Overhead Cable Curl

What it is

This intermediate isolation movement targets your biceps, the primary muscle in your upper arm. You perform it using a cable machine, curling the handles from an overhead position. It's a focused exercise designed to build strength and definition in your arms.

Technique tips

• Set cable pulleys higher than your shoulders, ensuring equal weight on both sides.
• Stand centered between the cables, arms fully extended and parallel to the floor.
• Use an underhand grip, keeping your palms facing upwards.
• Exhale while slowly curling the handles until forearms touch biceps.
• Inhale as you control the movement back to the starting position.
• Keep your body stationary, moving only your forearms throughout the exercise.

How to track your progress

Log the weight and reps of each set. Straddly turns every set into an estimated one-rep max, so a heavier single and a strong set of eight both count as progress, and it flags a personal record the moment you beat your best.