Bar Cable Curl

How to Perform the Bar Cable Curl

Attach a straight bar to the low pulley of a cable machine.
Stand facing the machine with feet shoulder-width apart, grabbing the bar with an underhand (supinated) grip.
Stand upright with your elbows pinned to your sides, arms fully extended, and a slight lean back for balance.
Curl the bar upward by flexing at the elbows, keeping your upper arms stationary.
Squeeze your biceps hard at the top of the movement when the bar reaches shoulder height.
Lower the bar slowly and under control back to the starting position, resisting the cable's pull.
Repeat for the prescribed number of reps, avoiding any swinging or momentum.

Swinging the body to lift the weight

Keep your torso stationary and elbows pinned at your sides; if you need to swing, reduce the weight.

Moving the elbows forward during the curl

Lock your elbows at your sides throughout the movement to isolate the biceps.

Letting the weight drop quickly on the eccentric

Control the lowering phase for 2-3 seconds to maximize time under tension and muscle growth.

✓Provides constant tension throughout the entire range of motion, unlike dumbbell or barbell curls.
✓Easy to adjust weight in small increments for precise progressive overload.
✓Reduced risk of cheating compared to free-weight curls due to the cable's constant pull.

●Stand about a foot away from the machine to keep tension on the biceps even at the bottom of the rep.
●Try different grip widths to emphasise the long head (narrow grip) or short head (wider grip) of the biceps.
●Keep your wrists neutral and strong — avoid bending them backward under load.

Strength

3-4 sets of 6-8 reps

Hypertrophy

3-4 sets of 10-15 reps

Endurance

2-3 sets of 15-20 reps

Join 2,000,000+ lifters tracking their workouts with Stronger. Available on iOS and Android.