Muscles worked
The muscles are the same as in an ordinary dumbbell curl: your biceps do most of the work, with the brachialis and brachioradialis helping. What changes is the time. The lowering phase is called eccentric, and your muscles can handle more there than when they lift. Braking the dumbbells down slowly keeps your biceps under tension for much longer per rep than a normal curl. Slow lowering often brings more muscle soreness than usual the first few times.
Common mistakes
- Speeding up towards the end. Most people hold the pace early on and lose it over the last stretch, as the arm nears straight. Count the seconds and spread them evenly over the whole way down.
- Doing as many reps as usual. With four seconds down, ten reps makes a long set and your form has time to fall apart. Do fewer reps than in your normal curl and stop while the lowering is still controlled.
- Using it in every exercise from the first session. Slow lowering is demanding, and too much at once often leaves your arms stiff for days. Start with one exercise and two sets.
Variations and alternatives
- The dumbbell curl at a normal pace, when you want heavier dumbbells and more reps.
- The Zottman curl also stresses the lowering, but palms down, so your forearm has to work.
- The machine curl on many machines lets you lift with both arms and lower with one, a common way to make the lowering heavier than the lift.
Sets and reps
6 to 10 reps over two or three sets, with three to five seconds on the way down, suits most people. At first, take slightly lighter dumbbells than in your normal curl until you know how your arms respond. The basics are in the guide to sets and reps.
Give your arms a couple of days before the next slow-lowering session, and see the guide on how often to train to plan your week. Lengthen the lowering a second at a time up to five, then take heavier dumbbells and go back to three seconds. That is progressive overload where time goes up first. If it hurts, not just feels stiff, stop the exercise and have it looked at by a doctor or physiotherapist.