Isolation
Barbell curl
The heaviest curling available, both arms on one bar. Rowing and chin-ups already train the biceps; this is the direct work on top.
The movement pages are part of MacroChef Plus
How the lift is performed, what it trains, and where it belongs in a split — for all 67 movements. One subscription covers the training side and the whole recipe library.
How Plus works
It is in 3 of the six splits, which is as good a signal as any that it earns its place. See which one matches your week.
The muscle itself
Swap it for
Not lesser versions. What to do when the rack is busy, the gym has no cable station, or a joint objects to the first one.
- Dumbbell curlBiceps
- Cable curlBiceps
Everything else that trains this pattern
- Cable lateral raiseSide delts
- Cable rope curlBiceps, Brachialis, Forearms
- Dumbbell overhead extensionTriceps
- Face pullRear delts, Mid back, Rotator cuff
- Hammer curlBiceps, Brachialis, Forearms
- Lateral raiseSide delts
- Leg curlHamstrings
- Leg extensionQuads
- Lying leg curlHamstrings
- Nordic curlHamstrings
- Overhead rope extensionTriceps
- Reverse flyRear delts, Mid back
- Seated calf raiseCalves
- Seated leg curlHamstrings
- Sissy squatQuads
- Skull crusherTriceps
- Standing calf raiseCalves
- Triceps pushdownTriceps
Training is the easy half
You will not build anything on the wrong number of calories, and most people are eating a long way under the protein they think they are. Get your daily number, then have the week built to it — every recipe on the site is costed from gram weights, so the figures are checkable rather than rounded up to sound better.
This is not a form tutorial. There is no technique walkthrough here and no claim about the one correct way to move — a page cannot watch you lift. What it gives you is what the movement trains, how much of it to do, and what to do instead when the equipment is taken. If a movement is new to you, get someone qualified to watch your first few sessions. If you are under 18, pregnant, or managing an injury or medical condition, talk to someone qualified rather than a website.