Lying High Bench Barbell Curl

What it is

This isolation exercise targets your biceps, the primary muscles for elbow flexion. You perform it lying face-forward on a tall bench, allowing you to focus on a complete contraction. Using a barbell, you'll curl the weight upwards while keeping your upper arms still.

Technique tips

• Keep your upper arms stationary throughout the entire movement.
• Avoid swinging the weight to maintain constant tension on your biceps.
• Exhale as you curl the barbell up, then inhale slowly on the descent.
• Control the weight through the entire range of motion, both up and down.
• Pause briefly at the top of the curl for peak muscle contraction.

How to track your progress

Log the weight and reps of each set. Straddly turns every set into an estimated one-rep max, so a heavier single and a strong set of eight both count as progress, and it flags a personal record the moment you beat your best.