10 Best Cable Lying Bicep Curl Alternatives for Biceps Isolation

The low pulley bench is busy, or you just want the same curl from a different angle: either way the Cable Lying Bicep Curl has a direct swap. The closest one is the Cable Lying Close-grip Curl, which keeps you on the same bench and the same straight bar and curls it toward your chest instead of your shoulders. If that bench is what you need free, the Cable Two Arm Curl On Incline Bench moves the same pull onto an incline seat instead.

Original Exercise: Cable Lying Bicep Curl

Cable Lying Bicep Curl
Primary Muscle
Biceps
Equipment
Cable
Difficulty
Beginner
Type
Isolation
Secondary Muscles: Forearms
How to Perform Cable Lying Bicep Curl
  1. Attach a straight bar to a low pulley cable machine.
  2. Lie face up on a flat bench with your feet flat on the ground.
  3. Grasp the bar with an underhand grip, hands shoulder-width apart.
  4. Extend your arms fully, keeping your elbows close to your sides.
  5. Keeping your upper arms stationary, exhale and curl the bar up towards your shoulders.
  6. Pause for a moment at the top, squeezing your biceps.
  7. Inhale and slowly lower the bar back to the starting position, fully extending your arms.
  8. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Ranked Cable Lying Bicep Curl Alternatives

Best Match
Cable Lying Close-grip Curl

1. Cable Lying Close-grip Curl

99.9% Match
Biceps Cable Beginner Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Attach a straight bar to a low pulley cable machine.
  2. Lie face up on a flat bench with your feet flat on the ground.
  3. Grasp the bar with an underhand grip, hands shoulder-width apart.
  4. Extend your arms fully, keeping your elbows close to your sides.
  5. Keeping your upper arms stationary, curl the bar towards your chest by contracting your biceps.
Cable Two Arm Curl On Incline Bench

2. Cable Two Arm Curl On Incline Bench

99.9% Match
Biceps Cable Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Sit on an incline bench with your back against the pad and your feet flat on the ground.
  2. Grasp the cable handles with an underhand grip, palms facing up, and your arms fully extended.
  3. Keeping your upper arms stationary, exhale and curl the handles towards your shoulders while contracting your biceps.
  4. Pause for a moment at the top of the movement, squeezing your biceps.
  5. Inhale and slowly lower the handles back to the starting position, fully extending your arms.
Lying Cable Curl

3. Lying Cable Curl

93% Match
Biceps Cable Beginner Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Grab a straight bar or E-Z bar attachment that is attached to the low pulley with both hands, using an underhand (palms facing up) shoulder-width grip.
  2. Lie flat on your back on top of an exercise mat in front of the weight stack with your feet flat against the frame of the pulley machine and your legs straight.
  3. With your arms extended and your elbows close to your body slightly bend your arms. This will be your starting position.
  4. While keeping your upper arms stationary and the elbows close to your body, curl the bar up slowly toward your chest as you breathe out and you squeeze the biceps.
  5. After a second squeeze at the top of the movement, slowly return to the starting position.
Cable Preacher Curl

4. Cable Preacher Curl

92% Match
Biceps Cable Beginner Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Adjust the cable machine so that the preacher curl pad is at chest height.
  2. Sit on the preacher curl bench and place your upper arms on the pad, gripping the cable attachment with an underhand grip.
  3. Keep your back straight and your elbows tucked in at your sides.
  4. Slowly curl the cable attachment up towards your shoulders, squeezing your biceps at the top of the movement.
  5. Pause for a moment, then slowly lower the cable attachment back down to the starting position.
Cable Seated Curl

5. Cable Seated Curl

92% Match
Biceps Cable Beginner Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Sit on a cable machine with your feet flat on the ground and your back straight.
  2. Grasp the cable attachment with an underhand grip, palms facing up, and your arms fully extended.
  3. Keeping your upper arms stationary, exhale and curl the cable attachment towards your shoulders, contracting your biceps.
  4. Pause for a moment at the top of the movement, squeezing your biceps.
  5. Inhale and slowly lower the cable attachment back to the starting position, fully extending your arms.
High Cable Curls

6. High Cable Curls

92% Match
Biceps Cable Beginner Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand between a couple of high pulleys and grab a handle in each arm. Position your upper arms in a way that they are parallel to the floor with the palms of your hands facing you. This will be your starting position.
  2. Curl the handles towards you until they are next to your ears. Make sure that as you do so you flex your biceps and exhale. The upper arms should remain stationary and only the forearms should move. Hold for a second in the contracted position as you squeeze the biceps.
  3. Slowly bring back the arms to the starting position.
  4. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Overhead Cable Curl

7. Overhead Cable Curl

92% Match
Biceps Cable Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. To begin, set a weight that is comfortable on each side of the pulley machine. Note: Make sure that the amount of weight selected is the same on each side.
  2. Now adjust the height of the pulleys on each side and make sure that they are positioned at a height higher than that of your shoulders.
  3. Stand in the middle of both sides and use an underhand grip (palms facing towards the ceiling) to grab each handle. Your arms should be fully extended and parallel to the floor with your feet positioned shoulder width apart from each other. Your body should be evenly aligned the handles. This is the starting position.
  4. While exhaling, slowly squeeze the biceps on each side until your forearms and biceps touch.
  5. While inhaling, move your forearms back to the starting position. Note: Your entire body is stationary during this exercise except for the forearms.
Cable Curl

8. Cable Curl

91.4% Match
Biceps Cable Beginner Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand facing the cable machine with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  2. Grasp the cable attachment with an underhand grip, palms facing up.
  3. Keep your elbows close to your sides and your upper arms stationary.
  4. Exhale and curl the cable attachment towards your shoulders, contracting your biceps.
  5. Pause for a moment at the top of the movement, squeezing your biceps.
Cable Drag Curl

9. Cable Drag Curl

91.4% Match
Biceps Cable Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand facing a cable machine with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  2. Grasp the cable attachment with an underhand grip, palms facing up, and arms fully extended.
  3. Keeping your upper arms stationary, exhale and curl the cable attachment towards your shoulders by contracting your biceps.
  4. Pause for a moment at the top of the movement, squeezing your biceps.
  5. Inhale and slowly lower the cable attachment back to the starting position, fully extending your arms.
Standing Biceps Cable Curl

10. Standing Biceps Cable Curl

91.2% Match
Biceps Cable Beginner Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand up with your torso upright while holding a cable curl bar that is attached to a low pulley. Grab the cable bar at shoulder width and keep the elbows close to the torso. The palm of your hands should be facing up (supinated grip). This will be your starting position.
  2. While holding the upper arms stationary, curl the weights while contracting the biceps as you breathe out. Only the forearms should move. Continue the movement until your biceps are fully contracted and the bar is at shoulder level. Hold the contracted position for a second as you squeeze the muscle.
  3. Slowly begin to bring the curl bar back to starting position as your breathe in.
  4. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

Why You Might Need a Cable Lying Bicep Curl Alternative

Each swap still needs a cable stack, so the reason to pick one is rarely about equipment you lack. The Cable Lying Bicep Curl ties you to one bench and one straight bar, and lifters move off it when that bench is taken, when they want the bar to stop at the chest rather than the shoulders, or when a pad or a seat gives the arm something to rest against. The Cable Preacher Curl and the Cable Seated Curl put the same underhand pull onto a pad or a seat elsewhere in the room. The Cable Two Arm Curl On Incline Bench swaps the flat bench for an incline seat, and the Overhead Cable Curl sets the pulleys above shoulder height so you curl the handles in from the sides, for the days the low pulley station is taken.

How to Choose the Right Substitute

Start with the curl path. The Cable Lying Close-grip Curl keeps the same setup and only brings the bar to your chest instead of your shoulders, the smallest change. If the lying bench is busy, the Cable Preacher Curl uses a pad, the Cable Seated Curl uses a seat, and the Standing Biceps Cable Curl keeps you standing at the low pulley. The Cable Curl and the Cable Drag Curl keep you standing and curl to your shoulders, while High Cable Curls and the Overhead Cable Curl set the pulleys above shoulder height, holding your upper arms parallel to the floor as you curl the handles toward your head. If you want the same two-handed curl with your back supported, the Cable Two Arm Curl On Incline Bench sits against an incline pad and curls to your shoulders.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I do the Cable Lying Bicep Curl without a cable machine?

No. Every alternative, from the Cable Lying Close-grip Curl to the Cable Seated Curl, still runs through a cable stack and a pulley, so none of them moves onto a free weight or a bodyweight curl. Any gym with a dual cable stack can run all of them.

Which alternative only changes where the curl finishes?

The Cable Lying Close-grip Curl. It keeps the same bench, the same low pulley and the same straight bar as the Cable Lying Bicep Curl, and only brings the bar up toward your chest instead of your shoulders, so the rest of the setup stays exactly as it was.

Which alternative moves the curl onto an incline bench?

The Cable Two Arm Curl On Incline Bench. It keeps the same cable pull with an underhand grip on the handles, but puts you on an incline bench with your back against the pad and your feet flat, so you curl the handles to your shoulders seated rather than lying flat.

Which alternatives curl from a high pulley instead of a low one?

High Cable Curls and the Overhead Cable Curl. Both set the pulleys above shoulder height and have you stand between them with your upper arms held out parallel to the floor, then curl the handles in toward your head, so the biceps work with the arms raised rather than tucked at your sides as they are in the Cable Lying Bicep Curl.

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