forearm bones so the elbow does the work. Awkward for two sessions, then normal.
Can I do this with an EZ bar instead?
No — a bar fixes both hands in one plane, so there is nothing to offset and no independent supination torque. If you want the same effect on a bar, use close-grip work for volume and keep the offset trick for dumbbells only.
Which end of the dumbbell should be the heavy one?
Descriptions of this movement contradict each other, which is why people get it backwards. The rule that matters: your hand sits off-centre so the plate on the little-finger side hangs low when your arm is straight. That is the direction gravity fights your supination. If the thumb side is the low one, the dumbbell is helping you turn the palm up and you have removed the only thing this variation adds.