KEY AREAS: Biceps, Forearms
START POSITION: Stand behind an inclined bench, or sit down into a specialist machine made for Preacher Curls. Grip a single dumbell and rest it on the bench in front of you with the inside of the arm facing upwards and elbow planted firmly into the cushioned slope.
NOTES: This exercise can also be done using a curlbar (freeweight bar or fixed machine) in which case you can work both arms at once. However, I am a big fan of alternating arm and shoulder exercises (one arm at a time), because I prefer to train that way – it allows one to push to the burn and then while the tired arm is resting, the other othe one gets trained to the burn.
But if you have access to a Preacher machine then by all means use it and mix up your training to see what works best for you.
If the weight is too heavy for you will will feel great discomfort when you fully extend the arm at the bottom. But this full extension is the chief characteristic of the exercise, so please lower the weight until you can do about 10 reps. If you cheat, then you are headed for the dreaded ‘Golfball muscles‘ syndrome.
Finally, I want to say something about the angle of the incline required for Preacher Curls. You can vary this quite alot (and please do experiment with it) but 45° is the absolute minimum, and you can incline right up to around 85°. Changing the angle places extra work on different parts of the Bicep, so this exercise (when done with an adjustable bench) is highly versatile, and a personal favourite of mine.