Arms · Barbell
Barbell Drag Curl
How to do the barbell drag curl, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Barbell
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Curl
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Stand tall holding a barbell with an underhand grip. Curl the bar up while dragging it straight up along your body by driving your elbows back behind you, keeping the bar close to your torso, then lower it back down the same path. The elbows moving back is what makes it a drag curl.
- 1A hard biceps contraction as your elbows drive back
- 2The bar staying close to your body the whole way up
- 3Constant tension since the bar never swings away from you
Common mistakes
- Letting the bar drift forward into a normal curl path
- Using your shoulders to swing the weight up
- Bending your wrists instead of keeping them firm
Muscles worked
The barbell drag curl mainly works the biceps, with the forearms assisting.
- BicepsPrimary
- ForearmsSupport
- Rear DeltsMinor
Kovo programs the barbell drag curl for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More biceps exercises
- How to do the resistance band bicep curl
- How to do the resistance band hammer curl
- How to do the barbell bicep curl
- How to do the cable bicep curl
- How to do the cable hammer curl
- How to do the overhead bicep curl
Last reviewed June 2026.