The Supine Arm Twist-and-Curl: Flat-Back Bicep Sunrise

Pressure Cascade · Mechanism

Rise and shine, biceps! The Supine Arm Twist-and-Curl — the lying supine dumbbell curl — is a beginner bicep exercise that has you lying on your back curling dumbbells toward your shoulders while twisting your wrists from a neutral grip to an underhand grip. It's like a sunrise for your arms, except the sun is made of iron and it rises through pain.

You lie face-up on a flat bench with a dumbbell in each hand, arms extended down toward the floor with your palms facing inward. You curl the dumbbells up toward your shoulders, rotating your wrists as you go so that your palms face your shoulders at the top — this is the supination twist, and it's what makes this exercise special. The twist recruits the bicep more fully than a standard hammer curl, because the bicep is not just a flexor — it's also a supinator, and this exercise gives it both jobs at once. It's like asking someone to cook dinner and clean the kitchen at the same time. Double duty, double results.

The lying position means your arms hang straight down, providing a full stretch at the bottom of the curl that you can't get standing up. This stretched position under load is where the growth stimulus is strongest, which is why this humble beginner exercise punches way above its weight class in terms of results. After a few sets, your biceps will be so full and pumped that you'll have to adjust your sleeves — or just take your shirt off entirely, because sleeves are for people who aren't proud of their arms. Lie back, twist and curl, and greet the bicep sunrise.