Reverse EZ-Bar Preacher Curl
Trains the Biceps, Brachialis and Brachioradialis.
- Equipment
- An EZ bar and a preacher bench
- Mechanic
- Isolation
- Force
- Pull
- Level
- Intermediate
How to do it
- Set a preacher bench so the top of the pad sits under your armpits.
- Rest both upper arms on the pad and take an EZ bar with an overhand grip.
- Start with the arms almost straight against the pad.
- Curl the bar up without letting the palms turn, keeping the wrists in line with the forearms.
- Stop when the forearms are roughly vertical — the range is shorter than an underhand curl.
- Lower under control until the arms are almost straight again.
Common mistakes
- Keeping your underhand preacher weight. Turning the palms down takes the biceps out of its strongest position and the load drops sharply — often by a third.
- Letting the wrists fold backward under the bar. The wrist extensors hold the hand in line and are usually the first thing to give out; when the knuckles start dropping the set is done.
- Snapping the arms straight at the bottom. The pad's angle makes the bottom the hardest point, and the pronated grip is weakest exactly there.
- Treating it as a weaker biceps exercise. The point is the muscles underneath — the brachialis flexes the elbow whatever the hand is doing, and the brachioradialis has its best leverage nearer this grip.