The Wide-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 Wide-Grip Barbell Curl
Load a barbell and stand upright with your feet about hip-width apart.
Grip the bar palms up with your hands set wider than your shoulders.
Let the bar rest across your thighs with your elbows straight.
Pin your elbows to your sides and curl the bar toward your chest.
Squeeze the biceps at the top without letting your elbows travel forward.
Lower the bar under control to full extension and repeat.
02 The payoff
Why it earns its spot
Trains the inner part of the biceps that a shoulder-width grip works less.
Adds a low-cost variation to arm blocks that already use standard curls.
The fixed bar keeps both arms moving on exactly the same path.
03 Don't do this
Common mistakes
Arching the back to swing the bar up, which trades biceps work for lumbar strain.
Letting the elbows flare out with the wide grip, which drags the shoulders into the lift.
Keeping the same load as a shoulder-width curl, which breaks form at the wrists.
Stopping short at the bottom, which cuts out the stretched half of the range.
EGON Put it on record
Track it in EGON.
Log every set of the Wide-Grip Barbell Curl, get your PRs detected automatically, earn aura for the work — and climb five leagues of statues, from Stone to Ego.
