Barbell CurlMuscles Worked
The barbell curl works your biceps, with your forearms helping to grip the bar and assist the elbow bend. Holding one bar with both hands lets you load the curl more than other variations, which makes it easy to track your progress.
How to do it
- Stand tall holding a barbell with an underhand grip, hands about shoulder width apart and arms straight.
- Pin your elbows near your sides and brace your abs.
- Curl the bar up in an arc by bending your elbows, keeping your upper arms still.
- Squeeze your biceps at the top, with the bar near shoulder height.
- Lower the bar slowly until your arms are fully straight again.
Form tips
- Don't swing your hips or lean back, because needing momentum means the weight is too heavy.
- Stop your elbows from drifting forward at the top, which takes tension off your biceps.
- Lower all the way to straight arms on every rep so your biceps work through the full range.
Why it made the list
No. 1 of 12
Best Bicep Exercises
The foundational bicep exercise. Allows heaviest loading. Everyone knows it. Simple progressive overload.
More bicep exercises
See it on your own body map
Log your Barbell Curl sets in KasMaker and watch your biceps and forearms fill in on the map, weighted by how much you did. Logging and the body map are free on iPhone.
