The Straight Bar Vs The EZ Curl Bar 
Have you ever seen those different curling bars at the gym and wondered what they were good for? Yeah, you know what I’m talking about, one of the bars is straight and one of them has several angled grips, called the EZ Curl bar.
So which of these should you be using? Well, each of the bars has its own advantages. Let’s take a look at the biceps muscle group to understand what the advantages are.
Attachments:Your biceps muscle group, as the name implies, is composed of muscles with two separate heads, or bundles of muscle. Your biceps attach to your scapula around your shoulders, run down your upper arm, and then attach to something called the radial tuberosity near your elbow.
The radial tuberosity is a bone that can rotate. That means that your biceps not only work to bend your arm at the elbow, but your biceps also work to supinate your forearm.
Supination: When we’re talking about the biceps, supination means moving your forearm so that your palm is facing you.
Pronation: The pronated position points your palms away from you.
Take a look at the and notice where the bottom of your biceps attaches to your forearm. Your biceps attach to the portion of your forearm that is on top when your palms are facing up, in the fully supinated position.
That means that when your biceps are fully supinated with the palms facing you, your biceps are able to be involved most fully in your workout.
To get a feel for how this works, bend your elbow so that your forearm and upper arm form a 90 degree angle. Point your palm away from you and flex your bicep muscles. Then place your other hand on your bicep so you can feel it flexing.
Now, starting with your palm facing away from you, slowly rotate your palm until it is in the fully supinated position and facing you. As you rotated your palm toward you, you should have felt your biceps becoming increasingly more tense throughout the movement.
Ok, I think you get it now. Facing your palms all the way toward you is the best position for fully involving your biceps and getting the most out of your arm workouts. It allows you biceps to fully contract at the peak of each movement.
Positioning:The standard position for bicep curls is about shoulder width. Let your arms hang down directly to either side. With your hands at that width, take the bar directly in front of you and begin your set.
Wrist pain:The straight bar isn’t going to get a perfect review here… it does have certain drawbacks. Doing bicep curls with a straight bar is much more tough on your wrists. Beginners especially will notice pain in the wrists after doing a few sets.
If you are feeling wrist pain, go ahead and use the EZ curl bar for the rest of your workout. The EZ curl bar was specifically designed to be easier on your wrists, but as we discussed before, it’s not as effective for bicep training as the straight bar or dumbbells.
Don’t baby yourself though. Your bones can become stronger just like your muscles, but only if you use them. The wrist pain you’re feeling with the straight bar will lessen over time.
Don’t just ignore the pain and work through it either. That pain in your bones is your body trying to tell you something. Switch to the other EZ curl bar for the rest of your workout if it starts to hurt, and slowly continue to transition to the straight bar as your wrists become stronger.
We’ll talk more about wrist pain and using dumbbells for curls another day. Also, keep in mind that the discussion here applies to the biceps only… the EZ curl can actually be quite useful for your tricep workouts.
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