EZ-Bar Curls

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, gripping an EZ-bar on the inner angled portion with an underhand grip. Curl the bar up to shoulder height by flexing your biceps, keeping your elbows pinned at your sides. Lower with control to full arm extension.

Pro Tips

• The angled grip reduces wrist strain compared to a straight barbell
• Keep your elbows stationary — don’t let them drift forward
• Great for lifters who experience wrist discomfort with straight bar curls

Muscles worked

Primary: Biceps brachii — both the long head (outer) and short head (inner) are activated in elbow flexion. The semi-supinated grip of the EZ-bar also engages the brachioradialis (forearm) more than a straight bar curl, because the angled grip places the forearm between full supination and neutral pronation.

Supporting: Brachialis (elbow flexion, underlying the bicep), forearm flexors (wrist stabilisation during the curl).

Common mistakes

Elbow drift: Allowing the elbows to swing forward as you curl turns the movement into a partial front raise and uses shoulder momentum to complete the lift. Elbows stay pinned at your sides — if they move, the weight is too heavy.

Partial range of motion: Not reaching full arm extension at the bottom removes the stretch reflex and reduces bicep length-tension loading. Lower the bar until your arms are fully extended on each rep.

Curling with the wrists: Flexing the wrists at the top of the curl adds a small range of motion but compromises grip stability. The curl should come entirely from elbow flexion.

Swinging the torso: Leaning back to help complete a rep is a common cheat that offloads the bicep at the point where it’s hardest — near lockout. If you are swinging, drop the weight by 10 percent.

Programming notes

EZ-bar curls are the most common direct bicep exercise in structured hypertrophy programs and serve as a staple in push/pull/legs and upper/lower splits. The angled grip makes them sustainable across high volumes without the wrist strain that can accumulate from straight bar curls over months of training.

Typical programming: 3–4 sets of 8–12 repetitions for hypertrophy, or 10–15 for higher-rep pump work. They pair naturally with a hammer curl or concentration curl to cover both the supinated and neutral grip angles of bicep training within the same session.

Frequently asked questions

Are EZ-bar curls better than straight barbell curls for bicep growth?

Both movements train elbow flexion and produce comparable bicep hypertrophy when volume and load are matched. The EZ-bar’s angled grip places your forearm in a semi-supinated position, which reduces torque on the wrists and elbows — making it the more sustainable choice for most lifters across a full training career. If you have no wrist issues, a straight bar will produce slightly more supination and may provide a marginally greater bicep stimulus, but the difference is small enough that joint comfort should be the deciding factor.

How much weight should I use for EZ-bar curls?

Pick a weight that allows you to complete all reps with your elbows staying pinned at your sides and the bar reaching full extension at the bottom. For most lifters targeting hypertrophy, that means a load where the last two reps of each set are genuinely hard but your form stays intact. Starting too heavy and relying on body swing is a common trap — drop the weight, own the range of motion, and add load progressively each week. A good starting point is roughly 30–40% of your bodyweight for a working set of 10 reps.

Should I fully extend my arms at the bottom of every rep?

Yes. Lowering to full arm extension puts the bicep in a stretched position under load, which research consistently links to greater hypertrophic stimulus compared to partial-range curls. Cutting the range short at the bottom to keep tension on the muscle is a misconception — the stretch itself is part of the stimulus. Control the descent, pause briefly at the bottom if you want to eliminate momentum, then curl back up.