15 Best EZ Curl Bar Exercises To Add To Your Workout

What a few bends in the middle can do that the straight Olympic barbell can’t? Well, it enables you to perform curls with comparatively heavier weights without risking writs injuries.

Your wrist position is more comfortable and natural on the EZ bar than the straight bar. Thus, effective use of the EZ curls bar can help you grow your arms bigger faster than many alternatives.

It is called an EZ curl bar or just curl bar and it is named so cause most of the users use it to perform bicep curls and nothing else. Not many people know that this joint-friendly curl bar can be used to perform many exercises targeting different muscle groups.

If you are looking to get more out of the curl bar at your home gym keep on reading. We have picked and explained everything you need to know about the top fifteen curling bar exercises you can add to your workout regime.

15 Best EZ Curl Bar Exercises  

Unlike the straight Olympic bars, EZ curl bars come in different angles of handles and sizes. The most common being the 4 and a half feet bar with rotating 2-inch sleeves that accommodate Olympic weight plates.

With different semi-supinated grips, EZ bars offer a safer curling bar exercises as alternative to almost all the exercises that can be performed with straight bars. Here you can find the top 15 picks of such EZ bar exercises.

EZ Bar Bicep Curls

The EZ curl bar was originally designed for performing bicep curls with better wrist positions. Even today, it is the most common curl bar exercise.

Performing bicep curls with an EZ bar instead of a straight bar allows you to hold the bar with your wrist in a more natural, semi-supinated position, thereby imparting much lower stress on the wrists. It also reduces the risk of issues like tennis elbow.

Being in a more comfortable position while performing the curls lets you lift heavier as compared to a straight bar without risking any injury, and in turn, accelerates the results.

You can include variations like close grip, medium grip, wide grip in your routine to target the long and short head of bicep brachii. You can also utilize overhand grip variation to involve more of the forearm muscles.

How to perform:

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, knees relaxed and arms close to sides
• Hold the curl bar at the suitable grip type for the intended variation
• Squeeze the bar, engage the bicep muscles and lift the loaded EZ bar closer to the chest curling at the elbow
• Keep the elbows pinned to the sides and wrists straight and strong throughout the move
• Lower the bar slowly to starting position
• Keep the neck aligned back, lower back neutral, and avoid swaying the body
• Repeat the motion for the intended number of reps

Skull Crushers

Skull crusher is one of the best curl bar exercises for triceps. Performing these lying tricep extensions or skull crushers with curl bar using close grip activates all three heads of triceps to the highest degree.

With a little more focus on the lateral head, the skull crushers work on the whole triceps plus the elbow and shoulder stabilizer muscles better than any other tricep exercise. One must include skull crushers in their curl bar workouts for strengthening the arms and improving the muscle mass.

How to perform:

• Lay on the flat bench holding the EZ curl bar with a close overhand grip
• Keep the feet planted at the floor and shoulder blades retracted
• Hold the bar above you with straight arms
• Bend at elbows to lower the bar towards your face keeping the elbows in line with your shoulders
• Stop just above your skull and lift the bar back to starting position

EZ Bar Drag Curl

Many EZ curl bar exercises are variations of the standard bicep curls intended to focus on different muscles. The EZ bar drag curl is one such variation.

Drag curls focus better on bicep and tricep muscles reducing the role of forearms and shoulders in performing the curls. You would feel better bicep contraction in drag curl than standard bicep curls.

How to perform:

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, back straight
• Hold the EZ curl bar in medium width underhand grip with arms extended down and elbows in line with your body
• Pull your elbows back bringing the EZ bar up
• Keep the shoulders down and bring the bar up as high as possible
• Lower the bar straightening the arms and bringing the elbows forward

Curl Bar French Press Or Overhead Tricep Extension

French press is one of the popular EZ bar exercises. As you stretch your arms overhead in this exercise, the focus of this move is on the long head of the tricep, though you work on all three heads in this exercise.

The overhead tricep extension provides great extension and contraction of the tricep muscles. It also involves shoulder and hip stabilizers muscles and core as you perform this curl bar exercise while standing.

How to perform:

• Keep your feet hip-width apart, knees neutral, core and hips engaged
• Hold the EZ bar with a close or medium overhand grip, hold it above your head with arms fully extended
• Keep the bicep straight and bend at elbows moving your forearms backward
• Lower the bar till your arms are a little further down than 90-degree angle
• Engage the triceps and raise the bar back up extending your arms straight up
• Repeat the move for intended reps

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Preacher Curl

The big brachioradialis muscle in your bicep that forms its shape is can be optically isolated and worked on by using a preacher curl pad and EZ curl bar. If you want that big bicep bulge, you must include preacher curls in your routine.

Among all the EZ curl bar exercises targeting the biceps, preacher curls induce arguably the fastest muscle growth.

How to perform:

• Set the preacher pad height such that it is under your armpits
• Rest your elbows on the pad holding the EZ curl bar in a close or medium underhand grip
• Keep your back straight and arms extended down
• Curl the bar up while keeping the elbows tucked in the preacher pad
• Lift till the bar is at shoulder height
• Lower the bar and repeat

EZ Bar Spider Curl

The range of motion and consistency of tension in the muscles you feel while performing EZ bar spider curl is unmatched by any curl bar workout. You just need an incline bench and a loaded EZ bar to perform this exercise.

The move is a bar version of dumbbell concentration curls. Spider curl isolates and works on bicep brachii and brachialis.

How to perform:

• Adjust the bench to a 45-degree incline and lay on it face down with the upper chest hanging above the top of the bench
• Stabilize by keeping your toes firmly on the floor
• Hold the EZ bar with a close or medium underhand grip, arms stretched out straight downwards, this is your starting position
• Keep the upper arm immobile and move the bar towards your body by engaging the bicep and bending at the elbows
• Lift the bar as high as you can
• Now slowly lower the bar to starting position. Repeat

Reverse Grip Curl

This is one of the few EZ curl bar exercises that are specifically designed to focus on forearms. Although the reverse or overhand grip curl exercise also works on all three heads of the bicep brachii.

Irrespective of grip width, the reverse grip curl emphasizes on forearm brachioradialis. The close grip targets the long head of the bicep, wide grip works on the short head of the bicep brachii along with forearms.

How to perform:

• Stand straight with hip-width distance in feet
• Hold the curl bar with an overhand grip at a width of your choice and focus muscle in the bicep
• Lift the bar bending at elbows using forearm strength
• Lift as high as you can keeping the upper arms straight and elbows pinned to sides of the body
• Hold at the top for a fraction and lower the bar slowly in a controlled motion. Repeat

JM Press With Curl Bar

JM Blakley introduced this compound movement exercise. Adding JM press to your curl bar exercises helps you strengthen your triceps and would improve your bench press performance.

Being a compound move, it targets more than one muscle group. You work on all tricep heads, front delts, and upper pecs simultaneously while performing JM press.

It is a midway move between skull crushers and close grip bench press and hence carries the effects of both.

How to perform:

• Lay flat on the bench with feet planted on the ground
• Hold the EZ bar with a close overhand grip a few inches from your chin above the upper chest
• Holding the bar close to your body would be the starting position
• Retract the shoulder blades and drive the bar up at the upper chest, extend the elbows press the bar up
• Slowly lower the bar down bending the elbows. lower to starting position and repeat

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Standing Reverse Grip Overhead Press/Push Press

The utilization of reverse grip in overhead press involves the upper chest, biceps, and lats muscles in the exercise. And like the standard overhead press, it also works on your delts, triceps, and upper chest.

Due to the shape of the EZ bar, it is easier to hold it in the reverse grip for the overhead press. This move helps you improve your standard overhead press form.

How to perform:

• Stand with curl bar held with medium width underhand grip and feet shoulder-width apart
• Hold the weight with elbows close to your body
• Raise the bar overhead, stretch till arms are almost locked straight
• Lower the weight slowly back down to upper chest level. Repeat

Upright Row With EZ Bar

The upright row is a great exercise for your upper traps and anterior and lateral delts. Use of EZ curl bar instead of straight bar involves the tricep muscles in the move.

It is suitable for all fitness levels. Doing upright rows with an EZ curl bar makes it suitable even for beginners.

How to perform:

• Stand upright with your back neutral holding the EZ bar with overhand grip with arms hanging downwards and hands in line with shoulders
• Lift the bar close to your body towards the chin by bending the arms in elbows
• Raise the bar to your chin and drive the elbows slightly above the shoulders
• Hold for a sec and lower the bar in a controlled motion. Repeat.

Lying Pull Over

This is a compound movement that focuses on the upper chest and lats but also involves the triceps and delts. One needs to add this exercise to their EZ curl bar workouts as it is easy to perfect compound move that works on strengthening upper body muscle groups and also works on stabilizing muscles.

How to perform:

• Lay on the flat bench with your head at the top of the bench and feet grounded
• Hold the EZ curl bar with a medium overhand grip. Hold it above your lower chest with elbows slightly bent
• Move the bar over your head and continue lowering it till it reaches beyond the bench level, go deep
• Engage the upper chest and lats to pull the bar back to starting position. Repeat

Standard And Reverse Grip Bent Over Row

Bent over row can be one of the EZ curl bar exercises that can be added to your bodybuildingworkout routine. It targets your whole posterior chain. With standard grip, it focuses on traps and triceps, and with the reverse grip, it emphasizes on lats and biceps.

You can incorporate both the EZ bar workouts in your schedule. You use both grips for a bent-over row with EZ bar in the same session or can use standard or reverse grip on separate sessions depending on how the schedule working out on different muscle groups.

How to perform:

• Hold the bar with medium width grip, reverse or overhand
• Stand straight holding the bar with straight arms hanging downwards
• Bend your knees a little to push the hips back then bend at hips to lean forward. Lean till you can comfortably perform the row
• Squeeze the shoulders, engage the core and pull the EZ bar towards your stomach  
• Slowly lower the bar to starting position. Repeat

Incline Front Raise

EZ bar workouts like inclined front raise are the better way to work on the delts, traps, and lats than the standing front raise. Support of the incline bench eliminates the possibility of body swaying while performing the front raise, hence enhances the results of the exercise.

In this EZ curl bar exercise, you lift the weight of the bar using upper back and shoulder muscles. Thus, it helps you strengthen the lats, traps, and deltoids.

How to perform:

• Adjust the bench at 45-degree angle
• Lay on the bench with feet on the ground and chest hanging above the top of the bench
• Hold the bar in extended arms below your body with medium width overhand grip
• Lift the bar without bending the arms. Lift it till it is in line with your shoulders
• Lower EZ bar slowly to starting position. Perform the set repetitions

EZ Bar 28 Method Curl

The 28 method curl is used and praised by bodybuilding experts. But that doesn’t mean it is just for the pros, it can be used as an effective way to build arm muscles by lifters with any level of experience.

You will be doing curls with EZ bar four sets of 7 reps each without any rest. In every set, you will change the speed or range of motion. This variation of the speed and range poses varied challenges on the muscles in a short span of time hence stimulates the muscles in a better way.

How to perform:

• Stand tall with EZ bar held with the grip of choice, arms extended downward
• For the first phase perform full range curls by lifting the bar bending in elbows till it reaches very near your upper chest
• In the second phase, perform seven reps of full-range curls in very slow motion
• For the third phase, perform top half curls by holding the bar elbow high at starting position, curling it up to the upper chest, and lowering it to elbow level to finish a rep
• Seven reps of bottom half curls to finish the fourth set of 28 method curls

Arm Blaster EZ Bar Curl

If you don’t have a preacher curl and don’t want to invest that much to buy one, we would suggest going for an arm blaster. It is arguably the best accessory that can be used to isolate biceps muscles.

The arm blaster keeps your elbows stationary, use of the EZ bar reduces pressure on the wrists, both combined provide an EZ bar workout that focuses entirely on biceps.

How to perform:

• Wear the arm blaster in front, adjust the straps as per your height
• Hold the EZ bar with an underhand grip, arms extended down, resting your elbows on the arm blaster
• Keep the elbows resting on the arm blaster throughout the curl
• Lift the bar by bending at elbows, bring it closer to your chest squeezing the biceps
• Lower the bar slowly to starting position without lifting the elbows from the arm blaster

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The bottom line

Almost all the straight bar exercises can be done using the EZ curl bar with better comfort and less chance of injury for the wrists. Which allows you to lift heavier and gain faster results.

The top fifteen EZ bar exercises picked in this article focus on different muscle groups in the body. Incorporate all or some of them into your workout routine and reap the benefits of this simple and versatile piece of equipment.