No Kink Shaming: Super Olympic Curl Bar Review
A curl bar, also known as an EZ curl bar, is a key piece of any commercial or home gym, and the Super Olympic Curl Bar from Everyday Essentials is an excellent choice.
Curl Bar Overview & Applications
Built to help build and strengthen the arms, the key identifying feature in a curl bar is the angled (or “kinked”) handles. These angled handles are designed to allow for a more natural and comfortable grip when doing strict arm movements like curls or skull crushers. These handles usually feature different levels of knurling to help aid with grip.
The bar is also shorter than Olympic barbells that you’d use for back squats and bench presses. Curl bars are usually closer to 4 feet long, whereas full-size bars come in at around 7 feet or longer, depending on the bar. This makes the bar easier to balance for these strict movements.
Since their focus is mainly on arms, the EZ curl bar is a bit of a meathead mascot: pumping those bis and tris is a great way to fill out your sleeves. And since I started out lifting in high school, I didn’t know any better, so I went to town on our weight room’s curl bar and got to know it very well.
Over time, I learned that there’s more to fitness than getting jacked guns and that the EZ curl had a lot more uses than just trying to beef up for beach days. As I matured in my fitness journey, skull crushers and close-grip bench presses were great ways to build up strength to create separation from blockers, and heavy curls were less of a bicep builder than they were a way to wrap up running backs more securely when I brought them down. Even after my team sports days were over, the EZ curl bar was (and still is) an essential tool for accessory work for bigger lifts like bench press and Olympic lifts and a great way to build strength for high-rep pullups.
Test & Review: Super Olympic Curl Bar
The Super Olympic Curl Bar (MSRP $89) features kinked handles that are pronounced but not overly aggressive, facilitating an excellent wrist angle in a wide variety of grips. The knurling is pronounced enough to give you a secure grip without chalk, but not so much that it’ll tear your hands up after a few sets, and at under $100, the price is right.
The chromed alloy steel has kept its shine after months of use, and the 350-pound capacity far outweighs (get it?) my strength. I’m a big fan of the Olympic-style 2-inch barbell collars as well. They fit the rest of my weight plates, so I can use the plates that I use for bigger lifts for my accessory work.
After a few months with the Super Olympic Curl Bar from Everyday Essentials, it still feels and looks like a new bar, the collars spin freely, and my accessory work has been feeling much better than doing arm work with a straight bar.
Plus, I’m feeling super jacked.
If you’re looking for a great tool for sports accessory work, bodybuilding, or just general fitness, the Everyday Essentials Super Olympic Curl Bar is a great way to go.
Pros:
- Price
- Durability
- Excellent collar spin
- Moderate knurling
Cons:
- Chrome-plated collars scratch easily
- May create an excessive amount of confidence
- People will laugh at you when you kiss your biceps
