A seated biceps curl works the muscles at the front of your upper arm that bend the elbow (biceps and brachialis). In the video you sit at a table with your forearm resting on it, palm up and a dumbbell in your hand, then bend the elbow to bring the weight up toward your shoulder and lower it back to the table. With the forearm supported and your body seated, the upper arm stays still, so the elbow does the work and you cannot swing the weight up.

How to do the seated biceps curl

Sit on a chair pulled in close to a table, with your back upright and your feet flat on the floor.
Rest the elbow and forearm of the arm you are working on the table in front of you, so your upper arm slopes gently forward and down to the table and the elbow is only partly bent. Hold a light dumbbell with your palm facing up.
Keep the elbow where it is and breathe out as you bend it, bringing the dumbbell up toward your shoulder.
Pause briefly near the top without letting the elbow lift or your body lean back.
Breathe in as you lower the weight slowly until your forearm rests on the table again, then repeat.

What you should feel

Work at the front of your upper arm, strongest as the weight first leaves the table. Your forearm works a little as well, to hold the dumbbell.

Common mistakes

Lifting the elbow off its spot or letting it slide forward, so the shoulder helps.
Leaning back or rocking to get the weight moving.
Letting the wrist curl back or flop down as you lift.
Letting the weight drop back onto the table.

How often

Many programs use 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 slow curls, 2 to 3 times a week, starting with a light dumbbell of about 0.5 to 2 kg (1 to 4 lb). Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

Sharp pain at the front of the elbow, in the upper arm or at the front of the shoulder.
A sudden pop or snap at the front of your elbow, sudden sharp pain there, or the muscle at the front of your upper arm bunches up or changes shape. Stop and go to an urgent care center or emergency department the same day, even if you can still bend the elbow, as this can be a torn biceps tendon.
Tingling, pins and needles or numbness in your hand, most often in the ring and little fingers (from the nerve behind the elbow, the ulnar nerve) or in the thumb, index and middle fingers (the median nerve).
Pins and needles in your arm or hand that do not go away after you stop, or part of your arm or hand goes numb. Get medical advice the same day. If one side of your face or body suddenly goes numb or weak, or your speech becomes slurred or muddled, call emergency services, even if it goes away.

From the clinic

The voice guide starts each curl with the arm hanging straight down by your side, but the video rests the forearm on a table and lifts from there, and this page follows the video. Starting from the table leaves out the part of the lift where the arm is nearly straight. The hanging-arm version works through the whole range and is closer to the standing biceps curl. Without a dumbbell, a full half-liter water bottle, about 0.5 kg (1 lb), is a fair first weight. If you have high blood pressure, breathe steadily through every repetition and never hold your breath.

Hold the dumbbell with a firm but relaxed grip. Squeezing hard brings in the forearm muscles that start at the outer and inner elbow, which can stir up tennis elbow or golfer's elbow.

After a biceps tendon repair, do not bend the elbow against a weight until your surgeon's plan allows it. After a broken or dislocated elbow, or elbow surgery such as a tendon repair, follow your surgeon's or physio's plan, and start this exercise only when they have cleared you. If you have just hurt your arm and have severe pain, cannot move the elbow or heard a snap, do not exercise it. Go to an urgent care center or emergency department the same day. If the arm looks a different shape or sits at an odd angle, a bone is showing, or your arm or hand tingles, feels numb or turns cold, pale or blue, go to an emergency department straight away or call emergency services, and do not drive yourself.

If your ring and little fingers start to tingle near the top of the curl, lower the weight and leave the exercise for today. The nerve that runs behind the elbow (the ulnar nerve) is squeezed when the elbow bends right up, so next time stop a little short of the full bend, and tell your physio if the tingling comes back. The hammer curl works the same muscles with the palm turned in.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-28.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Seated biceps curl