An EZ curl bar is a zig-zag shaped bar mainly designed for biceps and triceps, versus an Olympic straight bar is designed for all sorts of weight lifting and cross training exercises. The main contrasts lie in their weight, shape and the hand grab positioning.
The angled bar helps to give you a more complete bicep and tricep workout. The majority of your biceps and triceps growth will come as a result of getting stronger at compound exercises like various chest presses, shoulder presses, rows and pull-ups. However, compounds alone will not produce the best possible results of building muscular arms. An EZ curl bar allows you to work specific parts of your triceps and biceps, isolation exercises such as triceps extensions and biceps curls will put a direct focus on your smaller, secondary arm muscles which will lead to better result.
An Olympic straight bar typically weighs 45 pounds, an EZ curl bar on the other hand usually weighs at 25 to 30 pounds due to smaller in length than the straight bar. Depending on your workout goal and the workout space available, the curl bar is traditionally used for exercises that work smaller muscle groups which requires less weight than weight needed to train your chest and legs, and they are shorter in length too.
If you are wary of elbow injuries, an EZ curl bar is right for you. The slight angle of the EZ curl bar makes your grabs more natural and comfortable, thus reducing the risk of common inner elbow injuries that many people develop over time from curling with a straight bar.
For some barbell lifts, EZ curl bars are much more practical due to their smaller, lighter feature and ability to train the upper body muscles. They’re also ideal for anyone training at home who is short on space. An EZ curl bar won’t take up too much room, so you don’t need an entire gym space just to work out.
