Barbell Standing Wide-grip Curl

How to do the Barbell Standing Wide-grip Curl

1. 1Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly soft for balance.
2. 2Grip the barbell with an underhand (palms-up) grip, hands set wider than shoulder-width.
3. 3Lift the bar so it hangs at arm's length against the front of your thighs, arms fully extended.
4. 4Pin your elbows close to your sides and brace your core to lock your torso in place.
5. 5Curl the bar upward by flexing at the elbows, keeping your upper arms still.
6. 6Squeeze your biceps at the top, raising the bar to around shoulder height without swinging.
7. 7Lower the bar under control back to the starting position, fully straightening your arms.
8. 8Complete your reps, then set the bar down safely with control.

Form tips

• Move only at the elbow joint; if your upper arms drift forward, the front shoulders take over and steal tension from the biceps.
• Use a controlled tempo on the way down (about 2–3 seconds) to keep the biceps and brachialis under load through the full range.
• Keep your wrists straight and stacked over your forearms rather than letting them curl back under the load.
• Pick a weight you can lift with strict elbow flexion alone; the wide grip exposes any cheating immediately.

Common mistakes

• Swinging the torso or using a hip thrust to heave the bar up, which shifts work off the biceps and strains the lower back.
• Letting the elbows drift forward and away from your sides, which recruits the shoulders and shortens the range the biceps work through.
• Bending the wrists back at the top, which loads the wrist joint and reduces the contraction in the biceps.
• Dropping the bar quickly on the way down, wasting the eccentric portion of the rep where much of the muscle growth happens.

Frequently asked questions