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Pull-ups are one of the most powerful upper-body exercises you can do – but sometimes, progress stalls. If you’re grinding through reps and still not seeing the gains you want, it might be time to flip your routine. One smart tweak? Try doing bicep curls before pull-ups.
Sounds counterintuitive, right? But there’s solid science (and practical wisdom) behind this strategy. Let’s break it down.
1. Warm Up Smarter: Activate Your Pull Muscles First
Starting your workout with light-to-moderate bicep curls before pull-ups isn’t just about aesthetics – it can help your performance. These curls act as a dynamic warm-up, increasing blood flow and activating the elbow flexors so they’re primed and ready to pull.
This neural priming effect boosts motor-unit recruitment in the muscles that stabilize and assist during pull-ups. That means your body is more “awake” and responsive once you get on the bar. Think of curls as flipping the “on” switch for your pull-up muscles.
“The groundwork of all happiness is health.” – Leigh Hunt
2. Pre-Exhaustion: Target the Back More Directly
Pre-exhaustion is a time-tested technique in strength training. Here’s how it works: you fatigue a specific muscle (like the biceps) with an isolation exercise (like curls), and then move to a compound exercise (like pull-ups). Because the biceps are already tired, your larger back muscles—like the lats and teres major—must step up.
This forces greater activation in your upper back during pull-ups, leading to more effective hypertrophy and strength gains in that region over time.
3. Fix the Weak Link: Strengthen Your Elbow Flexors
Sometimes, it’s not your back holding you back—it’s your biceps. If your elbow flexors can’t keep up, they become the limiting factor in your pull-up performance. By training curls first, you apply more direct overload to the biceps, turning them into a strength asset rather than a liability.
Over time, stronger biceps mean more complete, controlled pull-ups—and faster progression.
4. How to Program Curls Before Pull-Ups
Ready to try this strategy? Here are some quick tips:
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Choose the Right Intensity: Use moderate weight (about 50–70% of your one-rep max) for 8–12 curls. Avoid going to failure.
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Rest Strategically: Rest just 30 seconds to 2 minutes between curls and pull-ups to preserve the pre-exhaustion effect without wiping out your strength.
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Structure Your Sets: Try 2–3 rounds of curls followed by pull-ups at the start of your session. Then finish with straight pull-up sets once your biceps recover.
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Vary Your Angles: Mix up your curl (hammer, incline, dumbbell) and pull-up grips (pronated, neutral, supinated) to train across different planes and muscle fibers.
The Bottom Line
Curls before pull-ups might sound like bro-science—but when done right, they can actually fast-track your results. By warming up the right muscles, shifting the load to your back, and addressing weak links, this combo helps you build smarter strength and overcome frustrating plateaus.
So the next time you hit the gym, grab those dumbbells before you hit the bar—you might be surprised by the gains that follow.
“Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t.” – Rikki Rogers
For more ideas about how you can Move to better health, check out our other articles!