Seated Close-Grip Concentration Barbell Curl
Trains the Biceps.
- Equipment
- A barbell and either a flat bench or an adjustable bench
- Mechanic
- Isolation
- Force
- Pull
- Level
- Intermediate
How to do it
- Sit on the end of a flat bench with your feet flat and wide apart.
- Take a barbell with a close underhand grip and rest your upper arms against the insides of your thighs.
- Let the bar hang with the arms almost straight.
- Curl the bar up, keeping the upper arms pressed against your legs.
- Stop when the forearms are roughly vertical, then squeeze briefly.
- Lower under control until the arms are almost straight again.
Common mistakes
- Letting the upper arms come off the thighs. The legs fix the upper arm, which is the whole reason for the position; coming off them turns it into a seated curl.
- Gripping narrower than the wrists allow. A close grip on a straight bar holds the forearms in full supination with the hands together, which some wrists dislike.
- Rocking the torso back to lift. Seated with the arms braced, a backward lean is the only cheat available and it is easy to miss.
- Expecting your standing curl weight. With the upper arms fixed against the legs, nothing helps, and the load comes down.