Are barbell curls bad for you?

Barbell curls are bad for your wrists and can be swapped for EZ bar curls or dumbbell curls. As the curl is not usually not done for one repetition maximum efforts go with the alternatives to save your wrists from harm.

What is your why

Before we go into the details of whether barbell curls are bad for you let me ask you a couple of questions:

Why do you want to barbell curl?
Why do you want to get stronger?
Why do you want to build muscle?
What happens when you do?
What happens if you don’t?

Answering these questions is important for your long term success. Life will get in the way of your long term goals. Fitness is one of them, just like saving. For fitness and saving the rewards are delayed into the future. Humans are not necessarily wired for that. Most people go though their lifes like this:

What do I want
How do I get it
Why do I want it

With this, you will be chasing your own tail. What you want is extremely depending on what you see, how you do things and who interacts with you. This changes hundreds of times a day. Following what you want is unlikely to make you feel happy and fulfilled. Instead, try to go about like this:

Why do you want something
How do you get it
What do you need to do to get it

This puts the focus to your in er sanctum. Your actions and thoughts will all be connected to what makes you tick. Therefore you will be more coherent and decisive in what to pursue and what to discard. A very liberating experience.

If you want to know more about why you shouldn’t trust yourself when the reward is delayed read the book Nudge. If you want to know more how this all works from a psychological standpoint read Daniel Kahneman's thinking fast and slow. Simon Sinek makes an excellent case in his TED talk on the golden circle. He tells the very convincing story of the Wright brothers.

Barbell curls

Barbell curls will help you to grow your biceps. It is usually done for repetitions and not for maximum weight. You start with your arms extended either while standing or sitting at a curl station. The movement starts from there and ends at your chin. As the barbell curl is more of a focused exercise for the biceps do it slowly and controlled.

Many rush the process. This is not necessary for the curl as it is not a one repetition maximum exercise. This is suboptimal and might even rip the muscle, especially when you isolate your arms on a platform. The barbell curl is better executed while standing.

Pros of barbell curls

The barbell curl is a great exercise to make your biceps grow. You can also load it heavier than other versions of the curl due to the barbell being used.

Cons of barbell curls

The barbell curl is bad for your wrists as you can not keep them at a good angle while executing the movement. Dumbbells and the EZ bar provide the same resistance while giving more freedom to your wrists.

Alternatives to the barbell curl

Alternatives to the barbell curl are:

EZ bar curl
Kettlebell curl
Dumbbell curl

Depending on your needs and size.