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Barbell Standing Wide Grip Curl animation

How to do the Barbell Standing Wide Grip Curl

BicepsBarbellIntermediate

The barbell standing wide grip curl shifts emphasis onto the short head of the biceps, building the thick inner mass that makes your arms look powerful from the front. Master the mechanics here and you unlock a fuller, more complete bicep development that standard shoulder-width curls simply cannot deliver.

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Muscles worked

Primary
Biceps
Secondary
BrachialisForearms

Step-by-step

  1. Set your grip wider than shoulder width on the barbell with an underhand grip, stand tall with your core braced and elbows pinned at your sides.
  2. Curl the barbell upward in a controlled arc, keeping your elbows fixed and driving purely through elbow flexion.
  3. Squeeze the biceps hard at the top when the bar reaches upper chest height, resisting the urge to swing or shrug.
  4. Lower the barbell slowly over two to three counts back to full arm extension, maintaining tension throughout the descent.

Common mistakes

  • Allowing the elbows to flare forward as the weight rises, which transfers load off the biceps onto the front delts. Keep elbows anchored at your sides throughout the entire rep.
  • Using momentum and lumbar extension to swing the bar up, turning a bicep exercise into a lower back stress test. Lock your torso upright and earn every inch of the curl.
  • Cutting the range of motion short at the bottom by not fully extending the arms, which eliminates the critical stretch under tension. Straighten completely at the bottom of each rep to maximize muscle stimulus.

Pro tip — At the top of each rep, actively rotate your pinkies slightly upward to achieve peak supination, this final wrist turn maximally contracts the short head of the biceps and noticeably intensifies the squeeze beyond what grip alone achieves.

Sets & reps by goal

Build muscle3–4 sets × 10–15 reps
Get stronger3–4 sets × 6–8 reps
Lose fat / tone3 sets × 12–20 reps

Rest: 60–90 sec between sets.

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