The Close-Grip Barbell Curl is a beginner-friendly barbell strength exercise that targets the biceps, with the forearms working alongside. Here's how to do it right — and what to stop doing.
Primary musclesBiceps
Secondary musclesForearms
EquipmentBarbell
LevelBeginner
TypeStrength
3D demo in the EGON app
01 Execution
How to do the Close-Grip Barbell Curl
Load a straight barbell and stand with your feet about hip width apart.
Take an underhand grip with your hands inside shoulder width.
Stand tall with the bar at arms length and your elbows at your sides.
Brace your abs and curl the bar toward your shoulders.
Squeeze the biceps at the top without letting the elbows travel forward.
Lower under control, stopping just short of a locked elbow, then repeat.
02 The payoff
Why it earns its spot
Trains elbow flexion with a fixed grip width that is easy to repeat session to session.
The narrow grip shifts emphasis toward the outer part of the biceps.
A bar allows small load jumps, so progression is simple to track.
03 Don't do this
Common mistakes
Swinging the hips to start the bar moving, which takes load off the biceps.
Letting the elbows drift back behind the torso, which shortens the working range.
Gripping so narrow that the wrists ache, which limits load before the biceps are trained.
Dropping the bar quickly, which skips the eccentric where much of the stimulus sits.
EGON Put it on record
Track it in EGON.
Log every set of the Close-Grip Barbell Curl, get your PRs detected automatically, earn aura for the work — and climb five leagues of statues, from Stone to Ego.
