---
title: "EZ bar exercises"
description: "Curls, overhead triceps extensions and upright rows with an EZ bar. Technique on video and the grip that spares your wrists."
locale: en
url: "https://hi.fitness/exercises/equipment/ez-bar"
count: 13
type: equipment
code: EZ_BAR
---

# EZ bar exercises

The EZ bar is a one-job piece of equipment and the list shows it: almost everything done with it is
a curl. The rest is here for the same reason the curls are, namely that a straight bar puts the
wrist in a position some people cannot tolerate under load. The wave in the bar lets your hands
turn slightly inward and the problem goes away.

Do not come here for a wide selection. The EZ bar does not replace a barbell in the squat or the
bench press, and the whole list stays inside movements that revolve around the elbow and the
shoulder. Reach for it when a straight bar starts to pull at your wrist or on the inside of your
elbow, and you want to stay on plate-loaded weight instead of dropping to dumbbells.

## What else besides curls?

The same movements you would do with a straight bar, only with a friendlier grip. The overhead
triceps extension is the best example: a straight bar behind your head forces a hand position that
bothers plenty of people at even moderate weight, while the angle of the EZ bar lets you turn your
hands slightly inward and think about your elbows instead of the discomfort.

The upright row is the second such case, and probably the one where the difference is biggest. On a
straight bar your wrists end up clearly bent at the top, because your hands cannot rotate to follow
your elbows. The wave takes part of that twist away, though it does not excuse you from leading with
the elbows.

Past that, a handful of entries are here simply because the bar happened to be within reach: front
raises, a close-grip overhead press, wrist curls. The principle behind that is worth remembering.
This piece of equipment does not add exercises, it removes the reason to avoid them.

## How much does an EZ bar weigh?

There is no standard, and that is a more practical problem than it sounds. An EZ bar usually weighs
less than an Olympic bar, and depending on the model that is anywhere from a few kilos to the
mid-teens. Two bars in the same gym can differ by several kilos, and nothing tells you except a
scale.

The consequence is simple: the bar itself is not a reference point you can compare across gyms. A
log entry reading "bar plus two 10 kg plates" means something only for the bar you train on. If the
same load suddenly feels different after you switch gyms, check what the bar weighs before you start
looking for the cause in your form.

The plates, on the other hand, are the same ones you load on a barbell, so you get the same small
jumps in weight you get there.

## Common mistakes

- **Elbows drifting out to the sides** - In the overhead extension the elbows stay close to your head the whole way. When they spread outward the shoulder takes over, and the bar comes back up on a different path than it went down.
- **Hands higher than the elbows** - The elbows lead the upright row and they finish highest. If your hands go first, the bar bends your wrists in exactly the direction the curved shape was meant to protect them from.
- **Upper arms lifting off the pad** - On the preacher bench the whole value of the exercise comes from the upper arm being pinned in place. Peeling it off the pad on the last few reps means the set is already over, not that you have something left.

## By equipment

- [Biceps](https://hi.fitness/exercises/muscles/biceps) - 7 exercises
- [Front delts](https://hi.fitness/exercises/muscles/front-delts) - 2 exercises
- [Forearms](https://hi.fitness/exercises/muscles/forearms) - 1 exercises
- [Side delts](https://hi.fitness/exercises/muscles/side-delts) - 1 exercises
- [Triceps](https://hi.fitness/exercises/muscles/triceps) - 1 exercises
- [Upper back](https://hi.fitness/exercises/muscles/upper-back) - 1 exercises

## All EZ bar exercises

- [EZ Barbell Curl](https://hi.fitness/exercises/ez-barbell-curl) - Biceps · EZ bar
- [Preacher Curl EZ Bar](https://hi.fitness/exercises/preacher-curl-ez-bar) - Biceps · EZ bar
- [EZ Bar Seated Wrist Curl](https://hi.fitness/exercises/ez-bar-seated-wrist-curl) - Forearms · EZ bar
- [EZ Bar Overhead Extensions Standing](https://hi.fitness/exercises/ez-bar-overhead-extensions-standing) - Triceps · EZ bar
- [Spider Curl EZ Bar](https://hi.fitness/exercises/spider-curl-ez-bar) - Biceps · EZ bar
- [EZ Barbell Close Grip Curl](https://hi.fitness/exercises/ez-barbell-close-grip-curl) - Biceps · EZ bar
- [EZ Bar Biceps Curl Wide Grip](https://hi.fitness/exercises/ez-bar-biceps-curl-wide-grip) - Biceps · EZ bar
- [Upright Row EZ Bar](https://hi.fitness/exercises/upright-row-ez-bar) - Side delts · EZ bar
- [Preacher Curl EZ Bar Close Grip](https://hi.fitness/exercises/preacher-curl-ez-bar-close-grip) - Biceps · EZ bar
- [Preacher Curl EZ Bar Wide Grip](https://hi.fitness/exercises/preacher-curl-ez-bar-wide-grip) - Biceps · EZ bar
- [EZ Bar Standing Front Raise](https://hi.fitness/exercises/ez-bar-standing-front-raise) - Front delts · EZ bar
- [EZ Bar Seated Close Grip Shoulder Press](https://hi.fitness/exercises/ez-bar-seated-close-grip-shoulder-press) - Front delts · EZ bar
- [EZ Barbell Anti Gravity Press](https://hi.fitness/exercises/ez-barbell-anti-gravity-press) - Upper back · EZ bar