Wide Curl (Dumbbell)
The Wide Curl is a dumbbell bicep variation performed with elbows tucked and arms angled outward to target the inner 'short head' of the biceps. This exercise helps develop arm thickness and width while improving grip strength.
Iridium programs this variation specifically to target the short head of the biceps based on sub-muscle fatigue tracking. The AI checks your 7-day workout history to scale volume and RPE, ensuring you stay within recovery limits given the indirect load your biceps accumulate from compound pulling exercises.
Form Cues
- Stand with feet hip-width apart and rotate your arms so palms face away from your body
- Keep your elbows pinned tightly against your ribs or slightly in front of them
- Curl the dumbbells upward and outward at a wide angle toward your shoulders
- Squeeze the biceps hard at the top of the movement
- Lower the weights slowly, fully extending the elbows at the bottom
- Don't let your elbows flare out away from your body
- Don't swing your torso backward to generate momentum
- Don't curl the weights straight forward; maintain the wide angle
- Don't drop the weight quickly during the lowering phase
- Don't shrug your shoulders up toward your ears
Common Mistakes
- Swinging the body
- Drifting elbows forward
- Curling straight instead of wide
- Shortening the range of motion
- Using excessive weight
Muscles Worked
This exercise primarily targets the short head (inner portion) of the biceps brachii, which is responsible for the width of the arm when viewed from the front. By externally rotating the shoulder and curling at a wide angle, you place the long head in a mechanically less advantageous position, forcing the short head and forearms to perform more of the work.
Primary
Secondary
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