Muscles worked
Your biceps and brachialis do most of the work, with the brachioradialis on the forearm helping. What sets the drag curl apart from an ordinary curl is that your elbows travel backwards while the bar slides up along your body. The front of your shoulders then cannot lift with you, as they tend to when your elbows creep forwards, and the back of your shoulders works a little to move your elbows back. The movement is shorter, and most people need a slightly lighter bar than in their usual barbell curl.
Common mistakes
- Shrugging the bar up. Near the end of the movement it is easy to hitch your shoulders towards your ears. Keep your shoulders down and let your elbows drive the movement backwards.
- Leaning forwards. To get their elbows further back, many people bend forwards at the waist, and it turns into more of a row than a curl. Stand tall with your chest up throughout the set.
- Chasing the bar too high. Your elbows only go back so far before they stop. End the rep there, for most people somewhere between the navel and the bottom of the ribcage.
Variations and alternatives
- The barbell curl is the ordinary curl with the same bar, for when you want the full movement and a heavier weight.
- The EZ bar curl suits you if the straight bar bothers your wrists.
- The band drag curl lets you follow the same path at home, with a band under your feet.
Sets and reps
The drag curl suits building muscle. Start with 8 to 12 reps over two or three sets. The movement is short, so it pays to hold the bar still for a second at the top. Do it after an ordinary curl, as a second biceps exercise in the same session. How to plan your sets is covered in the guide to sets and reps.
The bar can go up by the smallest plates, 1.25 kg per side or less if your gym has them. Even so, add reps before weight, and go heavier once every set reaches 12 without your shoulders creeping up. That is progressive overload with a built-in check on your form.