What muscles do preacher curls work?

The biceps, with the brachialis under it. The pad takes the shoulders and back out of the movement.

Why are preacher curls harder than standing curls?

With your arms on the pad you cannot use momentum, and the load is highest at the bottom, where the biceps is weakest. Most people use a noticeably lighter weight.

Are preacher curls safe?

Yes, with control at the bottom. The risk is letting the weight drop into a straight, locked elbow; lower it slowly and stop just short of locking out.

Either. An EZ bar lets you go a little heavier; a dumbbell one arm at a time lets your wrist find a comfortable angle and shows if one arm is weaker.

Preacher Curl: Muscles Worked and How to Do It

Preacher curl: muscles worked and how to do it

The preacher curl trains your biceps. Your upper arms rest on an angled pad, which locks your elbows in place: there is no way to swing the weight up with your back, so the biceps does the lifting from start to finish.

You curl an EZ bar or a dumbbell up from nearly straight arms and lower it under control. The pad puts the biceps under the most load at the bottom, with your arms long, which is also where people get hurt if they drop the weight, so the lowering matters.

At a glance

Main muscles: Biceps
Movement: Bend the elbow (curl)
Equipment: Barbell, Dumbbells, Preacher bench
Type: Isolation (one joint)

Front

Back

How to do a preacher curl

Set the seat so that your armpits sit snugly over the top of the pad and the backs of your upper arms lie flat on it.
Take an EZ bar with an underhand grip, hands about shoulder-width apart, or a dumbbell in one hand.
Curl the weight up until your forearms are about vertical. Stop before it rests, so the biceps stays under tension.
Lower slowly, taking two to three seconds, to an elbow that is almost, but not quite, locked straight.
Start the next rep from there without bouncing.

Cues that help

"Armpits on the pad": your upper arms stay flat and your shoulders stay out of it.
"Slow at the bottom": the last part of the lowering is where control matters most.
"Soft lockout": almost straight, never snapped straight under load.
"Wrists neutral": do not curl your wrists in to finish the rep.

Common mistakes

Dropping the weight into a locked elbow at the bottom. That is the riskiest moment for the biceps tendon; lower it, do not let it fall.
Lifting your upper arms off the pad or leaning back to help the weight up.
A seat set too low, so your armpits hang off the pad and your shoulders take over.
Too heavy. The preacher curl is meant to be strict; lighter than a standing curl is normal.

Sets, reps and weight

For muscle: 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 15 reps.
Rest about 1 to 2 minutes between sets.
Expect to use less than on a standing curl.
Progress with reps first, then with the smallest weight jumps you can make.

Variations and alternatives

Single-arm dumbbell preacher curl: one arm at a time, easier on the wrists.
Machine preacher curl: the same position, with a fixed path.
Cable preacher curl: a bench in front of a low pulley for steady tension.
Dumbbell curl and hammer curl: standing, for more weight and the forearms.

Tracking your preacher curls

PushBeyond logs the weight and reps of each set and charts the history of the exercise. Its muscle map counts the preacher curl for your biceps.