Overhead Cable Curl

Also known as: high cable curl, cable overhead curl, crucifix curl, overhead high cable curl, standing high cable curl

In SetGrip: Cable Overhead Curl

Secondary muscles
Forearms, Delts
Body part
Upper Arms
Position
Standing
Laterality
Bilateral (both sides together)
Category
Strength

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Curling from a high pulley with your arm raised puts the biceps in a shortened, flexed-shoulder position most curls never reach. Resistance stays highest near peak contraction, making this a deliberate contrast to incline curls; use it for low-load, high-effort sets where the squeeze is the entire point.

How to do the Overhead Cable Curl

  1. Attach a straight bar to a high pulley cable machine.
  2. Stand facing the machine with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  3. Grasp the bar with an underhand grip, hands shoulder-width apart.
  4. Keep your elbows close to your sides and your upper arms stationary.
  5. Exhale and curl the bar down towards your forehead, keeping your upper arms stationary.
  6. Pause for a moment at the bottom of the movement, squeezing your biceps.
  7. Inhale and slowly return the bar to the starting position, fully extending your arms.
  8. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Tip: Lower for three seconds and stop just short of locking out the elbow to keep the muscle under tension.

Muscles worked

Primary

Biceps · Arms

The biceps bend the elbow and turn the palm up, so they work hardest when the palms face up; hammer and reverse grips shift more of the work to the forearm muscles.

Secondary

  • Forearms — The brachioradialis and forearm flexors take over on hammer and reverse curls and assist on every other variation.
  • Delts — The front delt should only be stabilizing the upper arm, so if you feel it working the elbows have moved forward.

Common mistakes

  • Elbows drifting forward — as the elbows come up the front delt starts to lift the weight; pin the elbows to your sides and let only the forearm move.
  • Swinging from the hips — a small rock backward on each rep means the weight is too heavy; drop it and curl from a dead stop.
  • Cutting the bottom short — stopping with the elbow bent shortens the range where the biceps are stretched; lower until the arm is nearly straight.
  • Wrists curling at the top — flexing the wrist toward you brings the forearm flexors in; keep the wrist neutral or slightly extended.

Where it fits in a workout

Curls go at the end of a pull session or arm day, after the rows and pulldowns that also load the biceps. Superset them with a triceps pushdown or extension.

How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.

Variations and alternatives

Similar exercises

Without cable

Easier and harder

When to talk to someone

  • Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
  • Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
  • Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.

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More exercises

Sources

  1. ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
  2. ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
  3. ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
  4. CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)

Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.

Animation and exercise data: ExerciseDB, licensed to SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.