Cable Preacher Curl
Trains the Biceps.
- Equipment
- A cable station and a preacher bench
- Mechanic
- Isolation
- Force
- Pull
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Set a preacher bench in front of a low pulley with a straight or EZ bar attached.
- Set the bench so the top of the pad sits under your armpits.
- Rest both upper arms on the pad and take the bar with an underhand grip.
- Start with the arms almost straight against the pad.
- Curl the bar up until the forearms are roughly vertical.
- Lower under control until the arms are almost straight again.
Common mistakes
- Snapping the arms straight at the bottom. On a preacher pad the bottom is the hardest position and the elbow has nowhere to escape to; the descent is controlled and stopped just short of lockout.
- Placing the pulley too far back. The cable should pull along the line the forearms travel; from too far behind it drags the bar into the pad instead.
- Lifting the upper arms off the pad to finish. The pad exists to fix the upper arm, and coming off it is the same cheat as elbows drifting forward on a standing curl.
- Assuming the cable is strictly better than the bar. It keeps tension at the top where a barbell goes light, and it is lighter at the bottom where a barbell is hardest — a different curve, not an improved one.