Equipment
The preacher curl machine fixes your upper arms on an angled pad, so you can't swing the weight up. That keeps the work on the biceps through the whole curl.
Written by the GymStreak coaching teamUpdated
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You sit with the backs of your upper arms resting on a sloped pad and curl handles attached to a weight stack or lever. Compared with free-weight preacher curls, the machine keeps tension on the muscle near the top of the movement, where a dumbbell gets easier.
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Set the seat so your armpits sit near the top of the pad. Curl the handles up, squeeze, then lower slowly until your arms are almost straight. Avoid dropping quickly into a fully locked elbow with heavy weight: the stretched bottom position is where the elbow and biceps are under the most strain.
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Use the preacher curl machine as a second biceps exercise after a free-weight curl, for moderate to high reps.
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