Barbell Curl

Muscles worked by the Barbell Curl

Primary

BicepsBiceps Brachii

Secondary

BrachialisForearm FlexorsWrist Flexor Muscles

Also called: bicep, biceps brachii, biceps muscle, guns.

Equipment

Barbell

Also called: bar, olympic barbell, straight bar, olympic bar, power bar.

How to do the Barbell Curl

1. Stand holding a barbell with a shoulder-width underhand grip.
2. Curl the bar up toward your shoulders.
3. Squeeze at the top, then lower under control.
4. Repeat.

Form tips

• Avoid swinging the torso.
• Keep elbows pinned at your sides.

At a glance

Barbell Curl in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Cable Curl
• Cable Hammer Curl
• Cheat Curl
• Concentration Curl
• Cross Body Hammer Curl
• Dumbbell Bicep Curl
• Dumbbell Hammer Curl
• Dumbbell Reverse Curl

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "barbell-curl",
  "name_en": "Barbell Curl",
  "name_de": "Langhantel-Curl",
  "name_es": "Curl con Barra",
  "description_en": "A classic biceps isolation exercise using a barbell for maximal loading.",
  "description_de": "Eine klassische Bizeps-Isolationsübung mit Langhantel für maximale Belastung.",
  "description_es": "Un ejercicio clásico de aislamiento de bíceps que usa la barra para una carga máxima.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "pull",
  "mechanic": "isolation",
  "difficulty": "beginner",
  "equipment": "barbell",
  "body_part": "upper_arms",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "biceps_brachii"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "brachialis",
    "forearm_flexors"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "arm_day",
    "knee_safe",
    "shoulder_safe",
    "lower_back_safe",
    "no_axial_load"
  ],
  "variation_group": "bicep-curl",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Stand holding a barbell with a shoulder-width underhand grip.",
    "Curl the bar up toward your shoulders.",
    "Squeeze at the top, then lower under control.",
    "Repeat."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Stehe mit einem schulterbreiten Untergriff an der Langhantel.",
    "Curle die Stange zu den Schultern.",
    "Spanne oben an, dann senke kontrolliert.",
    "Wiederhole."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Párate sosteniendo una barra con agarre supino a la anchura de los hombros.",
    "Sube la barra hacia los hombros.",
    "Aprieta en la parte superior, luego baja de forma controlada.",
    "Repite."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Avoid swinging the torso.",
    "Keep elbows pinned at your sides."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Vermeide Schwung mit dem Oberkörper.",
    "Halte die Ellbogen nah am Körper."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Evita balancear el torso.",
    "Mantén los codos pegados a los costados."
  ],
  "met": 5.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/barbell-curl-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/barbell-curl-peak.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "barbell-curl");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.