Wide Grip Barbell Curl : How to, Benefits, Mistakes, Best Variations

Wide grip barbell curl is a good exercise for the hand muscles, especially the biceps muscles, as it helps to strengthen the muscles as well as stimulate the muscles to grow and gain lean muscle mass.

If you want to focus on the biceps muscles or want to target the muscles precisely, there is no doubt that the wide grip barbell curl will be good and will work on developing your muscles.

In this post, we will approach this exercise more, as we will learn how to do it correctly and safely, as well as we will learn about the effect of the wide grip on the muscles, as well as you will know the benefits that you get, as well as the mistakes that you must avoid to improve performance and benefit more and As well as avoiding injuries, as we will get acquainted with the variables of wide grip barbell curl, as well as the difference between it and close grip barbell curls.

Let’s continue together!

What is a wide grip barbell curl

Barbell curl is an isolation exercise for the biceps muscles where the bar is pulled towards the shoulders by curling the biceps and extending the elbows again, and wide grip barbell curl is the same exercise but your grip on the bar is wider than shoulder width and tends to target the short head of the biceps muscle more than the long head.

Wide grip barbell curl is an exercise intended for people who want to target the inner part (the short head) and is also suitable for training the biceps muscles and stimulating them to grow and build strength in addition to the rest of the other variables.

Utility : Basic

Force : Pull

Mechanics : Isolated

Wide grip barbell curl muscle worked

A wide grip barbell curl exercise targets the biceps brachii and focuses on extending the short head more so that your grip is wide on the bar, and this leads to the extension and contraction of the inner part of the biceps.

Target muscles :

• Biceps brachii : The biceps muscles are targeted because they are the only muscle with which expansion and contraction occur during the barbell curl exercise, so that the muscle expands by extending the elbow and contracts while bending the elbow to the shoulders.

Synergist :

• Brachialis : It is located in the depth of the biceps and is a strong flexor for the elbow, and it works while moving the forearm from the bottom up or vice versa.

• Brachioradialis : It is located in the back of the forearm in a place between the elbow and the wrist, and it also acts as a flexor for the elbow, especially when it is in a neutral position.

Stabilizers :

Deltoid (anterior), Traps (upper, middle), Wrist flexor

Source : ExRx.net

How to perform wide grip barbell curls correctly

Wide grip barbell curl is a very easy exercise and you can master it after a few attempts, all you have to do is follow the instructions below in order to take the correct form and technique in order to obtain satisfactory results and also avoid injury.

Step-by-step to mastering wide grip barbell curls:

• First, choose the weight you want to go with (if you don’t have any experience with weights, go with an empty bar as a start).

• Also, choose a long bar because we will run out of a wide grip.

• Stand up straight and spread your feet shoulder-width apart.

• Grab the bar in such a way that your palms are facing forward and the inner part of your forearms are facing forward as well.

• Keep your fists wider than shoulder-width apart (you should look like a mountain while holding the bar in front of you).

• Keep your arms extended downward and keep your elbows next to your torso throughout the exercise.

• Engage your biceps before doing the curl and keep your chest tight and pushed forward.

• Slowly pull the bar toward your chest until you have fully contracted the biceps, then pause.

• Slowly extend your elbows again until you are in the previous position, then repeat again, and so on.

Pro tip for improving your performance with wide grip barbell curls:

Although wide grip barbell curls seem easier than drinking water, they require proper form and technique to do them successfully, so first make sure you go with the right weight and secondly try to keep your back neutral and the rest of your body too except for your biceps.

Also, while doing the repetitions, try to keep your wrist straight, that is, do not twist it while pulling the weight to the chest, because this makes you put pressure on the wrist, and therefore there is not enough resistance to exhaust the biceps muscles.

Maintain a good posture throughout the exercise, keep your shoulders down and pushed back a little, and incorporate the core.

This is an isolation exercise and requires focusing on the targeted muscle well, so you must play this role and you must remain calm and avoid any kind of swing or momentum to pull the weight because this reduces the quality of the exercise and you do not target the muscles well.

Building massive biceps with barbell curl:

Bar curls can help you achieve this goal. Hypertrophy occurs when you target the muscle with a set of repetitions that cause the muscle to fail (eg: you do a set of 10 slow repetitions, you should go with a weight that causes the muscle to fail on repetitions 7 or 8) Because the heavy load is what forces the muscle to grow so that the fibers tear well and rebuild themselves in a strong and huge way, also this is achieved along with a healthy diet full of macronutrients.

Build stamina and strength with biceps curl:

Also, this goal can be easy with a barbell curl exercise. When the goal is to build a strong and enduring biceps muscle, you must rely on light or moderate weights, but you must raise the number of repetitions and groups, and rely on the fast rhythm as well. 

The movement must be Fast This is what CrossFit athletes depend on to build muscle endurance, also do not forget that this is also achieved if a healthy diet is provided.

Also, one of the secrets of building muscle endurance is controlling the rhythm, such as stopping in the middle of repetitions and adopting a good slow rhythm in order to keep the muscle under intense pressure. 

Also during barbell curls you can keep some bending on the elbow and return to biceps curls again, meaning that you do not fully extend your elbows at the end of each repetition, and this keeps the muscle under pressure until the end of the exercise.

Know about the effects on muscles during wide grip bb curls

Wide grip barbell curl common mistakes

For beginners, it is normal for them to make mistakes, but you must work to fix them as soon as possible, because they will not lead you anywhere with your muscle-building journey or fitness goals, so that they can cause you injury or damage to the muscles or something else, and may hinder your plan in the end. So it is necessary to work on fixing your mistakes during the exercises.

Here are the most common mistakes made during a wide grip barbell curl:

Use your shoulders or back to lift the weight.

Think carefully, when other parts of the body intervene in pulling the weight, this keeps the biceps muscles in a resting position, that is, while pulling the weight with your back or shoulders, this does not serve the interest of the biceps, and therefore there is no benefit. 

We are doing an isolation exercise, so you must keep your focus fully on Contraction and extension of the biceps muscles and the feeling of them tearing.

You allow your elbows to flare up.

Also, the elbows should remain on both sides of the stump throughout the exercise, as you allow your elbows to flare up, this makes it difficult to integrate the biceps well and this leads to excessive stress on the elbows, instead try to keep your elbows fixed and neutral and avoid stress on the elbow joints.

Rounding your back.

This mistake is made by many, and this is due to lack of experience, or some people face a problem with straightening the back, so if you are facing this problem, you must first practice keeping your back straight while doing the exercises.

When you arch your back during a barbell curl, you put the back muscles under unwanted pressure and you may suffer from injury or pain in the neck and back, so you must keep your back as straight as possible.

Going with weights that exceed your fitness level.

For beginners, this is not in their favor and can serve the opposite of your expectations and may hinder the growth of your muscles, because your level of fitness cannot bear heavy weights and can cause muscle stiffness or deformed growth, and it can also be a cause of injury or muscle damage.

So go with weights that you can handle and suit your fitness level, because this is beneficial for the muscles and helps to develop and build muscles. You can also add weights gradually when you feel that you have the ability to do so.

You do a lot of momentum or swing.

Also, this is a common mistake, and the reason for its occurrence is the heavy weight because you cannot pull the weight to you without swinging and helping yourself to do a successful repetition, but this also serves the opposite of what you expect and the exercise is of low quality.

What are the benefits you get when performing biceps curls?

• It strengthens the biceps, as well as increases muscle endurance and size as well.

• The stability of the shoulder blades becomes better.

• Improve grip strength and this helps you progress with other exercises.

• Get a better posture.

• Reduces the possibility of injury to the shoulder joint.

• Promotes bone density and strengthens it as well.

Now let’s understand the difference between the close grip curl and wide grip curl

Close-grip barbell curls and wide-grip barbell curls are two variants of the barbell curl exercise that specifically target your biceps.

A wide grip barbell curl is done by placing a distance between your fists more than the width of your shoulders, while a close grip barbell curl is done by placing a close distance between your fists on the bar, often the distance is shoulder width or less.

• Muscle activation : a wide grip tends to target the inner part of the biceps muscle (the short head), while a close grip tends to target the long head, i.e. the outer part.

• Range of motion : Here, a wide grip excels, as it allows you a greater range of motion than a close grip, and this helps to improve flexibility and movement of the shoulder joints.

• Grip Strength : A close grip requires a strong grip compared to a wide grip, so this means that close grip barbell curls help improve grip strength even more.

• Shoulder stability : Wide grip curls put more pressure on the shoulder joint. This improves the stability of the entire shoulder and reduces the possibility of injuries to the shoulder joint.

Best 3 variations of wide grip curls

Variants can be useful to break up the routine of doing the same exercise over and over again to target a specific muscle, so here are the best wide grip curl variations to target your biceps (short head) muscle well.

1 – Wide grip seated curls:

This is one of the traditional variants that targets the same muscles in the same way. The difference is that you are in a seated position and the steps of the exercise remain the same. What distinguishes seated barbell curls is that you completely eliminate the lower part of the body and your focus remains entirely on the biceps.

2 – Wide Grip preacher curls:

If you want to target the biceps muscles in a very effective way, you must do an exercise that keeps your elbows steady throughout the exercise, and this is exactly what Preacher helps you do, so that you are sitting on the bench and in front of you is an inclined pillow that you put your elbows on and hold the bar with a wide grip and you curl the biceps in a comfortable way and more tighter.

3 – Wide Grip incline Curls:

The Incline position requires an adjustable bench as you adjust the bench in an inclined position of about 45 degrees, hold a bar with a wide grip and keep your elbows to the sides and then do a barbell curl, this position makes the exercise more challenging for your biceps although it can be difficult to control the movement Elbows, but this exercise can be considered as a challenge that you do in some classes (that is, you should not rely on it too much).

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