The wide grip barbell spider curl is a biceps isolation exercise performed chest-down on an incline bench with the hands set well outside shoulder width, biasing the short head of the biceps. The wide, supinated grip turns the upper arm slightly out and starts the biceps from a more stretched inner position, so the short head, the inner half of the muscle, takes more of the curl than in a shoulder-width spider curl, while the pad kills any body swing. Bodybuilders place it late in an arm session as a strict, high-rep finisher.
What Muscles Does the Wide Grip Barbell Spider Curl Work?
- Primary: Biceps brachii, short head (inner biceps)
- Secondary: Brachialis, brachioradialis
- Tertiary: Anterior deltoid, wrist flexors, rhomboids
How Do You Set Up for the Wide Grip Barbell Spider Curl?
Set an incline bench to about 45 degrees and rest a loaded barbell on the floor beneath the high end. Straddle the seat and lie chest-down on the pad with your feet spread wide behind you. Hang both arms straight down and take the bar with a supinated grip, palms facing forward, hands a hand-width outside your shoulders on each side. Lift the bar off the floor with elbows fully extended.
How Do You Perform the Wide Grip Barbell Spider Curl?
- Set your upper arms vertical beneath the shoulders and press the chest into the pad; only the forearms move from here.
- Curl the bar upward by bending the elbows, letting the wide grip carry the hands up and slightly outward.
- Continue until the forearms pass vertical and the bar nears the underside of the pad, the point of full elbow flexion.
- Squeeze the inner biceps for one count, turning the little fingers up as far as the bar allows.
- Lower the bar over two to three counts, keeping the elbows fixed as they open back to straight.
- Let the arms hang fully extended, feel the stretch through the inner biceps, then start the next rep.
What Are the Key Form Cues?
- Drive the little fingers upward: the extra supination at the top is where the wide grip earns its place; a neutral wrist wastes it.
- Keep the elbows fixed in space: if they flare out to follow the wide hands, the shoulder starts the lift; they stay stacked under the shoulder.
- Feel the inside of the upper arm shorten on the way up rather than the whole arm heaving.
- Let gravity load the stretch at the bottom before you reverse; do not bounce off straight arms.
- Exhale as the bar rises and inhale as it lowers.
What Are the Most Common Mistakes?
- Loading the bar too heavy: the wide grip is weaker, and the extra weight forces the chest off the pad and the shoulders into the curl; lighten the bar until the upper arms stay still.
- Letting the elbows flare with the hands: the wide grip tempts the elbows outward, which unloads the biceps and strains the medial elbow; keep them under the shoulders.
- Bending the wrists toward you at the top: a cocked wrist shortens the forearm flexors instead of the biceps; hold the wrist flat and curl only at the elbow.
- Setting the hands too wide: past a hand-width outside the shoulders the wrists twist under the bar and the curl loses range; bring the hands in.
- Half-repping the bottom: stopping short of straight arms skips the stretched inner biceps the grip is chosen for; finish fully extended.
What Are the Best Wide Grip Barbell Spider Curl Variations?
- EZ bar spider curl: shoulder-width grip on a cambered bar, easier on the wrists, for lifters new to the bench.
- Reverse grip barbell spider curl: palms down, moving the work to the brachialis and forearm.
- Close grip barbell spider curl: hands inside shoulder width, biasing the long head and outer biceps.
- Single-arm dumbbell spider curl: one arm at a time, exposing a weaker side with a full supination twist.
- Wide grip preacher curl: the same wide palms-up curl seated on a preacher bench, no steep incline needed.
How Do You Progress the Wide Grip Barbell Spider Curl?
- Add 5 pounds, or the smallest plates available, once you finish every set at the top of the rep range with still elbows.
- Build from 10 reps to 15 before any weight goes on.
- Add one set at a time up to 4 sets when the pump fades early.
- Add a two-second squeeze at the top with the little fingers turned up, and a three-count descent.
How Should You Program the Wide Grip Barbell Spider Curl?
Place the wide grip barbell spider curl last in an arm session, after chin-ups, barbell curls or incline dumbbell curls have handled the heavy work. Do it 1 to 2 times per week for 3 to 4 sets of 10 to 15 reps, resting 45 to 60 seconds between sets. Alternate it week to week with a close grip version so both heads get a biased block.