9 Best Barbell Bicep Exercises

Benefits of Barbell Exercises

There are many benefits to free weight exercises like those using a barbell. For example, the movement is more natural and functional than most cable or machine variations.

In addition, the barbell is more versatile, opening up several exercise variations without needing tons of equipment. So you can do these exercises at any gym or with a basic home gym setup.

Here are some of the other benefits of barbell exercises:

1. Strength Gains: Barbell exercises are great for increasing total body strength because they allow you to lift heavy weights and work multiple muscle groups at once.
2. Muscle Growth: Barbell exercises are also effective for building muscle mass. By challenging your muscles with heavy weights, you can stimulate muscle growth and improve muscle size and definition.
3. Calorie Burn: Barbell exercises can be intense and require a lot of energy, which means they can help you burn a significant number of calories compared to machines. This can help you lose weight or maintain a healthy weight.
4. Convenience: Barbell exercises can be done at home or in a gym, making them a convenient option for those who want to exercise regularly but don’t have access to a gym or fancy equipment. Additionally, many barbell exercises are simple and easy to learn, which means you can start seeing results quickly.
5. Work Both Bicep Heads: The barbell allows you to perform exercises that work both the long head (outer part) and short head (inner part) of the bicep.

Types of Barbells for Bicep Exercises

Before we get into the exercise list, it’s a good idea to talk about different types of bars you might see. Typically, the word barbell refers to a long, straight weightlifting bar.

But there are a few other bars you might want to use for bicep exercises, too. So let’s look at the definitions and differences between these bars.

Conventional Weightlifting Barbell

A weightlifting or Olympic barbell is a straight bar that typically measures about 7 feet long and weighs 44 to 45 lbs (20-20.5kg). These bars are most commonly found in commercial and home gyms due to their versatility and durability.

For example, weightlifting bars can be used for many exercises, including squats, deadlifts, bench presses, and overhead presses. And, of course, you can also use this barbell for bicep exercises.

Olympic Barbell Bicep Exercises

Most gyms have a straight barbell, whether an Olympic bar or a fixed-weight bar. So let’s start with the best bicep exercises using this standard piece of equipment.

1. Barbell Curl

The traditional barbell curl should be a staple exercise in any arm-building workout routine. The heavy bar and additional weight plates are excellent for building bicep size and strength.

Here’s how to do a barbell bicep curl:

1. Grab the barbell with an underhand grip, with your palms facing up and your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
2. Keep your elbows close to your body and your upper arms stationary, and slowly curl the barbell upwards towards your chest while keeping your wrists straight.
3. Pause at the top of the movement for a second, squeezing your biceps and slowly lowering the barbell back down to the starting position.
4. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Tips:

• Avoid swinging your body or using momentum to lift the weight. Instead, keep your body stable and focus on using your biceps to curl the barbell.
• Exhale as you lift the barbell, and inhale as you lower it.
• Use a weight that challenges you but allows you to maintain proper form throughout the exercise.

EZ Bar Bicep Exercises

The EZ bar is probably the second most common type of bar found in gyms. Many basement or garage gym owners have an adjustable EZ bar. And fitness clubs often have the fixed-weight version.

So here are some barbell bicep exercises using the EZ bar.

4. EZ Bar Curl

The EZ bar curl is identical to the standard barbell curl except for your hand position. Again, the EZ bar puts your hands in a slightly more natural position to take some strain off your wrists.

In addition, you can use either a narrow or wide grip with the EZ bar. You should feel the narrow grip a little more in your outer bicep. By comparison, the wide grip is best for hitting the inner bicep.

Here’s a short video showing you how to do a wide-grip EZ bar curl:

6. Barbell Spider Curl

Spider curls are another exercise variation that puts your upper arms in front of your torso to work the inner bicep. However, with this exercise, you lie face down on an incline bench with your arms hanging down.

In addition, you don’t have a preacher bench supporting the back of your upper arms. So spider curls require you to hold your elbows in place while curling the bar.

Here’s how to do barbell spider curls:

1. Set an incline bench at a 30 to 45-degree angle. Grab the bar with an underhand grip and your hands shoulder-width apart.
2. Begin with your arms fully extended and your shoulders directly over the bar.
3. Keep your upper arms stationary and curl the barbell towards your forehead by bending your elbows.
4. Pause at the top of the movement, squeezing your biceps and slowly lowering the barbell to the starting position.
5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Tricep Bar Bicep Exercise

The tricep bar is perfect for neutral grip exercises like skull crushers. But it’s also an excellent way to do barbell hammer curls for targeting your outer biceps.

7. Barbell Hammer Curls

Hammer curls are generally a bicep exercise performed using dumbbells. In fact, they get their name from how the dumbbell looks like the head of a swinging hammer when curled with a neutral grip.

However, the parallel bar handles of the tricep bar perfectly replicate the “palms in” grip of hammer curls. And the closeness of the handles makes your arms rotate across your body, which further targets the outer bicep.

Here’s how to do a barbell hammer curl:

1. Grab the tricep bar with your palms facing in and stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart.
2. Next, curl the bar towards your chest while keeping your upper arms relatively still.
3. Squeeze your biceps at the top before slowly lowering the bar back to the starting position.
4. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Landmine Barbell Bicep Exercises

Next are barbell bicep exercises involving the landmine attachment. These exercises offer the ability to perform single-arm or unilateral bicep exercises using the barbell. So it’s kind of like turning your barbell into a dumbbell!

8. Landmine Cross-Body Curl

The landmine cross-body curl is a barbell bicep exercise replicating the cross-body dumbbell curl. Again, this arm position helps isolate the outer bicep. But the underhand grip also targets the inner bicep. So this exercise is good for working both heads.

Here’s how to do a landmine cross-body curl:

1. Start by standing perpendicular to the landmine barbell and hold the bar sleeve with an underhand grip.
2. Next, curl the bar up and across your body, following the natural arc of the barbell.
3. Squeeze your bicep at the top before lowering the bar back to the starting position.
4. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Barbell Bicep Workout

I recommend including at least one barbell bicep exercise in your next arm workout. But, if you want, you could do an entire bicep workout with only a barbell!

One advantage of this workout is that you can rapidly change exercises, which saves time. In addition, you can burn more calories by mainly performing standing exercises.

This workout includes multiple hand and arm positions to hit both heads of your biceps. And repetitions from as low as 6 reps up to 15 reps to exhaust as many muscle fibers as possible.

Example Barbell Bicep Workout:

• Barbell Curl
  • 4 sets, 6-10 reps
• Barbell Preacher Curl (or Spider Curl)
  • 4 sets, 8-12 reps
• Barbell Drag Curl (or Reverse Curl)
  • 4 sets, 8-12
• Landmine Concentration Curl
  • 4 sets, 10-15 reps