Bicep Curl

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The bicep curl is an upper body strength exercise where the trainee bends their arm, bringing the weight (usually a barbell or dumbbell) up towards their shoulder. It is an isolation exercise, often used to build size in the biceps muscles. There are several variations based on grip, arm positioning, and equipment.

The Basics

The bicep curl is primarily used as a strength exercise. It is classified as a elbow flexion movement. It is more generally classified as a upper pull movement. Since it specifically targets one muscle group, it is considered an isolation exercise.

Form

Grasp the bar with an underhand grip (palms facing away from you) and straight arms. Keeping your upper arms at your sides, pull the bar up towards your shoulders by bending your arms at the elbow. Try to keep the rest of your body still and not use momentum to raise the bar. Lower the bar under control.

Related Exercises

Variations

Variation exercises are performed somewhat differently than the given exercise but are largely the same movement. They may target certain involved muscles to slightly different degrees.

Reverse Bicep Curl

Similar Exercises

Similar exercises work some or all of the same muscles, but are different from the given exercise in a way that doesn't make them as good of a replacement as the alternative exercises.

Front Lever Row

Single Arm Supported Row

Pull Up

Bent Over Row

Inverted Row

Front Lever

Lat Pulldown

Dead Hang

Front Lever Raise

Opposing Exercises

Opposing exercises target the antagonist muscles or the opposite movement pattern of the given exercise. Useful for finding agonist/antagonist exercise pairings to reduce rest time and speed up workouts.

Tricep Extension

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Performance Standard Ranks

The ranks assume that you are generally healthy, with no underlying health conditions or injuries and have the mobility to perform the exercise correctly. You can determine your rank by comparing your numbers to the tables below. Your rank is also tracked automatically when using our Workout Log feature.

	Rank	Time	Score	Description
●	Untrained	<1 month	<30	Average or below average.
●	Beginner	1-4 months	30-40	Better than average.
●	Novice	4-12 months	40-50	Much better than average.
●	Intermediate	1-2 years	50-60	Fit. A healthy, achievable goal for most people.
●	Advanced	2-4 years	60-70	Very fit. Difficult to achieve for most people.
●	Elite	4+ years	70+	Among the best. Nearing the average maximum potential. Likely able to compete at some level.

Strength Standards

The tables show the one rep max* in pounds needed to reach each rank at different body weights (also in lbs). The 1RMs on the table are based on world records, balanced ratios, and the average time needed to attain each rank. To see personalized strength standards for every exercise, check out the Strength Standards page. You can also find your Strength Score to see how you rank as part of our Fitness Score System.

*Added weight if positive, assistance if negative. The planche and levers are also notable exceptions as they show the moment at the shoulder, not weight. For more info, check out the Moment Calculator page.

Male 1RMs

	● Beginner	● Novice	● Intermediate	● Advanced	● Elite
120	36	51	66	80	95
130	38	54	69	85	100
140	40	57	73	89	105
150	42	59	76	93	110
160	44	62	80	97	115
170	46	64	83	101	120
180	48	67	86	105	124
190	50	69	89	109	129
200	51	72	92	113	133
210	53	74	95	117	138
220	55	77	98	120	142
230	56	79	101	124	146
240	58	81	104	127	151
250	60	83	107	131	155
260	61	86	110	134	159

Female 1RMs

	● Beginner	● Novice	● Intermediate	● Advanced	● Elite
100	27	38	49	60	71
110	29	41	53	64	76
120	31	43	56	68	81
130	33	46	59	72	85
140	34	48	62	76	89
150	36	50	65	79	94
160	38	53	68	83	98
170	39	55	70	86	102
180	41	57	73	89	106
190	42	59	76	93	110
200	44	61	78	96	113
210	45	63	81	99	117
220	46	65	84	102	121
230	48	67	86	105	124
240	49	69	89	108	128

Muscular Endurance Standards By Body Weight With 0.3x BW Added Weight

The tables show the reps or isometric hold times (in seconds) needed to reach each of the muscular endurance ranks at different body weights. The reps on the table are based on world records, ratios, and the average time needed to attain each rank. To see personalized standards for every exercise, check out the Muscular Endurance Standards page.

The amount of weight used to test for muscular endurance of some of the exercises is a percentage of body weight. The percentage was chosen to be memorable and to require a Novice to Intermediate level of strength so that most trainees could reasonably use it while not having to do an excessive amount of reps.

Male Reps

	● Beginner	● Novice	● Intermediate	● Advanced	● Elite
120	1	13	29	46	68
130	0	12	26	44	63
140	0	11	25	41	60
150	0	10	23	39	57
160	0	9	23	37	55
170	0	8	21	35	52
180	0	8	20	34	50
190	0	7	19	32	48
200	0	6	18	31	46
210	0	5	17	30	45
220	0	5	16	28	43
230	0	4	15	28	41
240	0	4	14	26	40
250	0	3	14	26	39
260	0	3	13	24	38

Female Reps

	● Novice	● Intermediate	● Advanced	● Elite
100	8	21	36	53
110	8	20	33	50
120	6	18	31	47
130	6	17	30	44
140	4	16	28	41
150	3	14	26	40
160	3	13	25	38
170	2	12	23	36
180	2	11	22	34
190	1	11	21	33
200	1	9	20	31
210	1	9	19	30
220	0	9	18	29
230	0	8	17	28
240	0	7	16	27

	● Beginner	● Novice	● Intermediate	● Advanced	● Elite
120	36	51	66	80	95
130	38	54	69	85	100
140	40	57	73	89	105
150	42	59	76	93	110
160	44	62	80	97	115
170	46	64	83	101	120
180	48	67	86	105	124
190	50	69	89	109	129
200	51	72	92	113	133
210	53	74	95	117	138
220	55	77	98	120	142
230	56	79	101	124	146
240	58	81	104	127	151
250	60	83	107	131	155
260	61	86	110	134	159

	● Beginner	● Novice	● Intermediate	● Advanced	● Elite
100	27	38	49	60	71
110	29	41	53	64	76
120	31	43	56	68	81
130	33	46	59	72	85
140	34	48	62	76	89
150	36	50	65	79	94
160	38	53	68	83	98
170	39	55	70	86	102
180	41	57	73	89	106
190	42	59	76	93	110
200	44	61	78	96	113
210	45	63	81	99	117
220	46	65	84	102	121
230	48	67	86	105	124
240	49	69	89	108	128

	● Beginner	● Novice	● Intermediate	● Advanced	● Elite
120	1	13	29	46	68
130	0	12	26	44	63
140	0	11	25	41	60
150	0	10	23	39	57
160	0	9	23	37	55
170	0	8	21	35	52
180	0	8	20	34	50
190	0	7	19	32	48
200	0	6	18	31	46
210	0	5	17	30	45
220	0	5	16	28	43
230	0	4	15	28	41
240	0	4	14	26	40
250	0	3	14	26	39
260	0	3	13	24	38

	● Novice	● Intermediate	● Advanced	● Elite
100	8	21	36	53
110	8	20	33	50
120	6	18	31	47
130	6	17	30	44
140	4	16	28	41
150	3	14	26	40
160	3	13	25	38
170	2	12	23	36
180	2	11	22	34
190	1	11	21	33
200	1	9	20	31
210	1	9	19	30
220	0	9	18	29
230	0	8	17	28
240	0	7	16	27

	● Beginner	● Novice	● Intermediate	● Advanced	● Elite
120	36	51	66	80	95
130	38	54	69	85	100
140	40	57	73	89	105
150	42	59	76	93	110
160	44	62	80	97	115
170	46	64	83	101	120
180	48	67	86	105	124
190	50	69	89	109	129
200	51	72	92	113	133
210	53	74	95	117	138
220	55	77	98	120	142
230	56	79	101	124	146
240	58	81	104	127	151
250	60	83	107	131	155
260	61	86	110	134	159

	● Beginner	● Novice	● Intermediate	● Advanced	● Elite
100	27	38	49	60	71
110	29	41	53	64	76
120	31	43	56	68	81
130	33	46	59	72	85
140	34	48	62	76	89
150	36	50	65	79	94
160	38	53	68	83	98
170	39	55	70	86	102
180	41	57	73	89	106
190	42	59	76	93	110
200	44	61	78	96	113
210	45	63	81	99	117
220	46	65	84	102	121
230	48	67	86	105	124
240	49	69	89	108	128

	● Beginner	● Novice	● Intermediate	● Advanced	● Elite
120	1	13	29	46	68
130	0	12	26	44	63
140	0	11	25	41	60
150	0	10	23	39	57
160	0	9	23	37	55
170	0	8	21	35	52
180	0	8	20	34	50
190	0	7	19	32	48
200	0	6	18	31	46
210	0	5	17	30	45
220	0	5	16	28	43
230	0	4	15	28	41
240	0	4	14	26	40
250	0	3	14	26	39
260	0	3	13	24	38

	● Novice	● Intermediate	● Advanced	● Elite
100	8	21	36	53
110	8	20	33	50
120	6	18	31	47
130	6	17	30	44
140	4	16	28	41
150	3	14	26	40
160	3	13	25	38
170	2	12	23	36
180	2	11	22	34
190	1	11	21	33
200	1	9	20	31
210	1	9	19	30
220	0	9	18	29
230	0	8	17	28
240	0	7	16	27

	● Beginner	● Novice	● Intermediate	● Advanced	● Elite
120	36	51	66	80	95
130	38	54	69	85	100
140	40	57	73	89	105
150	42	59	76	93	110
160	44	62	80	97	115
170	46	64	83	101	120
180	48	67	86	105	124
190	50	69	89	109	129
200	51	72	92	113	133
210	53	74	95	117	138
220	55	77	98	120	142
230	56	79	101	124	146
240	58	81	104	127	151
250	60	83	107	131	155
260	61	86	110	134	159

	● Beginner	● Novice	● Intermediate	● Advanced	● Elite
100	27	38	49	60	71
110	29	41	53	64	76
120	31	43	56	68	81
130	33	46	59	72	85
140	34	48	62	76	89
150	36	50	65	79	94
160	38	53	68	83	98
170	39	55	70	86	102
180	41	57	73	89	106
190	42	59	76	93	110
200	44	61	78	96	113
210	45	63	81	99	117
220	46	65	84	102	121
230	48	67	86	105	124
240	49	69	89	108	128

	● Beginner	● Novice	● Intermediate	● Advanced	● Elite
120	1	13	29	46	68
130	0	12	26	44	63
140	0	11	25	41	60
150	0	10	23	39	57
160	0	9	23	37	55
170	0	8	21	35	52
180	0	8	20	34	50
190	0	7	19	32	48
200	0	6	18	31	46
210	0	5	17	30	45
220	0	5	16	28	43
230	0	4	15	28	41
240	0	4	14	26	40
250	0	3	14	26	39
260	0	3	13	24	38

	● Novice	● Intermediate	● Advanced	● Elite
100	8	21	36	53
110	8	20	33	50
120	6	18	31	47
130	6	17	30	44
140	4	16	28	41
150	3	14	26	40
160	3	13	25	38
170	2	12	23	36
180	2	11	22	34
190	1	11	21	33
200	1	9	20	31
210	1	9	19	30
220	0	9	18	29
230	0	8	17	28
240	0	7	16	27