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The Standing Barbell Curl has been much maligned in
recent years with some claiming that technically it's
really an inferior exercise for developing biceps' mass.
Others continue to swear by this old standard and make
it an intricate part of their arm development strategy.

Having done my fair share of every type of curl, I
still see an important place for the Standing Barbell
Curl with two important stipulations: I'm convinced that
the keys to getting great results with this exercise are
form and grip.

There's no doubt that most people don't get as much as
they can out of Barbell Curls because they use terrible
form. While it's occasionally OK to cheat on a forced
rep or two by swinging the weight up a bit, by-and-large
you want to keep your body still, your elbows in tight
to your sides, and your biceps pumping.

The other often overlooked key is, of course, hand
position. While variation is always a good idea, I
prefer to use a fairly narrow grip with most of my
Barbell Curls. Eight to twelve inches apart is about
right.

By keeping your grip in tight, you'll hit both the
medial and lateral heads on the biceps hard. Using a
wider grip tend to shift the stress onto the medial
head, taking the lateral head pretty much out of the
picture.

An added benefit of a narrower grip is that you'll also
work the brachialis fairly significantly. As I've
written many times, the brachialis is one of the real
keys to developing that fully peaked, muscular line to
the biceps.

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