Standing or sitting barbell curls for biceps: which options are better for training?

Bicep curls are a key exercise for developing arm and upper body muscles. There are many variations - lifts can be performed with a straight or curved EZ bar, with dumbbells, kettlebells, on blocks or even with weights in the form of water cans.

The type of barbell grip also plays a role - it can be narrow or wide, and the palm can look up or down (the so-called “reverse grip”). Plus, the exercise can be performed standing, sitting, or in a special Scott bench (in this case, the elbow is fixed).

Technique for standing biceps exercises with a barbell

The exercise is performed with a straight bar with a medium grip:

Standing, feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent (relieve the load from the knees).
Grasp the bar from below, slightly wider than your shoulders.
Exhale: bend your arms, lifting the barbell using the efforts of your biceps.
Inhale: smoothly lower the barbell down.

It is important not to rock your body! To avoid this, you can rest your back against the wall, moving your feet slightly forward.

To work with heavy weights, you can slightly tilt your body forward, raising your elbows slightly with the help of deltoids, for maximum contraction of the biceps.

Total 4x8-12.

Narrow grip

Works the long head of the biceps , involves bringing the palms closer to each other so that the hands are located on the front surface of the thighs (the joints of the hands are narrower than the shoulder joints).

Wide grip

Designed to train the short head of the biceps. The palms are located significantly wider than the shoulder joints so that the elbows are not pressed against the body.

Also read how to do bench presses on a Scott bench →

What muscles work?

Despite the fact that the well-known name of lifting a barbell for biceps with a reverse grip is firmly attached to the exercise, in contrast to the classic lifting of a barbell for biceps, the load on this muscle is much less. Of course, the biceps work when lifting the barbell in this way, but the lion's share of the work falls on the brachialis, the brachyradialis muscles of the forearms. Stabilizers are the anterior deltoid muscles and wrist flexors.

Seated biceps curl technique

To simplify the technique and eliminate unnecessary body movements, you can perform barbell curls while sitting, leaning on the back of a vertical bench. The peculiarity of the exercise is that the arms will not extend completely; it is performed without a relaxation phase - the biceps are always tense. Avoid jerking and swinging. Also, you can perform it with a different grip to work out all the bundles of the biceps brachii muscle.

Sitting on a bench, place your palms on the bar with an underhand grip, without touching your hips, leaving a small distance, about the size of a matchbox.
Exhale: lift the barbell onto the biceps, contracting the muscle as much as possible.
Inhale: lower smoothly without touching your hips.

Also in weight gain mode it is necessary to perform 4x8-12 times.

The biceps are undoubtedly the most popular muscle group for men in the gym!

Still from the film "Conan the Barbarian"

Even the pecs or shoulders cannot compare with how often the biceps brachii muscle is worked on the “Kachkovsky” sidelines.

Sometimes pumping up your biceps with dumbbells or a barbell is generally the first thing that beginners who come to the gym grab for. Therefore, today we will look in detail (and as always with examples) at biceps exercises with a barbell.

True, first, let’s dive into a trickle of dry theory (yes, yes, this time there is very little theory, since the biceps is a small muscle and very simple in structure/function). We need this knowledge simply in order to understand what a biceps is, how it is anatomically structured and what it is responsible for.

Firstly, why is the muscle “biceps”?

Yes, because it consists of two heads - long and short.

Functions of the biceps:

bend the shoulder at the shoulder joint;
bend the forearm at the elbow joint;
supinate (rotate) the lever.

So how to pump up your biceps with a barbell? Moreover, how to do it RIGHT? Standing or sitting, with a straight or curved bar? What should the grip be: wide or narrow, straight or reverse?

We will carefully consider all these conditions in order to get a correct idea of how to make our biceps big and strong.

It's also important to mention a few of the most common misconceptions about biceps training.

Reverse grip barbell curl

The exercise is designed to strengthen the hands and forearms.

Athletes often have problems lifting and holding heavy weights precisely because of weak hands and forearms. Therefore, this exercise eliminates this problem.

Standing or sitting, grab the bar with an overhand grip, placing your fingers in a lock, thumbs underneath the bar.
Exhale: bend your arms and lift the barbell.
Inhale: lower smoothly.

Also 8-12 times with optimal weight, 4 sets.

Technique:

To make it convenient for you to take and place the barbell, place it on low racks, approximately at waist level. In the last reps, especially if you work to failure, you often no longer have the strength to hold the bar in your hands. Throwing the barbell on the floor is not an option, so low racks will come in handy. After failure, it is very convenient to put the barbell on them before it falls out of your hands.

Stand up straight.
Take the barbell in your hands with a shoulder-width grip.
Straighten your back.
Bend your legs slightly at the knees, this will help relieve the strain on your lower back.
Bend your arms slightly at the elbows. During the movement, at the lower point of the amplitude, do not fully extend your arms to avoid stretching the biceps ligaments.
Take a breath.
As you exhale, contract your biceps, bending your elbows and lifting the barbell toward your chest.
Take a break.
As you inhale, slowly lower the barbell to the starting position.
The speed of work is as follows: 1 second to rise - 2 to lower.
Do the required number of repetitions.

For maximum effectiveness, it is necessary that the biceps are constantly under load during the entire exercise. That is, they did not stop working at the upper and lower points of the amplitude.

For this:

In the lower phase of the movement, do not straighten your arms completely, this will ensure constant tension in the muscles.
At the top, do not bend your arms all the way to your chest. Otherwise, the biceps relax and the load goes to the deltoids and elbows.

When performing the exercise, you should try to keep your elbows in one position - on the sides of the body, without bringing them forward or moving them back.

Barbell curls are an exercise designed to increase overall muscle mass in the arms. Therefore, the recommended number of repetitions is from 8 to 12 (depending on your body type).

EZ barbell curl

To eliminate pain in the joints , you need to use a curved bar. You can work with any grip (wide or narrow). The exercise technique is similar to ↑ lifts with a straight bar, either standing or sitting. Therefore, feel your body, adjust your grip to the individual characteristics of the structure and sensation . Perform 4x8-12 times.

Exercise options

In addition to the regular Olympic bar, there is another, curved one. We are talking about an EZ bar. And besides the traditional barbell lift, there is also a reverse lift, which involves an overhand grip.

The main types of performing barbell curls:

lifting a barbell with a regular bar;
lifting the barbell with an EZ bar;

Using a barbell with an EZ bar.

sitting biceps curl;
lifting with a normal grip;
reverse grip lift;
lifting the barbell with a narrow grip;
wide grip lift;
lifting the barbell on a Scott bench;
rise on an incline bench.

About

Basic exercise or isolation exercise

There is often a lot of confusion surrounding the standing barbell curl among beginners. After all, some experts say that this is an isolating exercise, while others say that it is basic. Let's figure it out.

Biceps with a barbell is pure isolation, because it is a single-joint movement where only one joint works - the elbow.

The standing biceps curl is simply the most popular exercise in the world for developing arm muscles. In bodybuilding, almost no program can do without it. That is why it is considered a conditionally basic exercise.

The key word here is “conditional”. But many experts forget to say this, thereby driving beginners who are inexperienced in bodybuilding terminology into a stupor.

By the way, absolutely all biceps exercises are isolating, with the exception of reverse grip pull-ups. This is the only base for the biceps brachii muscle. True, the latissimus dorsi muscles also actively work here, taking on part of the load.

Technique for lifting the barbell while standing

Lifting the barbell using a reverse grip.

Now let's figure out how to pump up your biceps using a barbell. For this you will need an Olympic bar. If it is not there, then lifting the ez-bar is also possible. EZ bars are also used in cases where an athlete experiences severe pain in the wrists when lifting the Olympic bar.

Advice! To get rid of wrist pain, you need to warm up using an empty bar (20 kg). First, do 3 sets with it, and then move on to the workload. This technology helps many athletes.

The barbell press involves following several recommendations:

It is advisable to place the barbell on racks in advance, which will allow you not to lift it from the floor. If this is not possible, and you have to lift the barbell from the floor, then remember to have a straight back. It should be arched in the lower back, and under no circumstances should you round it, otherwise you risk muscle injury.
Grip width. Lifts can be done with a narrow, medium or wide grip. In this case, the load that can fall on the external or internal biceps bundle changes. A narrow grip emphasizes the load on the outer head, and a wide grip on the inner head, respectively.

Lifting the barbell with a narrow grip.

Elbows. If the elbows are pulled forward or parallel to the body when lifting the barbell to the top position, then the internal biceps bundle will work. Lifting the barbell onto the biceps, moving your elbows back, activates the work of the external beam.

Now let’s figure out how to properly pump the biceps with a barbell in a standing position:

To begin, grab the bar with a medium grip. In this case, the palms should face up.
Stand strictly straight, look ahead. It is best if there is a mirror in front of you. Under no circumstances should you look down.
Legs should be parallel to each other. Everyone chooses the width of the stand for themselves, but again, it should not be too wide and not too narrow.
When bending your arms, your elbows must be pressed to your body.
This will be your bottom position. Now take a deep breath and hold your breath while bending your elbows.
Raise the barbell to chest level.

Correct execution of the exercise. Elbows pressed to the body.

Advice! When lifting, do not move your elbows up. By doing this, you are helping yourself by taking the stress off your biceps, and you will not be able to achieve peak contraction at the top. Hands should not be bent at the wrists.

We also recommend studying this topic:

The correct technique for pumping up biceps with dumbbells while sitting

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Hold the barbell at the top for a few seconds and then slowly lower it to the bottom position.
It is very important that you should work within the amplitude, that is, you should not relax at the top point, and at the bottom you should not straighten your arms at the elbows. Thus, the muscles must be constantly tense. If you straighten your elbows completely, you will instantly reduce the load on your biceps, and you can assume that half the effect of the exercise is lost.

In the lower position, the elbows should not straighten.

Raise the barbell a little faster and lower it a little slower. You should not chase weight, as this can negatively affect your technique. Regarding the number of repetitions, everything is purely individual. However, there are certain criteria:

For beginners, it is best to perform 3-4 sets of 6-12 exercises each.
For more experienced ones, the following scheme is desirable: 4 sets of 18-20 exercises.

This material will be perfectly complemented by the following publications:

Arm training for girls in the gym
Training biceps and triceps in one day