Most arm workouts are built around the same few movements. Standing dumbbell curls, cable curls, and barbell curls are all useful, but repeating only these exercises can leave potential growth on the table. Bigger arms are not built by chasing novelty for its own sake. They are built by accumulating challenging, well performed sets over time, progressing the load or repetitions when possible, and choosing movements that make the target muscles work hard through useful ranges of motion.
The biceps brachii is the muscle most people think of when they want larger arms, but it is not the only muscle that determines how broad and muscular your upper arm looks. The brachialis sits underneath the biceps and can push it outward as it grows. The brachioradialis, which runs down the upper forearm toward the thumb side of the wrist, also adds thickness around the elbow and makes the whole arm look more powerful.
That means a complete arm routine should not rely on one hand position, one shoulder position, or one resistance profile. The following three exercises are often overlooked in favor of more familiar curls, yet each brings something useful to a hypertrophy focused program. Use them consistently, train them close enough to failure that the last repetitions require real effort, and make gradual progress over time.
Why Exercise Selection Matters for Arm Growth
The biceps brachii crosses both the shoulder and elbow joints. It flexes the elbow, helps flex the shoulder, and is a powerful supinator, meaning it helps turn the palm upward. Changing the position of your shoulder or forearm changes the mechanical demands of a curl and can alter the contribution of the muscles around the elbow.
This does not mean that one curl can magically isolate a single part of the biceps. Muscle growth is complex, and individual anatomy also affects how an arm looks. However, exercise selection can change where an exercise is most difficult and which elbow flexors are emphasized. Research comparing curl variations suggests that resistance profiles and the muscle length at which resistance is greatest may influence regional muscle growth, although these findings should be interpreted carefully rather than treated as a guarantee.
For practical training, the message is simple. Use a selection of curls that you can perform with control, take through a comfortable range of motion, and progressively overload. A recent large review found that multiple set resistance training programs promote hypertrophy effectively across a range of loading strategies. You do not need one perfect rep range or one magic curl. You need enough hard, recoverable training performed consistently.
1. The Drag Curl
The drag curl is an old school barbell movement that has faded from many modern arm workouts. Instead of keeping the elbows fixed at your sides and curling the bar out in front of the body, you keep the bar close to your torso and allow your elbows to travel backward as you curl.
This small change gives the movement a very different feel. The bar moves upward by sliding close to the body, while the upper arms move behind the torso. The result is a curl that can make it easier to focus on elbow flexion without using a big forward swing from the shoulders or hips.
How to Perform the Drag Curl
Stand tall with a barbell or EZ curl bar held with an underhand grip. Start with the bar resting lightly against your upper thighs. Brace your trunk and keep your chest tall.
Curl the bar upward while dragging it close to your body. At the same time, allow your elbows to move behind your torso. Keep the wrists neutral and avoid turning the movement into a shrug. Continue until the bar reaches the lower chest or upper abdomen, depending on your arm length and mobility.
Lower the bar slowly along the same path until your elbows return near your sides. Do not rush the eccentric portion. Controlling the lowering phase helps you maintain tension and gives you a consistent path to track progress.
Why the Drag Curl Deserves a Place in Your Routine
The drag curl is especially useful for lifters who struggle to keep standard barbell curls strict. Because the bar stays close to your body, it can reduce the temptation to let the bar drift forward and turn every repetition into a lower back swing. It is still possible to cheat a drag curl, so the load should be modest enough that you can keep the bar against your torso and feel the elbow flexors doing the work.
The biceps brachii contributes to both elbow flexion and shoulder movement. The backward elbow position in a drag curl changes the shoulder angle as you lift, making it a worthwhile alternative to a conventional standing curl. Variety is helpful when it adds a different but productive training stimulus, rather than simply adding more exercises and more fatigue.
Start with two or three sets of eight to 15 controlled repetitions. An EZ curl bar is a good choice if a straight bar bothers your wrists. Use a load that allows the final few repetitions to feel difficult without losing the bar path or posture.
2. The Reverse Curl
If your goal is wider looking arms, the reverse curl deserves far more attention than it receives. It does not place the biceps brachii in its strongest position, because the hands are pronated with the palms facing down. That is exactly why it is valuable. The reverse curl shifts more of the challenge toward the brachialis and brachioradialis, muscles that add density to the arm and forearm.
The brachialis is an elbow flexor that lies deep to the biceps brachii. It does not supinate the forearm, which means it remains an important contributor to elbow flexion regardless of whether your palm faces up, down, or inward. The brachioradialis is also a powerful elbow flexor, particularly when the forearm is closer to a neutral position. Training these muscles will not change your bone structure, but it can add muscular thickness around the upper arm and elbow.
How to Perform the Reverse Curl
Hold an EZ curl bar, straight bar, or pair of dumbbells with your palms facing down. Stand upright, keep your elbows close to your sides, and brace your torso before beginning the repetition.
Curl the load upward by bending your elbows. Keep your wrists straight rather than allowing them to bend backward. Stop when you reach the highest position you can control without your elbows drifting forward excessively. Lower the weight slowly until your arms are straight, but avoid aggressively snapping into elbow lockout.
The reverse curl usually requires a much lighter load than a conventional underhand curl. This is normal. Trying to use your usual barbell curl weight often leads to bent wrists, swinging hips, and partial repetitions. A lighter load with strict form is far more productive.
Why the Reverse Curl Builds a More Complete Arm
Many lifters train their biceps with an underhand grip in nearly every exercise. This gives the biceps brachii plenty of direct work but can leave the other elbow flexors undertrained. Reverse curls offer a simple way to add direct work for the muscles that help create the dense, broad appearance of a well developed arm.
Electromyography research has shown that forearm position can alter activity in the elbow flexor muscles during elbow flexion tasks. It is important not to confuse muscle activity measured in a single session with guaranteed hypertrophy, but the practical lesson is still useful. Different grips create different demands, and including a pronated grip can make your arm training more complete.
Reverse curls are also a straightforward way to train your grip. You must hold the bar securely while controlling a pronated wrist position. This makes the exercise a useful addition after pulling work, provided it does not interfere with your recovery from rows, pull ups, or deadlifts.
Perform two to four sets of 10 to 15 repetitions once or twice per week. Keep the repetitions smooth and stop the set if your wrists begin to bend or the elbows start traveling wildly forward.
3. The Preacher Curl
The preacher curl has been around for decades, but it is frequently dismissed as a beginner machine exercise or avoided because lifters have seen people use reckless form with it. Performed correctly, it is one of the best ways to remove momentum from a curl and make the elbow flexors work through a long range of motion.
The pad supports the upper arm and makes it difficult to swing the torso to complete a repetition. That creates a clearer relationship between effort and performance. If the weight is too heavy, the curl simply stops moving. For hypertrophy, that honesty is useful.
How to Perform the Preacher Curl
Set the seat height so that your armpits rest comfortably near the top edge of the pad. Hold an EZ curl bar, dumbbell, or cable handle with an underhand grip. Keep the back of your upper arms in contact with the pad throughout the movement.
Begin with your elbows nearly straight, but do not force them into a hard lockout. Curl the weight upward under control until your forearms are close to vertical. Squeeze briefly at the top, then lower the load slowly until you reach the bottom position again.
Do not bounce out of the bottom position. The lower portion of the preacher curl can be demanding because the elbow flexors are lengthened and the external resistance is substantial. Use a weight you can lower with control. If you feel sharp pain in the front of the elbow or biceps tendon, stop the set and adjust the range of motion, load, or exercise choice.
Why the Preacher Curl Is Worth Revisiting
The preacher curl makes the movement challenging near the lower portion of the range of motion. This is useful because it exposes the elbow flexors to meaningful resistance when they are more elongated. Research comparing curl exercises with different resistance profiles has found that the location of loading within the range of motion may influence regional changes in arm muscle thickness. However, direct comparisons have not established that one curl variation is universally superior for overall biceps growth.
That uncertainty is a reason to include preacher curls, not to avoid them. You do not need to bet your entire arm routine on one exercise. Combining a preacher curl with a standing curl, a drag curl, or a reverse curl gives you productive work across different positions and grips.
The preacher curl is also easy to progress. Choose a load that allows eight to 15 controlled repetitions. When you can perform the upper end of that range with clean form in every set, increase the load slightly. Small improvements repeated over months are what drive visible arm growth.
How to Program These Exercises
You do not need to perform all three exercises in the same session. If you already do rows, pull ups, or pulldowns, remember that these movements involve the elbow flexors and contribute to your total arm training fatigue. Direct curls should complement your pulling work, not make recovery impossible.
A simple approach is to train biceps directly two times per week. On the first day, use drag curls for three sets of eight to 12 repetitions and reverse curls for three sets of 10 to 15 repetitions. On the second day, use preacher curls for three or four sets of eight to 15 repetitions. This gives you a mix of underhand and overhand grips without turning your program into an endless arm session.
Train most sets with a few repetitions left in reserve, then take some sets closer to failure when form remains stable. Research indicates that hypertrophy can occur across a broad range of loads when sets are performed with sufficient effort. Heavy weights can work well, but moderate and lighter loads can also build muscle when they are challenging enough and the overall program includes adequate volume.
Protein intake, total calorie intake, sleep, and recovery also matter. Resistance training is the stimulus, but muscle growth is the adaptation to that stimulus. If you are trying to gain size, eating enough high quality protein and maintaining a diet that supports your training will make your effort in the gym more productive.
The Bottom Line
Bigger and wider arms require more than repeating the same standing curl every week. The drag curl gives you a strict barbell option with a distinct shoulder position. The reverse curl directly challenges the brachialis and brachioradialis, helping build thickness around the upper arm and forearm. The preacher curl removes momentum and loads the elbow flexors hard in the lower portion of the movement.
None of these exercises is a shortcut. Choose the versions that feel comfortable for your joints, use controlled technique, and progress patiently. Consistent hard training, not novelty alone, is what turns forgotten exercises into visible results.
Key Takeaways
| Exercise | Main benefit | Best use | Suggested prescription |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drag curl | Encourages strict curling with the bar close to the torso | A barbell alternative to conventional standing curls | Two to three sets of eight to 15 repetitions |
| Reverse curl | Trains the brachialis and brachioradialis while challenging grip strength | Building arm and forearm thickness | Two to four sets of 10 to 15 repetitions |
| Preacher curl | Limits momentum and loads the elbow flexors strongly near the bottom position | Controlled hypertrophy work | Three to four sets of eight to 15 repetitions |
| Progression | Provides the long term stimulus for growth | Add load or repetitions while preserving form | Track performance over weeks and months |
| Recovery | Helps convert training into adaptation | Manage direct curls alongside pulling work | Train biceps directly one or two times weekly |
References
- Currier, B.S., McLeod, J.C., Banfield, L., Beyene, J., Welton, N.J., D’Souza, A.C., Keogh, J.A.J., Lin, L., Coletta, G., Yang, A., Colenso Semple, L., Lau, K.J., Verboom, A. and Phillips, S.M. (2023) ‘Resistance training prescription for muscle strength and hypertrophy in healthy adults: a systematic review and Bayesian network meta analysis’, British Journal of Sports Medicine, 57(18), pp. 1211–1220.
- de Serres, S.J., Hébert, L.J., Arsenault, A.B. and Goulet, C. (1992) ‘Effect of pronation and supination tasks on elbow flexor muscles’, Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology, 2(1), pp. 53–58.
- Schoenfeld, B.J., Grgic, J., Van Every, D.W. and Plotkin, D.L. (2021) ‘Loading recommendations for muscle strength, hypertrophy, and local endurance: a re examination of the repetition continuum’, Sports, 9(2), 32.
- Zabaleta Korta, A., Fernández Peña, E., Torres Unda, J., Francés, M., Zubillaga, A. and Santos Concejer, J. (2023) ‘Regional hypertrophy: the effect of exercises at long and short muscle lengths in recreationally trained women’, Journal of Human Kinetics, 88, pp. 259–270.
- Oranchuk, D.J., Storey, A.G., Nelson, A.R., Cronin, J.B., Guenette, J.A. and Smirnov, A. (2020) ‘Placing greater torque at shorter or longer muscle lengths? Effects of cable versus barbell preacher curl training on muscular strength and hypertrophy in young adults’, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(16), 5859.
