Home/pull/Preacher Curl

Preacher Curl

Difficulty: ⭐ Beginnerpull

Home Setup

Use an incline bench set to 45 degrees or drape your arms over the back of a sturdy chair with a folded towel for padding, allowing your arms to hang freely while maintaining upper arm contact

Incline bench or sturdy chairFolded towels for paddingResistance bands or filled water jugs

💡 Pro tip: Position yourself so your armpits rest at the top edge of the pad to ensure proper arm angle and prevent shoulder strain

Gym Setup

Preacher curl bench with EZ-bar, straight barbell, or dumbbells; adjust seat height so armpits rest comfortably at top of pad

Safety: Never lock out elbows completely at bottom to maintain tension and protect joints; control the eccentric phase to prevent biceps tendon strain

💪 Muscles Worked

Biceps BrachiiBrachialisBrachioradialisForearm FlexorsAnterior Deltoid (stabilizer)

⭐ Why This Exercise?

The preacher curl is exceptional for isolating the biceps by eliminating shoulder movement and preventing momentum-based cheating, making it ideal for building peak biceps development. The angled pad position emphasizes the stretch portion of the movement and targets the lower biceps insertion, creating fuller arm development and improving the mind-muscle connection essential for hypertrophy training.

Make It Easier

Regressions for building up strength

1. Resistance Band Preacher Curl

preacher bench + resistance band

Provides accommodating resistance that's lighter at the stretched position, reducing strain while learning the movement pattern

2. Single-Arm Dumbbell Preacher Curl

preacher bench + light dumbbell

Allows focus on one arm at a time with lighter weight, improving form and mind-muscle connection

3. Machine Preacher Curl

preacher curl machine

Fixed movement path provides stability and support, ideal for beginners learning proper arm positioning

Make It Harder

Progressions for advanced athletes

1. Spider Curl

preacher bench + barbell or dumbbells

Vertical pad angle increases difficulty by maximizing tension at peak contraction and eliminating any body leverage

2. Preacher Curl with Slow Eccentric

preacher bench + barbell or dumbbells

4-5 second lowering phase dramatically increases time under tension and muscle damage for enhanced hypertrophy

3. 21s Preacher Curl

preacher bench + barbell or EZ-bar

Advanced protocol combining 7 bottom-half reps, 7 top-half reps, and 7 full reps creates extreme metabolic stress and pump

↕️ Similar Movements

Concentration Curl
Similar isolation focus with braced upper arm, but seated position allows for different angle of resistance
Incline Dumbbell Curl
Emphasizes the stretched position of biceps like preacher curls but with arms behind body plane
Cable Preacher Curl
Same movement pattern with constant tension throughout entire range of motion via cable resistance
Bayesian Curl
Cable variation that maximizes stretch position tension similar to preacher curl mechanics
Scott Curl
Alternative name for preacher curl, named after Larry Scott who popularized the exercise

Form Checklist

✓Press armpits firmly into top of pad to lock upper arms in place
✓Keep wrists neutral and aligned with forearms throughout movement
✓Curl weight up while squeezing biceps at top, pause for 1-2 seconds
✓Lower with control for 2-3 seconds, stopping just before full elbow extension
✓Maintain slight forward lean with chest against pad for stability
✓Exhale during curl up, inhale during lowering phase
✓Focus on moving only at the elbow joint, keeping shoulders stationary

Common Mistakes

  • •Lifting upper arms off pad during curl, which recruits shoulders and reduces biceps isolation
  • •Using momentum by rocking torso backward to initiate the curl instead of pure biceps contraction
  • •Hyperextending elbows at bottom position, placing dangerous stress on biceps tendons
  • •Gripping too tightly with excessive wrist flexion, causing forearm fatigue before biceps failure
  • •Setting seat too high or low, creating improper arm angle and shoulder discomfort
  • •Dropping weight too quickly on eccentric phase, missing crucial hypertrophy stimulus

📈 When to Progress

Progress when you can complete 3 sets of 12-15 controlled reps with perfect form, maintaining constant tension without upper arm lift-off, and achieving a strong peak contraction on every rep for two consecutive workouts