The squat of bicep exercises, the standing barbell curl is a great mass-builder and is a great choice for the foundation of your biceps routine. Try to lift heavy on this one, but never so heavy that you are unable to keep proper form or lose focus on the exercise’s movement or the muscles being worked. You can also perform standing barbell curls with an E-Z curl bar (cambered bar) if you already have or want to prevent wrist injuries. The nature of the bar reduces supination (twisting) of the wrists which slightly reduces the amount of stress on the biceps, but it’s worth it to prevent injury.
Performance: With your knees slightly bent and your feet about hip-width apart, take hold of a barbell (or E-Z curl bar) with a shoulder-width, underhand grip (if using the E-Z curl bar, be sure your grasp the bar so your wrists are turned inward). Let the bar hang to your thighs. Keeping your abs tight and your elbows fixed in position, slowly curl the bar in an arc toward your shoulders as you exhale. At the top of the movement, pause and squeeze your biceps, then slowly lower the bar back down. Don’t let the bar touch your thighs at the bottom of the movement in order to keep continuous tension on your biceps throughout the exercise.
Muscle Emphasis: strong emphasis on the biceps muscle, secondary stress on the forearm flexors
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