BicepsCable machineBeginner

How to Do Cable Curls

By Bryan Alger, Co-Founder of Gravitus

ยท Updated Sep 30, 2026

A cable curl is a biceps isolation exercise done on a low pulley. Hold a straight or EZ bar with your palms up, keep your elbows pinned to your sides and curl the bar to your shoulders. It trains the biceps, brachialis and brachioradialis. Most lifters do 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 15 reps.

Sets x reps 3-4 x 8-15
Median 10-rep weight 6530 lbkg men 32.515 lbkg women
Muscles Biceps, brachialis, brachioradialis
Setup Low pulley, straight or EZ bar
Cable Curl start and top positions
  1. 1Start. Pulley on the lowest setting, underhand grip, arms hanging straight with your elbows at your sides.
  2. 2Top. Bend only at the elbows and curl the bar to your shoulders, then lower it under control.
Watch 3 video demonstrations
Video 1 of 3

Find more video demonstrations in the Gravitus app

Technique

How to do a cable curl

  1. Set the pulley to the lowest notch and clip on a straight or EZ bar.
  2. Grab the bar palms up at shoulder width. Stand tall and close, so the cable runs almost straight down and the weight is off the stack.
  3. Pin your elbows to your sides. They stay there for the whole set.
  4. Curl the bar toward your shoulders by bending only at the elbows. Squeeze for a second at the top.
  5. Lower over 2 to 3 seconds until your arms are straight, without letting the plates touch down.
Setup

Where you stand changes the curl

A cable does not keep the same tension through the rep. How hard the curl feels at each point depends on the angle between the cable and your forearm, so where you stand moves the hardest part of the rep.

Resistance through the rep by stance
HARDER Arms straight Halfway Top
Close to the stack. The cable runs almost straight down, like a dumbbell. Hardest halfway up.
A big step back. Hardest at the top, and the bottom of the rep goes slack.
Facing away (Bayesian). Hardest before halfway, and the bottom of the rep stays loaded.
What to do

Stand close enough that your arms still carry load at the bottom. Full range and bottom-half partials grow the biceps more than top-half partials (Kassiano 2023, Sato 2021).

Gravitus data

How much weight should you cable curl?

On Gravitus, the median man lifts 65 lb (30 kg) for 10 reps on the cable curl, and the median woman 32.5 lb (15 kg).

Men, typical 65 lb for 10 reps
Most lift
50 to 100 lb
Top 10% lift
125 lb or more
Starting out
under 50 lb
Women, typical 32.5 lb for 10 reps
Most lift
25 to 50 lb
Top 10% lift
60 lb or more
Starting out
under 25 lb
Men, typical 30 kg for 10 reps
Most lift
22.5 to 45 kg
Top 10% lift
55 kg or more
Starting out
under 22.5 kg
Women, typical 15 kg for 10 reps
Most lift
11 to 22.5 kg
Top 10% lift
27.5 kg or more
Starting out
under 11 kg
PercentileMenWomen
25th65 / 50 lb32.5 / 25 lb
Median90 / 65 lb45 / 32.5 lb
75th130 / 100 lb65 / 50 lb
90th165 / 125 lb80 / 60 lb
 One-rep max / 10-rep weight, rounded to 5 lb (2.5 under 40). From 12,965 men and 2,921 women who log the cable curl on Gravitus, computed Oct 4, 2026 (Brzycki). Methodology
PercentileMenWomen
25th30 / 22.5 kg15 / 11 kg
Median40 / 30 kg20 / 15 kg
75th60 / 45 kg30 / 22.5 kg
90th75 / 55 kg37.5 / 27.5 kg
 One-rep max / 10-rep weight, rounded to 2.5 kg (1 under 20). From 12,965 men and 2,921 women who log the cable curl on Gravitus, computed Oct 4, 2026 (Brzycki). Methodology
Stack numbers are not comparable between machines. Many functional trainers use a 2:1 pulley, where the 40 lb pin feels like 20 lb. Compare yourself to your own log on the same machine.
Anatomy

Muscles worked

Biceps, long and short headBends the elbow and turns the palm up.
Primary
BrachialisBends the elbow in any grip.
Primary
BrachioradialisWorks harder with a neutral or overhand grip.
Secondary
Forearms, front delts, coreHold the wrists, shoulders and torso still.
Stabilizer
Equipment

Which attachment to use

Palms upStraight barThe most biceps work.
AngledEZ barEasier on the wrists, still biceps-heavy.
Palms facingRopeA hammer curl. More brachialis and forearm.
Your choiceSingle handleOne arm at a time, evens out a weak side.

A palms-up grip drew 12% more biceps activity than a neutral grip and 19% more than overhand (Coratella 2023). EZ-bar curls activated the biceps more than dumbbell curls (Marcolin 2018).

Compare

Cable vs dumbbell vs barbell curl

CableDumbbellBarbell
Hardest pointYou choose, by stanceHalfwayHalfway
Weight jumps5 to 10 lb5 lb per hand2.5 lb or less
Best forLoad at the bottom, drop setsOne arm at a timeHeaviest loads
Verdict

Close to a tie for growth. Over 10 weeks, cable and barbell preacher curls grew the biceps 7% and 8% (Nunes 2020). Pick the one you can keep adding weight to, or use both.

Programming

Sets, reps and progression

3-4Sets
8-15Reps
0-2Reps left

Stop each set 0 to 2 reps short of failure. Sets taken close to failure build muscle across a wide range of reps (Schoenfeld 2021), so pick a range you can keep strict.

Stack jumps of 5 to 10 lb are big for a small muscle. Add reps first: when every set reaches the top of your range, move up one plate and drop back to the bottom of the range.

Form

Common mistakes

Variations

Cable curl variations

Bayesian Cable CurlFace away with your arm behind you. Hardest near the bottom. Grew the biceps about as much as a preacher curl over 10 weeks (Attarieh 2025).
Rope Hammer CurlPalms facing in on a rope. Less biceps than a palms-up bar.
Single-arm cable curlOne side at a time, with a D handle.
Cable Preacher CurlUpper arm on a pad, so you cannot swing.
High Cable CurlPulleys at shoulder height, arms out to the sides. Hardest near the top.
FAQ

Questions people ask

What does cable curl work?

The biceps and brachialis, with the brachioradialis helping. The forearms, front delts and core hold you still.

Is cable curl better than dumbbell curl?

Not for growth; they build the biceps about equally. The cable lets you choose where the rep is hardest. The dumbbell lets you train one arm and turn the palm fully up.

Which cable curl is best?

A straight or EZ bar on a low pulley, standing close enough to load the bottom of the rep. Add a Bayesian curl for more stretch.

Are cable curls for short head?

Both heads work in every curl. Over 10 weeks, curling with the arm pulled back or at the side grew the biceps by the same amount (Larsen 2026).

How much weight should I cable curl?

For 10 reps, the median on Gravitus is 65 lb (30 kg) for men and 32.5 lb (15 kg) for women. The strongest quarter lifts 100 lb (45 kg) and 50 lb (22.5 kg) or more.

Gravitus See where your cable curl ranks

Log every set and see your percentile on every lift, cable curl included.

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References
  1. Nunes et al. 2020. Int J Environ Res Public Health 17(16):5859.
  2. Attarieh, Nunes et al. 2025. Eur J Sport Sci 25(4):e12279.
  3. Larsen et al. 2026. Front Physiol 17:1750722.
  4. Sato et al. 2021. Front Physiol 12:734509.
  5. Kassiano et al. 2023. J Strength Cond Res 37(5):1135-1144.
  6. Coratella et al. 2023. Sports 11(3):64.
  7. Marcolin et al. 2018. PeerJ 6:e5165.
  8. Schoenfeld et al. 2021. Sports 9(2):32.