Barbell Curl

PullBB

The standard bilateral biceps curl per ExRx.net: shoulder-width underhand grip, elbows fixed at the sides, curling the bar up until forearms are vertical.

Demo: Athlean-X

Sets

3

Reps

8-12

Rest

1:15

Contraindications

Elbow tendinopathy — reduce load or switch to a neutral-grip hammer curl temporarily.

Setup

Grasp the bar with a shoulder-width underhand grip, standing with elbows tucked to the sides.

Execution

  1. 1Keep elbows pinned to the sides throughout
  2. 2Curl the bar up until the forearms are vertical
  3. 3Squeeze the biceps at the top
  4. 4Lower under control until arms are fully extended

Key cues

  • Elbows stay glued to the sides, no swinging forward
  • No body lean or hip drive to cheat the weight up
  • Full extension at the bottom every rep
  • Squeeze hard at the top

Common faults

  • Swinging the torso to generate momentum
  • Elbows drifting forward, turning it into a front raise hybrid
  • Using an EZ-bar and calling it the same movement (technically a variant, not the straight-bar curl)
  • Not achieving full extension at the bottom

Tweaks

  • EZ-bar curl for reduced wrist strain
  • Wide or narrow grip variations to shift emphasis slightly
  • Add a pause at the top for extra time under tension

Regressions

Band Curl

Muscles

Primary: Biceps Brachii

Secondary: Brachialis, Forearms

Notes

The baseline biceps exercise from which nearly every curl variation (grip width, bar type, angle) is derived.

Sources

Attribution: ExRx.net / Classical Bodybuilding Canon