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Exercise library · Biceps

Preacher curl

Curl for the biceps with a barbell.

How to do it

1 of 3

Upper arms on the pad

  1. Starting position

    Sit at the preacher bench with your upper arms on the pad and grip the bar underhand about shoulder-width apart.

  2. The movement

    Bend your elbows and curl the bar toward your shoulders, then lower it with control until your arms are almost straight.

Most common mistake

Don't lift your upper arms off the pad, keep them against the support throughout the movement.

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Muscle group
Biceps
Equipment
Barbell
Where
Gym
Logged as
Weight × reps

Muscles worked

The preacher curl mainly trains your biceps, helped by the brachialis underneath the biceps and the brachioradialis in your forearm. Because your upper arms rest on the pad, neither your shoulders nor your upper body can help. On a standard preacher bench with an angled pad, the exercise is hardest in the lower half, when your arms are almost straight, and gets easier the higher you go. That sets it apart from a standing curl, which is hardest in the middle of the movement.

Common mistakes

  • The seat is at the wrong height. Too low or too high and your arms sit at an angle on the pad, pulling your shoulders up or forward. Set the seat so your armpits are close to the top edge of the pad.
  • Dropping the bar at the bottom. The lower part is the hardest, and letting the bar drop and bouncing it up removes exactly that part of the work. Lower slowly and change direction without a bounce.
  • Curling your wrists. As your biceps tire, many people curl their wrists in to get the bar up, and the forearms take over. Keep your wrists straight and end the set when you cannot.

Variations and alternatives

  • The EZ bar curl is done standing with the same bar, when no preacher bench is free.
  • The spider curl is done chest down on an incline bench, another way to keep your upper arms still.
  • The machine curl gives a fixed path, useful when you want to train close to your limit without balancing a bar.
  • The concentration curl braces your arm against your thigh and trains one arm at a time with a dumbbell.

Sets and reps

The preacher curl is best suited to building muscle. 8 to 12 reps over 2 to 4 sets is a good starting point. Heavy sets of 3 to 6 reps are a poor fit, since the hardest position is in the lower part, where control is hardest to keep. For endurance, 12 to 20 reps works, ideally late in the session. Read more in the guide to sets and reps.

Expect to use less weight than in a standing curl. Add reps first and raise the weight once you reach the top of your range on every set, with 1 to 2 reps in reserve. If your elbow hurts, stop the exercise and have it looked at by a doctor or physiotherapist. Small steps over time are progressive overload.

Swap for

Taken, or missing the equipment? The same movement with something else.

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