Arms · Bodyweight
Cheat Curl
How to do the cheat curl, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Reps
- Movement
- Flexion
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Hold your arms in a curling position and contract your biceps to bring your hands toward your shoulders. Use a small, controlled body swing to help start the lift, then squeeze hard and lower slowly to keep tension on the muscle. Keep the cheat minimal and the lowering phase strict.
- 1A strong squeeze in the biceps at the top of each curl
- 2Slow, loaded lowering on the way back down
- 3Just enough body drive to start the rep, no more
Common mistakes
- Swinging so much that the back takes over the work
- Dropping the hands fast and losing the negative
- Letting the elbows drift far forward to shorten the range
Muscles worked
The cheat curl mainly works the biceps, with the forearms assisting.
- BicepsPrimary
- ForearmsSupport
- Lower BackMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
- Lower AbsMinor
- ObliquesMinor
- Front DeltsMinor
Kovo programs the cheat curl for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More biceps exercises
- How to do the resistance band bicep curl
- How to do the resistance band hammer curl
- How to do the barbell bicep curl
- How to do the cable bicep curl
- How to do the cable hammer curl
- How to do the overhead bicep curl
Last reviewed June 2026.