Bayesian Curl

Muscles worked

Biceps

Primary muscle

Biceps

Equipment

Cable

Movement pattern

Pull

Difficulty

Intermediate

What it is for

StrengthHypertrophy

Also known as

Bayesian cable curlBehind the body cable curl

Watch the full tutorial

• Letting the elbow drift forward. The whole point of this variation is keeping the elbow behind the torso to load the biceps in a stretch. If the arm drifts forward, it is just a standing cable curl.
• Standing too close to the pulley. Without a step forward there is no tension in the stretched position, which is exactly where this exercise pays off. Move away until you feel the pull with the arm extended behind you.
• Twisting the torso toward the working arm. It is the most common way to steal range on the last reps. Keep the shoulders square and the chest facing forward.
• Dropping the lowering phase. Returning from such a stretched position takes control; let the arm extend over two or three seconds instead of letting the cable pull you back.

What is the difference between the Bayesian curl and a regular cable curl?

In a regular cable curl you face the machine and the arm hangs at your side or in front. In the Bayesian curl you face away and step forward, so the shoulder is extended and the arm sits behind the torso. That position lengthens the long head of the biceps and puts peak tension in the bottom of the rep, where a regular curl is easiest.

Can you do the Bayesian curl with dumbbells?

Not in the same way. With a dumbbell the resistance is always vertical, so with the arm behind the torso the biceps gets almost no load in the stretched position, which is the whole point of the exercise. The cable pulls from behind and keeps that tension. The closest dumbbell alternative is the incline bench curl, which also places the arm behind the line of the body.

Why is it called the Bayesian curl?

The name comes not from anatomy but from who popularized it: coach and researcher Menno Henselmans, whose education project is called Bayesian Bodybuilding. He described a cable curl with the shoulder in extension to train the stretched biceps, and his brand name stuck to the exercise. In many gyms it is simply called a behind-the-body cable curl.

How much weight and how many reps for the Bayesian curl?

It is an isolation exercise in a stretched position, so the load is lower than in a standing barbell curl. A common range is 10 to 15 reps per arm, with a two to three second lowering to full extension. If the elbow drifts forward or the torso twists to finish the set, drop the weight: the arm position matters more than the kilos.