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Cheat Curl

The cheat curl is an intentional overload technique, not sloppy form: a small hip and torso drive helps you break a heavier bar past the hard sticking point, then you fight the weight down slowly to overload the biceps on the eccentric. It lets advanced lifters push past what strict curls allow, but it demands a healthy lower back and real control. Use it sparingly and only once your strict curl strength is well established.

Equipment
Barbell
Body part
Biceps
Type
Strength
Browse by movement
Elbow Flexion
Muscles worked
Target
Biceps Brachii Long Head, Biceps Brachii Short Head
Secondary
Brachioradialis
Tertiary
Erector Spinae, Deltoid Anterior

How to do it

  1. 1

    Load a barbell heavier than your strict curl and grip it underhand at shoulder width.

  2. 2

    Stand tall with a braced core and a slight bend in the knees.

  3. 3

    Use a controlled dip and drive of the hips to help start the bar upward.

  4. 4

    Once past the sticking point, finish the curl with the biceps and squeeze at the top.

  5. 5

    Lower the bar slowly and under strict control for three to four seconds.

  6. 6

    Reset your posture before each rep rather than bouncing continuously.

Tips

  • Keep the cheat minimal; it is a nudge to pass the sticking point, not a full swing.
  • Make the lowering phase deliberately slow, since the eccentric is the point of the lift.
  • Protect your back by bracing hard and never rounding under the heavy load.

Variations

Common mistakes

  • Knees bend a second time on the way down to unload the bar, so the eccentric you added the weight for gets shared with the legs. Once the bar is moving down, the body stays still.
  • The bar swings out away from the thighs as the hips drive, and a heavy bar out in front is a load the lower back has to hold on its own.
  • Cheating on the last two reps of every curl set out of habit, which slowly turns your strict curl into a heave and leaves you no honest number to progress from.
  • The lowering count shrinks from four seconds on rep one to barely one by rep five, so the reps that were the whole reason for the exercise become the fastest part of the set.
  • Reaching for the cheat curl to add reps rather than weight. High reps with a hip drive are just a longer swing; use it for heavy sets of five or six and stop when the bar stops coming down under control.

Frequently asked

How much weight and how many reps for the cheat curl, and what should I be able to do first?
Own a strict barbell curl for eight clean reps with the elbows at your sides first, and a lower back that handles hinging under load without complaint. Then use around 10 to 20 percent more than your strict curl for three sets of five or six, once a week, at the end of arm work. Every rep gets a small hip nudge to start and a three to four second lower. When the lowering speeds up, the set is finished. Run it for a few weeks at a time rather than permanently.
What can I do instead of the cheat curl if I train at home?
The point is loading the lowering phase, and there are cleaner ways to do it. Two-up, one-down curls with a single dumbbell overload one arm at a time with no swing at all. A pair of heavy dumbbells cheat-curled together works if you own them. A band doubled under both feet gives you more resistance at the top, though it fights you least exactly where the hip drive helps. With a loaded backpack, curl it up with both hands and lower it with one.
Is the cheat curl worth doing, or is it just bad technique?
Done deliberately it is an overload tool: the hips help the bar past the sticking point so the biceps can handle a heavier lowering than they could lift strictly, and that lowering is where the size comes from. It suits advanced lifters whose strict curl has been stuck for months. It is a poor choice for anyone still building a strict curl, since it hides weak points rather than fixing them, and a bad idea if your lower back is sore or you cannot brace a slight hinge under a heavy bar. It also belongs at the end of a session, never the start.

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