Preacher Curl - Exercise of the Week

Our exercise of the week this week is the classic preacher curl. This is a great and effective exercise that isolates the bicep muscles in the arms to help them to tone, strengthen and grow in size. As it is completed with the EZ bar too, this means that your wrists are kept in a more neutral and supported position which is yet another bonus. Here we explain to you how to complete it correctly and include picture guides from inside our premier fitness facility in Tallaght.

Preacher Curl

To begin, make sure that an EZ bar is placed in the rack of the preacher bench. The EZ bar has an almost zig-zag shape to the bar, as opposed to how barbells are straight bars all the way across. Until you get used to completing the preacher curl exercise, it is best to not put any weight plates on the bar to begin. Sit down on the padded seat and place your arms onto the slanted padded part in front of you. Grip the EZ bar with an underhand grip and make sure that your triceps (the muscles at the back of your arms) lie flat against the padded part. Make sure too that your elbows also lie against this padded part and that they do not hang in mid-air at any stage of the exercise and movement.

While gripping the bar tightly, bend your elbows to curl the bar upwards towards your face. As you do so, you will see that your elbows and triceps are locked into place and therefore cannot over help or assist with the movement. Due to this, your biceps must do the majority of the work to lift and move the weight. Curl the bar up as close to your body as you can – making sure that your elbows and the backs of your arms (triceps) never come away from the padded part of the bench. Hold your position at the top of the movement for a couple of seconds and then lower your arms down so that the bar is almost put back in the rack. This is one repetition (rep) of the preacher curl complete.

If you are having any trouble at all with this exercise and movement, please feel free to ask any of our friendly fitness team for advice, help and even a demonstration if you need it. They can also advise you on the optimum amount of sets and reps to complete in order to reach and maintain your health and fitness goals.

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