Standing barbell curl

Technique

1. Feet hip-width, knees not locked, trunk upright (no more than ±5°).

2. Underhand grip at shoulder width, the bar on the thighs, elbows pinned to the sides.

3. Up 1.5 s in an arc round the elbows to collarbone level (elbows no more than ~15° forward), down slowly 2.5 s.

4. No swinging the trunk and no shrugging, wrists neutral.

5. Start with the empty bar.

6. If the wrist hurts, use dumbbells.

Common mistakes

• Swinging the body — pin the elbows to your sides and use a lighter bar.
• Elbows drifting forward — keep them by your sides.
• Helping with the shoulders — only the forearms move.
• Bending the wrists — keep them neutral; if they hurt, switch to dumbbells.

More on this equipment

• Lying triceps extension with a barbelltriceps
• Bent-over barbell rowupper back, lats
• Barbell Romanian deadlifthamstrings
• Barbell hip thrust on a benchglutes