# Is the Preacher Curl worth doing?



## Nick+ (Jan 9, 2006)

I bought a new (Weider)bench recently , with a solid preacher curl pad attachment thrown in........

Never done Preacher curls in my life before......So I'm finding them very hard to do with a very light weight (presently 16kgs/35lbs for  3 sets of less than 10 reps). Finding the day after that the biceps are very sore where they meet the elbow.

Is this exercise of any use and worth doing?


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## GFR (Jan 9, 2006)

I do 2 sets most back workouts.


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## PWGriffin (Jan 9, 2006)

Nick+ said:
			
		

> I bought a new (Weider)bench recently , with a solid preacher curl pad attachment thrown in........
> 
> Never done Preacher curls in my life before......So I'm finding them very hard to do with a very light weight (presently 16kgs/35lbs for  3 sets of less than 10 reps). Finding the day after that the biceps are very sore where they meet the elbow.
> 
> Is this exercise of any use and worth doing?



If ur bi's are sore where they meet the elbow this is most likely the tendons and connective tissues that are sore and not the muscle itself...that will pass if you keep on with isolated curls...


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## dougnukem (Jan 9, 2006)

Yea, the soreness should pass.  I used to do Preachers, but have been doing other movements as of late.  ie: BB curls, DB curls, or hammer curls.


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## Nick+ (Jan 9, 2006)

I do 2 sets most back workouts.   

If ur bi's are sore where they meet the elbow this is most likely the tendons and connective tissues that are sore and not the muscle itself...that will pass if you keep on with isolated curls...

Sp preacher curls are an isolation exercise........    But standing bicep curls with a straight or EZ bar would not be?

Yea, the soreness should pass. I used to do Preachers, but have been doing other movements as of late. ie: BB curls, DB curls, or hammer curls.


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## kenwood (Jan 9, 2006)

yes i like preacher curls


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## kenwood (Jan 9, 2006)

yes i like preacher curls


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## Nick+ (Jan 9, 2006)

kenwood said:
			
		

> yes i like preacher curls



twice said: maximum impact


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## MyK (Jan 9, 2006)

I love preacher curls, only reason most people cant do them is because you cant do as much weight as with hammers.

I do dumbells, make sure you do a full range of motion!


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## Nick+ (Jan 9, 2006)

MyK said:
			
		

> I love preacher curls, only reason most people cant do them is because you cant do as much weight as with hammers.
> 
> I do dumbells, make sure you do a full range of motion!



Only tried BB so far- what damn bit of the arm are they supposed to hit anyway????


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## PWGriffin (Jan 9, 2006)

Nick+ said:
			
		

> I do 2 sets most back workouts.
> 
> If ur bi's are sore where they meet the elbow this is most likely the tendons and connective tissues that are sore and not the muscle itself...that will pass if you keep on with isolated curls...
> 
> ...



With standing bb curls you can use momentum to ur advantage and sway and swing the weight around...hence, why Preachers are harder and require you to knock the weight down a bit.


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## MyK (Jan 9, 2006)

Nick+ said:
			
		

> Only tried BB so far- what damn bit of the arm are they supposed to hit anyway????



 bicep!!!!


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## dougnukem (Jan 9, 2006)

PWGriffin said:
			
		

> With standing bb curls you can use momentum to ur advantage and sway and swing the weight around...hence, why Preachers are harder and require you to knock the weight down a bit.



So you mean you can't throw your shoulders into preachers?


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## MyK (Jan 9, 2006)

dougnukem said:
			
		

> So you mean you can't throw your shoulders into preachers?



not really no!


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## MyK (Jan 9, 2006)

Nick+ said:
			
		

> Only tried BB so far- what damn bit of the arm are they supposed to hit anyway????



do you have an EZ curl bar?


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## Nick+ (Jan 9, 2006)

PWGriffin said:
			
		

> With standing bb curls you can use momentum to ur advantage and sway and swing the weight around...hence, why Preachers are harder and require you to knock the weight down a bit.



Interesting. Yes, with standing EZ/straight bar curls, one can end up 'swinging the torso', (I've tried to avoid it as much as possible , and don't do very fast reps either ---5 seconds positive)  

I still feel with the preacher (as I'm totally new to it) that it's hitting some other part of the arms....and I'm not saying this is bad. Just want to know more about it.........


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## dougnukem (Jan 9, 2006)

MyK said:
			
		

> not really no!



Sure you can.  Unless you do spider curls.


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## GFR (Jan 9, 2006)

I like the peek they give to my biceps


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## Nick+ (Jan 9, 2006)

MyK said:
			
		

> do you have an EZ curl bar?



Yes, but been doing preacher with straight bar.


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## GFR (Jan 9, 2006)

True story


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## MyK (Jan 9, 2006)

ForemanRules said:
			
		

> I like the peek they give to my biceps


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## MyK (Jan 9, 2006)

Nick+ said:
			
		

> Yes, but been doing preacher with straight bar.



hmm, the straight bar really hurts my wrists!!


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## Nick+ (Jan 9, 2006)

So EZ or Straight better?


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## MyK (Jan 9, 2006)

Nick+ said:
			
		

> So EZ or Straight better?



my opinion is dumbell! 

I'd say EZ over straight, but if the straight bar is comfortable for you, you can use it!


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## Nick+ (Jan 9, 2006)

MyK said:
			
		

> hmm, the straight bar really hurts my wrists!!



yea use EZ for reverse bicep and normal bicep curls now.
just thought I'd try the straight for something new.......


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## dougnukem (Jan 9, 2006)

It depends on the person.  Some people get pain in their wrists with straight bars.


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## Nick+ (Jan 9, 2006)

MyK said:
			
		

> my opinion is dumbell!
> 
> I'd say EZ over straight, but if the straight bar is comfortable for you, you can use it!



Never tried DB's!!!!!


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## dougnukem (Jan 9, 2006)

Nick+ said:
			
		

> Never tried DB's!!!!!


You're missing out then.


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## Nick+ (Jan 9, 2006)

I've only got pains in the wrist since returning to the straight bar after the EZ (which I only bought a year ago)   Used to have no wrist pains with the straight.........

Mind you I was probably using joke weights....


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## MyK (Jan 9, 2006)

Nick+ said:
			
		

> just thought I'd try the straight for something new.......



hey man, lets stick to the topic!


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## Nick+ (Jan 9, 2006)

dougnukem said:
			
		

> You're missing out then.



I'll try them out some time.


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## dougnukem (Jan 9, 2006)

It also can depends on your hand placement with a straight bar.  A lot of folks take too narrow of a grip and put undo strain on their wrists.


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## Nick+ (Jan 9, 2006)

dougnukem said:
			
		

> It also can depends on your hand placement with a straight bar. A lot of folks take too narrow of a grip and put undo strain on their wrists.



The 'preacher {45°}pad' is narrower than my shoulder width. so I'm forced to do the exercise  hands closer together. Any standing curl: I'll hold bar (straight or EZ)  shoulder width.

Thats interesting, I wonder how much more strain could be caused by the hand being closer together.........


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## The13ig13adWolf (Jan 9, 2006)

regarding preacher curls, be sure to stay tight at the top of the movement rather than easing the tension.


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## ABLQ2 (Jan 9, 2006)

i prefer an ez curl bar on the preacher curl station because the movement feels more natural.

the reason for your tendons being sore is because when you did normal standing curls, you probably failed to bring the weight all the way down to the bottom position where you bicep should be totally taught and (as the sticky says) you should be able to flex your tricep.  i have no science to back up this reasoning but i noticed the same thing when i first began working out back in the day.  when you really think about it though, the portion of a preacher curl where your arm is working hardest against gravity is the lower part of the lift - halfway through the lift, you just pull the weight back, rather than continue to bring it up.  thats why i still prefer strait bar curls with my elbows pull slightly back.  if you have trouble with your torso moving, put your back against the wall, or get a bicep blaster.  

a lot of people fail to recognize that free weights have their weakness as well... they only work against gravity.


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## CowPimp (Jan 9, 2006)

The reason you find preacher curls hard to do is two-fold: muscles are designed to exert the most force when the moment arm is naturally the longest and because the force curve is altered from your standard curl variations.  

Basically, the biceps exert the most force when your elbow is at a 90 degree angle because naturally that is where it will encounter the most resistance.  When you put your elbows on an angled pad, you now encounter the most resistance at a more obtuse angle.

Also, because the force curve is altered in this manner, you are not very neurologically efficient at following this pattern compared to a plethora of other curl variations.  Your strength will probably get a little burst initially and then taper off as your adapt.


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## Nick+ (Jan 9, 2006)

Thanks, good info .   

I'll stick with the straight bar for the minute...............(as I'm using the EZ standing, just for variety)


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## lil2fiddyguy (Jan 10, 2006)

I have only tried them a couple times. I was kicked out of church for it though. dOh! bad jokE. ctrl+z ctrl+z!!


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## musclepump (Jan 11, 2006)

If done properly then preachers curls are fantastic.


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## Tier (Jan 11, 2006)

I do DB preacher curls, Barbell standing curls, then hammer curls
2 sets each


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## BoneCrusher (Jan 11, 2006)

As everyone else is saying preachers rock.  I love preachers and highly recommend you build them into your workouts.  They do tend to show the weak spots in your bi's as you've already noticed.  If the pain is in the sides of your bi's close to the elbow go very easy and light till that pain backs off or you will tear your bicep like I did ... it really sucks.  Sat me out for eight frickin months before I healed up well enough to lift heavily again.

Anyways enjoy the preachers mayn.


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## Nick+ (Jan 12, 2006)

BoneCrusher said:
			
		

> As everyone else is saying preachers rock. I love preachers and highly recommend you build them into your workouts. They do tend to show the weak spots in your bi's as you've already noticed. If the pain is in the sides of your bi's close to the elbow go very easy and light till that pain backs off or you will tear your bicep like I did ... it really sucks. Sat me out for eight frickin months before I healed up well enough to lift heavily again.
> 
> Anyways enjoy the preachers mayn.



After the last workout my biceps near the elbow were _very_ sore for about three days . And that's after using sod all weight  {17kgs/37lbs x 5reps + 15kgs/33lbs x  10 + 8 reps}. I'll go easy on the weight after hearing about tears ....... 

I'm quite accomplished at doing my back in(every couple of months) , don't want to start wrecking the biceps too.........


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## DOMS (Jan 12, 2006)

Preachers are great.  The reason that you can only use so little weight is that they're a single-joint exercise (isolation) and you can't use any body English to work it up.

As for you're bicep hurting close to the elbow, yes, like PWGriffin said, it's likely the tendon.  What little I've read about suggests that improper preacher curls can cause damage to the tendon.  Just make sure that you warm up first and that you use muscle to bring the weight down and not gravity.   As always, don't let your ego decide how much weight to lift.

The soreness that I experienced went away after a while. Just give it some time.


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