The 15 Best Spider Curl Alternatives for Bigger, Stronger Biceps

Spider curls are one of the least known biceps exercises. Done lying face down on a bench with your arms hanging straight down, spider curls isolate your biceps and target the long head of your biceps muscle, which is the part responsible for your arm peak.

They look a bit like preacher curls, but in some ways, they’re better because there is more tension on your biceps at the top of each rep.

But, as effective as spider curls are, they’re not for everyone. If you’ve been doing them for a while, your muscles may have become accustomed to this exercise. Alternatively, you may find them uncomfortable, or you might not have the equipment needed to do them.

Regardless of the reason, there are plenty of equally effective exercises you can do instead of spider curls. In this article, we reveal the best spider curl alternatives for bigger, more muscular biceps.

The 15 Best Spider Curl Alternatives

Whether you are bored of spider curls or just aren’t a fan of this unusual biceps isolation exercise, these are the best alternatives you can do instead:

1. Cable preacher curls

While freeweight (dumbbell or barbell) preacher curls are a good alternative for spider curls, cables are a better choice. When you do freeweight preacher curls, there is very little tension on your biceps as your forearms approach vertical. With cables, your biceps are under near-constant tension, making this a much more effective exercise.

You can do cable preacher curls using one or both hands as preferred.

Learn how to do this excellent biceps-building exercise here.

2. Supine cable curls

One of the most significant advantages of spider curls over other biceps exercises is that they stop you from using your shoulders, back, and legs to lift the weight. They’re almost 100-percent cheat-proof!

Supine cable curls are another strict biceps exercise that makes cheating all but impossible.

How to do it:

1. Attach a straight or EZ bar to a low cable machine. Sit on the floor with your feet against the bottom of the machine.
2. Hold the handle with a shoulder-width underhand grip. Lie down flat on the floor with your arms straight, core braced, and shoulders down and back.
3. Keeping your elbows close to your sides, band your arms and curl the handle up to your shoulders.
4. Extend your arms and repeat.
5. Continue for the prescribed number of reps.

3. Dumbbell concentration curls

According to a study by the American Council on Exercise, or ACE for short, concentration curls are among the best biceps exercises (1). Like spider curls, they stop you from cheating and effectively isolate your biceps from the rest of your body.

Dumbbell preacher curls don’t work well with heavy weights. Still, with light to moderate weights and medium to high reps, they’re great for pumping up your arms and targeting the short head of your biceps.

Check out this guide to find out how to do dumbbell concentration curls. 

4. Cable concentration curls

Like so many biceps exercises, you can do concentration curls with freeweights or a cable machine. Cable concentration curls aren’t necessarily better than the dumbbell variation, but some lifters will prefer them. They also tend to keep tension on your muscles through a wider range of motion.

So, try dumbbell and cable concentration curls and see which one you prefer!

How to do it:

1. Place a bench next to a cable machine and attach a D-shaped handle to the low pulley.
2. Sit on the bench and grab the handle with your nearest arm. Place your upper arm inside and against your thigh.
3. Keeping your arm in contract with your leg, bend your elbow and curl the handle up toward your opposite shoulder.
4. Extend your arm and repeat.
5. Do the same number of reps on both arms.
6. You can also do this exercise standing, i.e., bent over with your upper arm resting against your inner thigh.

5. Supine cable curls on a bench

Back in exercise #2, we introduced you to supine curls performed with a low pulley and while lying on the floor. This supine curl variation involves a bench and a high pulley to hit your arms from an entirely new angle.

This exercise is no better or worse than the original supine cable curl, but it certainly is different. Variation can help keep you out of workout ruts and ensure your biceps keep getting bigger and stronger!

How to do it:

1. Place a bench beneath your pulley machine. Attach a straight or EZ bar to the high pulley. Grab the bar with an underhand, shoulder-width grip.
2. With your back to the pulley, lie down on the bench and extend your arms above you. This is your starting position.
3. Bend your arms and curl the handle down to your forehead.
4. Extend your arms and repeat.

6. Seated cable curls

This exercise looks like you are about to do a set of seated rows. But, instead of working your lats, you’re going to do a challenging type of curl that’s bound to make your biceps grow! Tension is high as you flex your elbows, which hits the short head of your biceps and could help you build thicker arms.

How to do it:

1. Attach a straight or EZ bar to a cable seated row machine. Sit on the machine and grab the handle with an underhand, shoulder-width grip. Sit up straight, pull your shoulders down and back, and brace your core. Extend your arms.
2. Bend your elbows and curl the handle up to your forehead.
3. Straighten your arms and repeat.
4. You can also do this exercise using a low cable machine.

7. Squatting cable curl

They say variety is the spice of life, and that’s especially true when it comes to building bigger biceps! New and unusual exercises can help trigger new muscle growth, and this unique biceps exercise hits your arms in an entirely new way.

It’s similar to the spider curl, but the angle of your arms is a little different, and you don’t need a special bench to do it.

How to do it:

1. Attach a straight bar or EZ bar to a low pulley. Hold the bar with an underhand, roughly shoulder-width grip. Step back a little and then stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Squat down so your upper arms rest on your knees.
2. Bend your elbows and curl the handle up to your forehead.
3. Extend your arms and repeat.

8. Cable overhead curl

There are several reasons that the cable overhead biceps curl is such a popular exercise.

Firstly, you can’t use your legs or back to lift the weight, so it’s very strict and effective. Secondly, most cable crossover machines are set up in front of a mirror, so you’ll get a great view of your biceps as you train them. Finally, who doesn’t like throwing up their arms and doing a double biceps pose?!

This exercise might not be the best biceps mass builder, but it’s a great way to end your arm workout and get a skin-splitting pump.

Read more about this exercise in our in-depth instructional guide.

9. Top-down alternating dumbbell curl

One of the things that make spider curls such an effective exercise is that they keep your biceps under near-constant tension. This creates a lot of metabolic stress and produces a deep pump and burn.

Top-down alternating dumbbell curls produce much the same effect but with your arms in a different position and without using a special bench.

How to do it:

1. Sitting or standing, hold a dumbbell in each hand and curl the weights up to your shoulders, palms facing toward you.
2. Keeping one arm stationary, lower one dumbbell down to your side and then curl it back up to your shoulder.
3. Next, keeping your other arm in place, lower, and then raise the opposite dumbbell.
4. Continue alternating arms for the duration of your set, keeping one arm bent and stationary throughout.

10. Drag curls

This interesting curling exercise was a favorite of Hollywood bodybuilding coach Vince Gironda, who was very prominent in the 1970s and 1980s. Gironda, AKA the Iron Guru,  liked this exercise because it a) all but eliminated any opportunities for cheating, and b) it minimized anterior deltoid involvement, making it a very pure biceps exercise.

This exercise is much harder than regular biceps curls, so use a lighter than usual weight to ensure you do it correctly.

How to do it:

1. Stand and hold a barbell with a shoulder-width, underhand grip.
2. Bend your arms and curl your bar up the front of your body until it reaches your lower chest. Keep the bar as close to your torso as possible. Pull your elbows back as you raise the weight.
3. Slowly return to the starting position and repeat.

Related: How To Do Drag Curls To Overload The Biceps

11. Zottman curls

Zottman curls, named after strongman George Zottman, are an old-school biceps exercise. They work both the biceps brachii and the brachialis, with a useful emphasis on the short head of the biceps. This means they’re a very time-efficient exercise and ideal for when you want a complete biceps workout but only have time for one exercise.

How to do it:

1. Sit on an upright exercise bench or stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent for balance. Hold a dumbbell in each hand by your sides, palms facing your legs. Make sure your torso is fully upright. Brace your abs.
2. While keeping your upper arms close to your sides, bend your elbows and curl the weights up to your shoulders. As you raise the weights, rotate your wrists to turn your palms upward. Curl the weights all the way up until your biceps are fully contracted.
3. Next, without lowering the weights, rotate your forearms so your palms are now facing downward. This is called a pronated grip.
4. Extend your arms and lower the weights down towards the starting position while keeping your hands pronated.
5. As the dumbbells near your legs rotate your wrists, so your palms face inward – a neutral grip.
6. Repeat for the prescribed number of repetitions.

Related: Zottman Curl Guide

12. Seated barbell curls

This unusual way of doing curls increases short head biceps activation by preventing you from extending your arms. It can be done using dumbbells or an EZ bar but works best with a straight barbell. This is a good exercise for building thicker, wider biceps.

How to do it:

1. Adjust your bench so that the backrest is close to vertical. Hold a barbell with a shoulder-width, underhand grip. Sit on the bench and rest the barbell on your thighs.
2. Keeping your back against the backrest, bend your arms and curl the bar up to your shoulders.
3. Lower the bar back to your legs and repeat.
4. You can also do this exercise with a wider than shoulder-width grip to increase inner biceps activation even more.

13. Goblet squat kettlebell curls

This spider curl alternative is not just good for your biceps; it could also make you a better squatter, too, because it’s an effective lower body mobilizer.

 

1. Hold a kettlebell by the vertical handles in front of your chest. The top of the handle should be just under your chin.
2. Step out and into a shoulder-width stance, toes turned slightly outward. Brace your abs and pull your shoulders down and back.
3. Squat down until your thighs are at least parallel to the ground. Do not round your lower back. Your upper arms should be just inside your upper legs.
4. Staying in the squat position, extend your arms and lower the weight down to the floor. Curl the weight back up.
5. Either do a set of curls before standing or stand up and squat down between curl reps. This latter variation is a valuable circuit training exercise.
6. You can also do this exercise with a single dumbbell or a weight plate.

14. Curls against the wall

Are you one of those people who can’t do curls without cheating? If so, this is the exercise for you! Also known as a strict curl, this is how biceps curls are done when they’re included in powerlifting competitions. Be warned; not using your legs and back means this exercise is much more challenging than regular dumbbell and barbell biceps curls.

How to do it:

1. With a dumbbell in each hand, lean your upper back against a smooth wall. Put your feet a few inches in front of you. Press your shoulders down and back, and brace your abs.
2. Bend your elbows, curl the weights up to shoulder height, and rotate your wrists, so your palms are uppermost.
3. Lower the weights and repeat.
4. You can also do this exercise with a barbell.

15. Stability ball preacher curl

Believe it or not, you don’t need a bench to do an exercise that looks and feels a lot like spider curls. In fact, all you really need is a dumbbell and a stability ball. By rolling the ball forward or back, you can change the angle of your upper arm, ensuring you position yourself for the best possible biceps workout.

How to do it:

1. Place your stability ball on the floor or on a bench and kneel or stand behind it. With a dumbbell in one hand, lean forward and rest your upper arm on the ball. Stabilize the ball with your free arm.
2. Bend your elbow and curl the weight up until your forearm is vertical.
3. Lower the weight and repeat.

More Alternative Exercises:

• Pec Deck Guide
• Best Bench Press Alternatives
• Best Back Extension Alternatives
• Best Cable Crossover Alternatives
• Triceps Pushdown Alternatives
• Power Clean Alternatives
• Best Face Pull Alternatives

Spider Curl Alternatives – Wrapping Up

Spider curls are one of the more unusual biceps exercises. If you’ve never done them, we suggest you at least give them a try because, despite being an uncommon movement, they’re very effective. They’re comparable to preacher curls and may actually be a superior exercise.

That said, even an exercise as effective as spider curls can lose its effectiveness if you do them too often, and some people just don’t like them much.

No worries – there are plenty of equally effective spider curl alternatives you can do instead.

So, whether you are bored of spider curls or can’t get on with them, you can use these 15 exercises to make your biceps workouts are productive as possible.

References:

1. American Council on Exercise (ACE):ACE Study Reveals Best Biceps Exercises https://www.acefitness.org

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