How to do the Barbell Preacher Curl
BicepsBarbellIntermediate
The barbell preacher curl eliminates cheating by locking your upper arms against the pad, forcing your biceps to do every ounce of the work. Master this movement and you will build the kind of peak and thickness that free-standing curls simply cannot replicate.
Add this to my personalized plan →Muscles worked
Primary
Biceps
Secondary
BrachialisForearms
Step-by-step
- Set the seat so your armpits sit just over the top edge of the pad, then grip the barbell at shoulder width with an underhand grip.
- Curl the bar upward in a smooth arc, stopping just before your forearms reach vertical to keep tension on the biceps throughout.
- Squeeze hard at the top for a full count, then lower the bar under complete control to a near-full extension without locking out.
- Reset your brace and breathing before each rep, exhaling on the curl and inhaling on the descent.
Common mistakes
- Letting the upper arms lift off the pad on the way up, which shifts load to the front delts — press your triceps firmly into the pad for the entire set.
- Dropping the bar too fast on the descent and losing tension, which wastes the eccentric phase — take at least two full seconds to lower every rep.
- Using a grip that is too wide, which reduces supination and weakens the curl — keep hands at or just inside shoulder width to maximize bicep recruitment.
Pro tip — At the bottom of each rep, resist the urge to fully straighten the arm and rest — stop just short of lockout and pause for one second under tension, which keeps the long head loaded and dramatically increases time under tension without adding a single pound to the bar.
Sets & reps by goal
Build muscle3–4 sets × 10–15 reps
Get stronger3–4 sets × 6–8 reps
Lose fat / tone3 sets × 12–20 reps
Rest: 60–90 sec between sets.
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