Bicep Curl Exercise Guide
The bicep curl - the king of all bicep building exercises. The bicep curl is the bicep exercise that's going to build strength
and size in your bicep muscles. There are several variations of the bicep curl using the barbell, bicep machines, cables
and dumbells.
A good bicep workout consists of various types of bicep curl, usually starting with the standing bicep curl using a barbell or EZ bar. Using
the guides here at eBicep, you can perfect the bicep curl movement and build your bicep muscles.
On this page we will focus on the barbell bicep curl. The barbell bicep curl is the biggest bicep building exercise there is. We use the barbell
bicep curl at the beginning of all our bicep workouts because you need maximum energy to lift the heavy weights. Lifting heavy weights with this type
of curl will give you the fastest and biggest increases in bicep size and strength.
As we mentioned earlier, there are several different types of bicep curl. This page will focus on the barbell bicep curl, but you can find links
to variations of the bicep curl at the bottom of this page. Once you mastered the correct bicep curl technique in all the bicep curl exercises we
have on this site, move on to our bicep workout page.
The Standing Barbell Bicep Curl
Like we mentioned earlier, the standing barbell bicep curl is top dog for building up your bicep muscle. This variation of the bicep curl gives you
a full range of motion, working your bicep muscles hard throughout the whole movement. You can either use a straight bar, or an EZ bar with the
standing bicep curl (the EZ bar is the shorter bar with bends that you use for hand grips).
Here are eBicep, we recommend you use the EZ bar with all bicep curls that typically use a barbell. Using the EZ bar with your bicep curls puts
less strain of your wrists and also the slightly different hand angle means that the forearms and the outside of upper arm are worked a bit
harder. If you prefer to do your bicep curls with a straight bar that's find, but we recommend the EZ.
How to do a standing barbell bicep curl
Bicep Curl Setup: Pick up the barbell off the floor with your palms facing away from your body. Your grip should
be about shoulder width apart. Stand straight up with a straight back. Don't bend backwards. If it's feels comfortable, step back with one foot
for stability.
Bicep Curl Execution: Squeeze the bar tight and slowly bring it towards your upper chest. Keep your elbows tucked
into your sides. Pause at the top of the movement, and slowly lower the bar to the starting position. Keep control of the weight at all times. Don't
arch your back or swing the weight up - that's cheating!
Bicep Curl Tips
The key to the bicep curl is weight control. If you can't control the weight through the whole bicep curl, you may be lifting too heavy
or too many reps.
Don't swing the weight up, or arch your back at the top of the bicep curl. This is cheating! You must use correct for throughout the entire
bicep curl to isolate your bicep muscles and hit them hard!
To hit your bicep muscles extra hard, try limiting the range of motion slightly at the top and bottom of the bicep curl. This will keep your bicep
tense through the whole set and won't give it a chance to "rest" at the top and bottom of the movement.
Bicep Curl Variations
There are several variations of the bicep curl. We have pages for each of these bicep exercises so you can learn correct technique. The following are
some bicep curl variations:
Bicep Curl - Using Dumbells,
Bicep Preacher Curl,
Reverse Bicep Barbell Curl,
Bicep Curl - Cable,
Bicep Curl - Hammer
