TRX Bicep Curl
The suspension (TRX) biceps curl is a bodyweight curl: you hold the handles, lean back with straight arms and curl your body up towards your hands. It works the biceps and brachialis, and your body angle sets the load.
Also called: Suspension Bicep Curl, Suspension Trainer Curl, TRX Biceps Curl, Ring Curl · Equipment: suspension · Pattern: pull
Step by step
- Set the straps to mid-length and face the anchor. Hold the handles with your palms facing up and your arms straight out in front at shoulder height.
- Walk your feet forward and lean back until your arms are straight and your body forms a straight line from head to heels. The further you lean back, the harder the curl.
- Squeeze your glutes and brace your trunk so your hips stay in line.
- Keeping your upper arms level at shoulder height, bend your elbows to curl your body up until your hands reach your temples.
- Pause briefly at the top with your biceps squeezed.
- Straighten your elbows under control until your arms are fully straight, keeping your body rigid.
- After the last rep, walk your feet back and stand upright before letting go of the handles.
- Body rigid from head to heels
- Upper arms fixed at shoulder height
- Curl your hands to your temples
- Arms fully straight at the bottom
- Squeeze your glutes
In VALDA, these cues are one tap away on the exercise while you train.
What it trains
| Muscle | Role | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Biceps brachii: long head | Prime mover | B |
| Biceps brachii: short head | Prime mover | B |
| Brachialis | Secondary | B |
| Brachioradialis | Secondary | C |
| Rectus abdominis | Stabiliser | D |
| Anterior deltoid | Stabiliser | D |
Evidence grades: A = strong research base · B = good · C = limited · D = coaching consensus.
What goes wrong, and the fix
Hips sagging
Fix: Squeeze your glutes and brace so you stay straight from head to heels.
Upper arms dropping
Fix: Keep your upper arms level at shoulder height and move only at the elbows.
Cutting the bottom short
Fix: Straighten your arms fully at the bottom of every rep.
Dropping back into the straps
Fix: Straighten your elbows under control on the way back.
Straps uneven or slack
Fix: Set both straps to the same length and keep them taut from the first rep.
What the research says
Muscle growthRehab & prehabGeneral fitnessEndurance
- Setting the load — Your body angle sets the load: the further you lean back, the harder each rep. There is no direct research on loading the suspension curl.
- Long muscle lengths — A curl training study found that training the elbow flexors with a straighter elbow, at longer muscle lengths, produced more biceps and brachialis growth than training with a bent elbow.
- Rep ranges — Research finds muscle growth is similar across a wide range of loads when sets are taken close to failure, and lighter, higher-rep work favours local muscular endurance.
- Progression — A trial comparing methods found that adding reps and adding load gave similar muscle growth. Here, load goes up by walking the feet further forward.
- Isolation and compound work — A trial in untrained men found single-joint and multi-joint arm training gave similar gains in elbow-flexor size and strength.
Swap it mid-workout
With VALDA Pro, FLEX offers alternatives like these when you swap an exercise mid-workout.
Log the trx bicep curl in VALDA, with these cues one tap away while you train and your history for it in one place.
General information about exercise technique, not medical advice. If you have an injury or a health condition, your healthcare provider is the right person to ask.