A few subtle tweaks will make this exercise much more effective at targeting the lats. But first...
What NOT To Do:
Here the elbows are tracking back, putting an anterior shearing force on the shoulder. This also works more biceps, upper back, and posterior shoulders instead of the lats.
What To Do:
You want your elbows tracking down and back – similar to a row – alleviating shearing force on the front of the shoulder while maximizing lat engagement. If you compare the two, it's obvious that this second movement bypasses the upper back and places way more tension on the lats.
Bonus: Add some handles for a more natural movement.
We love the workouts that make you ache, the ones that make you shake your fist at the heavens above. This one involves doing one-rep maxes with 60-second negatives, followed by some nice drop sets.
So you think you know how to do plain, simple, Incline Dumbbell Curls, huh? Well maybe you do, but there are at least a couple of trick you can pull to make the movement a whole lot more effective.