Biceps exercise

Barbell Preacher Curl

Preacher curl with a straight bar, which fixes your arms in place and isolates the biceps.

How to do the Barbell Preacher Curl

4 steps, in the order you do them.

Sit at the preacher bench with your armpits over the edge of the pad and grab the bar with an underhand grip.
Start with your arms almost straight, without locking your elbows.
Bend your elbows up to shoulder height without lifting your arms off the pad.
Lower slowly until your arms are almost straight.

What goes wrong most often when you do the Barbell Preacher Curl, and how to fix it.

Your armpits don't reach the edge of the pad and your elbows hang off.
Adjust the seat so your armpits rest on the edge and your upper arms lie along the whole pad.
Your elbows lock out at the bottom and the bar drops through the last stretch.
Stop before full extension, with your elbows slightly bent, and curl up from there.
The bar goes all the way to your shoulders and the biceps rest at the top.
Stop the lift when your forearms are almost vertical. Higher than that, you lose tension.