If you are looking for a bicep exercise that will enhance your biceps growth and strength, then the Standing EZ Bar Curl is for you!
Standing EZ-Bar biceps curls help enhance the biceps’ growth and strength. The EZ-Bar maintains a more regular position for the wrists and elbows, which can significantly eliminate physical pain and discomfort associated with a standard barbell.
What Is An EZ Bar Curl?
So, what is an EZ Bar?
An EZ curl bar is a bar built with an angled design, it’s a perfect bar to train biceps and triceps muscles.
What is an EZ Biceps Bar Curls Exercise?
The EZ Bar curl is biceps isolation pulling exercise that targets both heads of the biceps without putting excessive stress on the wrists of people with limited capacity to supinate their hands.
Standing EZ-bar curls are slightly similar to standard (straight) bar curls, except they are performed with the arched EZ bar. The EZ-bar grip is more technically accurate, but it requires more effort from the brachioradialis and biceps long head muscle.
How To Perform EZ Bar Curls Properly
Watch this video for a better understanding.
Step 1
At your feet, position the EZ bar with the required amount of weight attached to it.
Step 2
In the starting position: hold the EZ-bar with your hands with a supinated grip, shoulder-width wide, your palms facing up.
Step 3
Maintain a straight back and a straight-up body and your head looking forward. Now exhale and curl the barbell upwards by using your bicep muscles.
For optimal contraction, squeeze your biceps at the top of the movement for 2 to 3 seconds.
Note: Don’t try to sway your upper body in order to raise the weighted bar.
Step 4
Inhale deeply and drop down the EZ barbell back to the starting position, do it slowly until your elbows are completely extended to keep your biceps under tension, and rip more fibers.
Repeat until all reps are completed, do about 8 – 14 reps.
Pro Tip: When you do this exercise, keep your chest and elbows a little forward. This will help your biceps more contracted.
What Muscles Does Standing EZ Bar Curl Work
| Primary muscles | Biceps brachii |
| Secondary muscles | Brachialis and Brachioradialis |
Although curls are primarily a biceps workout, they engage multiple upper arm muscles.
Each one is briefly described below:
- Biceps brachii: Curls primarily target the biceps brachii or biceps.
- Brachialis: All curl types engage the brachialis to a certain level, but it appears that choosing a more neutral grip activates it the most.
- Brachioradialis: The brachioradialis is a forearm muscle that allows forearm supination and pronation.
Best Variations Of EZ Bar Curl
Close-Grip EZ Bar Curl
In this exercise, you grip the end of the EZ bar very tightly. This is a good way to work on your long head biceps.
The major difference between this exercise and standard EZ bar curls is that the hands are pretty close together on the EZ bar.
A lot of people think that this helps to build the outer head of the biceps and its peak, that’s true. This type of curl is usually done with 8 to 12 reps per one set with a total of 4 sets, but it can also be done for a lot of reps and sets.
Wide-Grip Bar Curl
The EZ wide grip bar curl is an effective workout for strengthening the inner biceps muscle.
The wide-grip barbell curl is a variation of the standard barbell curl that features a grip that is broader than the shoulder width.
This is supposed to help with the development of the biceps’ inner or short head. Typically, this exercise is performed for a medium to a high number of reps, like 8-12 reps each set.
Cable EZ Bar Curl
Cable curls are simply standing dumbbell curls that are performed with a cable machine rather than dumbbells, you can alternate this exercise with cable concentration curls to maximize your muscle growth.
To make the cable curling easy, you can choose a lesser resistance, raise the height of the cable rack, or get a step closer to the machine.
Alternatively, if you want more support while performing the exercise, execute it while seated on a bench, maintaining a proper and straight posture.
EZ Bar Spider Curl
The EZ-bar spider curl is a biceps-targeting exercise that’s done face down on an incline bench or the flat side of a preacher bench.
It is also good to get a relaxed wrist posture, while the angle isolates the biceps while limiting shoulder muscle engagement.
The EZ bar spider curl is a popular workout for developing the bicep, brachialis, and brachioradialis muscles. In comparison to a dumbbell spider curl, incline EZ bar spider curls give less bicep isolation.
Nevertheless, they let you lift extra weight and further overload your biceps with pressure.
EZ Bar Drag Curls
EZ bar drag curls are an efficient and safe workout for bicep brachii training. This is because simple bar lifts position your wrists semi-supinated.
While the barbell drag curl is less common than the regular barbell bicep curl, it is an extremely effective bicep workout.
If you want to increase the size, strength, and attractiveness of your arms, the barbell drag curl is the exercise for you.
Read Also: Hammer Curls Vs Reverse Curls – Best Option For You
Benefits Of EZ Bar Curls
1. More Muscle Activation
The winner in terms of bicep activation is the EZ curl bar an easy-to-use curl bar. The regular biceps bar came in second place.
With the EZ bar, your can activate the long head and short head of the biceps at the same time without using a lot of variations
2. Better Balance Of The Body
A lot of curl bars are about five feet long, which means that the weight plates are closer to your center of gravity.
Instead of bouncing the bar and plates, you can focus on driving that weight straight up and down for the most muscle activation and growth possible, instead of wobbling them.
3. Very Comfortable Grip
The angles on the EZ curl bar eliminate the need for an external rotation that a standard bar requires. When you grip the bar in this way, your forearms don’t have to be fully supinated, It doesn’t make your wrists fully outwarded.
The semi-supinated posture is just more comfortable in the palms and wrists of the majority of weightlifters.
FAQs: People Also Ask About EZ Bar Curl
Is A Standing EZ Curl Bar Effective?
Without a doubt, the EZ Curl bar is ideal for bicep training. The disadvantage of the straight bar is that you are more concerned with not dropping the barbell than with getting a good bicep exercise.
With the EZ Curl bar, less load is exerted on your wrists, resulting in less discomfort. This translates into less worrying about the total weight you use.
The EZ bar is good for anyone who has wrist issues!
However, A straight bar is better for curls if you want to grow your arms and increase muscle mass as quickly as possible.
Seated VS Standing EZ Bar Curl, Which Is Better?
In order to grow and isolate your bicep’s long head and short head muscles, you should do bicep curls while sitting down.
Because standing bicep curls are easier to do while engaging your core or swaying, they don’t target as hard enough on the bicep muscle, which means they don’t lead to more muscle growth.
generally, if your goal is to gain muscles, then, the standing EZ bar curl is not worth it compared to seated EZ bar curls.
Seated bicep curls will be a lot easier, and they won’t put as much stress on your back and lower body.
How Many Reps For Standing EZ Bar Curls?
It is definitely beneficial to perform biceps exercises in the T2 rep range.
Use 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps (the best for muscle growth)
Heavier can be beneficial for growth as well, particularly for someone looking to enhance their arm’s mass who has solely exercised them with greater reps each session.
The Verdict
The EZ bar curl is a never-fail exercise. It’s the ideal biceps movement for people who have wrist problems because it allows for a more natural wrist posture.
However, you are not limited to performing this exercise alone; there are several alternatives that work quite as well.
If you have any queries, feel free to leave them in the comments section below!
Sghir Hassane
Hi there, I’m the founder & editor of optimalbodypill.com. Because of stress and an unhealthy lifestyle, I’ve decided to start my fitness journey through bodyweight and also weight training. Now, I enjoy sharing my tiny experience with fitness & gym equipment, I’ve tested tons of gym products, accessories, and supplements for over 4 years now.
Good Luck!
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