TRX Single-Arm Biceps Curl
What Is the TRX Single-Arm Biceps Curl?
TRX Single-Arm Biceps Curl is an isolation exercise that primarily targets the biceps and also engages the forearm muscles, shoulders and trunk. It is an intermediate-level movement that uses a suspension trainer to turn your own body weight into the resistance, with one hand holding a single handle.
You stand sideways to the anchor point and lean away from it with your arm reaching toward the strap. Curling your hand toward the side of your head pulls your body upright, so the work falls on the elbow flexors of one arm. Because that arm lifts a share of your body weight on its own, it is a harder test than the two-arm TRX Biceps Curl. The trunk stays straight and braced throughout, so the obliques and shoulder stabilizers work to keep you from twisting or sagging.
Difficulty is set by where your feet are. Walking your feet toward the anchor point makes you lean farther back and puts more of your weight through the arm, which makes the curl harder. Walking them away from the anchor makes you more upright and the curl easier. This makes the exercise easy to scale from set to set, or from week to week, without changing any equipment.
It suits lifters who can already do the two-arm curl with a controlled lean and want to train each arm separately, spot a strength gap between sides, or train arms where there are no dumbbells. If it is too hard, build up with the two-arm version or the TRX Hammer Curl, and keep your feet farther from the anchor.
Muscles Worked
- Biceps Brachii
- Primary
- Brachialis
- High
- Brachioradialis
- Medium
- Deltoid
- Low
- Rectus Abdominis
- Minimal
Instructions
- Adjust the strap so the handle sits at about head height or higher and stand sideways to the anchor point, with the handle in the hand nearest the anchor.
- Place your feet together and hold the handle with your palm facing up.
- Lean away from the anchor until the strap is taut and your arm reaches straight out toward it at about shoulder height. Keep the free arm hanging by your side.
- Keep your body in one straight line from your shoulders to your heels, with your abs braced and your hips under you.
- Bend the elbow and curl your hand toward the side of your head. Keep the elbow high and in place, and let your body rise toward upright as you curl.
- Pause briefly with your hand beside your head and squeeze the biceps.
- Lower slowly by straightening the arm until it reaches toward the anchor again and the strap is taut. Do not let the hips drop or the chest turn.
- Finish the reps on one side, then turn around and repeat on the other. To make it harder, walk your feet toward the anchor so you lean farther back; to make it easier, walk them away so you stand more upright.
Common Mistakes
Dropping the elbow
Letting the elbow sink below shoulder height turns the curl into a pull and takes work away from the biceps, so keep it high and in place.
Sagging hips
A bent waist breaks the straight line from shoulders to heels and usually leads to swinging, so squeeze the glutes and brace the abs.
Twisting toward the strap
Rotating the chest toward the anchor to help the pull lets the shoulder and back do the work, so keep the chest facing forward.
Using momentum
Kicking the hips or swinging the body to start the curl removes tension at the bottom, so start each rep from a still, taut position.
Dropping fast on the way down
Letting the arm snap straight loads the elbow tendons at the stretched end, so lower under control.
Injuries
TRX Single-Arm Biceps Curl is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The load is part of your body weight and it is easy to reduce, which keeps the demand on the elbow far below that of a heavy barbell curl.
The usual strain points are the elbow tendons and the biceps tendon at the front of the elbow. Pain tends to show up when the lean is too steep for the arm, when the lowering phase drops fast into a hard stretch, or when the wrist is bent back to grip the handle. Walk your feet away from the anchor to stand more upright, lower for about two to three seconds, and keep the wrist in line with the forearm. Gripping the handle lightly rather than crushing it also takes strain off the forearm.
If the shoulder of the working arm feels pinched when it reaches toward the anchor, shorten the reach by standing closer to upright, or switch to the two-arm TRX Biceps Curl. Once the curl is easy and clean, move your feet toward the anchor in small steps and slow the lowering phase.
Stop if you feel sharp pain at the elbow or in the front of the shoulder. Skip the exercise while you have an active tendon flare-up, and see a clinician if elbow pain persists after you make it easier.
- Primary Focus
- Biceps
- Equipment
- Suspension trainer and body weight
- Modality
- Strength
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
Alternative Exercises
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: How do I make the TRX Single-Arm Biceps Curl harder?
Walk your feet toward the anchor point so you lean back farther, which puts more of your weight through the working arm. You can also slow the lowering phase to three seconds or pause for a second at the top.
- Q: How do I make it easier?
Walk your feet away from the anchor so you stand more upright. If that is still too hard, build up with the two-arm TRX Biceps Curl.
- Q: Which hand holds the strap?
The arm closest to the anchor point holds the single handle, and you stand sideways to the anchor. Finish all reps on one side, then turn around and repeat on the other.
- Q: Where should my hand finish?
Curl toward the side of your head, with the elbow staying high at about shoulder height. Curling toward the chin lets the elbow drop and takes tension off the biceps.
- Q: Should my free hand hold on to anything?
No. Let it hang by your side so the trunk stays still on its own. Holding the strap with it turns the exercise into the two-arm version.