Seated Close-Grip Concentration Barbell Curl

1. Sit down on a flat bench with a barbell or E-Z Bar in front of you in between your legs. Your legs should be spread with the knees bent and the feet on the floor.
2. Use your arms to pick the barbell up and place the back of your upper arms on top of your inner thighs (around three and a half inches away from the front of the knee). A supinated grip closer than shoulder width is needed to perform this exercise. Tip: Your arm should be extended at arms length and the barbell should be above the floor. This will be your starting position.
3. While holding the upper arms stationary, curl the weights forward while contracting the biceps as you breathe out. Only the forearms should move. Continue the movement until your biceps are fully contracted and the dumbbells are at shoulder level. Hold the contracted position for a second as you squeeze the biceps.
4. Slowly begin to bring the barbell back to starting position as your breathe in. Tip: Avoid swinging motions at any time.
5. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

Variations: This exercise can be performed standing with the torso bent forward and the arm in front of you. In this case, no leg support is used for the back of your arm so you will need to make extra effort to ensure no movement of the upper arms. This is a more challenging version of the exercise and is not recommended for people with lower back issues. You can also perform as described here but without using a bench. So for this version you will be kneeling and the weight of the barbell will help to balance you.