Flare your elbows wide to hammer the outer biceps.
Keep the elbows out and fixed, that wide angle is what builds the outer bicep.
Setting the elbows out wide changes the biceps' line of pull compared to a standard curl, shifting the angle the muscle works through and loading the curl from a position most lifters never train. Because the elbows stay fixed in that flared position, there is nowhere to hide, no drifting the arms in to make the rep easier. It earns its place as a variation that attacks the biceps from a fresh angle when standard curls have gone stale.
The elbow position. Regular curls pin the elbows at your sides, wide curls flare them out and keep the dumbbells outside your shoulders, changing the angle the biceps work through. Same muscle, different line of pull, noticeably different feel.
The flared position takes away the small efficiencies of a standard curl and holds the biceps in a less familiar line of pull. Most lifters need to drop the weight a step from their normal curls to keep the elbows genuinely wide.
Yes, that drift quietly turns the exercise back into a regular curl. The wide fixed elbow angle is the entire point. Lighten the dumbbells and treat elbow position as the thing you are training.
