EZ Bar Preacher Curl
The EZ bar preacher curl is a biceps curl done with your upper arms supported on an angled preacher pad. It isolates your biceps and removes body swing, with heavy tension near the stretched position. Choose it over standing curls for strict, cheat-free biceps work and a hard bottom stretch.
Muscles worked
The ez bar preacher curl trains the biceps.
Primary
Weekly sets for biceps
Hard sets per week that Swole.fit plans for biceps, counting every exercise that trains it. Start a cycle near the growth line and climb toward the recovery limit before a deload.
How to do the ez bar preacher curl
- 01Adjust the seat so your armpits rest snugly over the top of the preacher pad.
- 02Grip the EZ bar on the angled handles with palms facing up and slightly in.
- 03Start with arms nearly straight and the backs of your upper arms flat on the pad.
- 04Curl the bar up until your forearms are close to vertical, squeezing your biceps.
- 05Lower slowly to near full extension, controlling the stretch at the bottom.
Coaching cues
- Armpits glued to the pad
- Slow on the way down
- Stop just short of vertical
Common mistakes
- Dropping fast into the bottom puts the elbow at risk, so control the lowering phase, especially near full extension.
- Lifting your upper arms off the pad lets you cheat, so keep your triceps pressed down throughout.
- Curling past vertical takes tension off your biceps, so stop when your forearms are nearly upright.
How Swole.fit programs it
Log it once and the app plans the next session for you.
- Most sets land between 8 and 15 reps, the range the plan steers isolation work toward for size.
- Week one starts around 2 to 3 reps in reserve. Each week you train a little closer to failure, ending around 0 to 1 in reserve before a deload week.
- Hit the top of the range on every set and the next session adds the smallest real jump in weight, rounded to the plates, dumbbells or stack you actually have.
- Sets for this exercise count toward your weekly volume for every muscle it trains: a full set for the primary muscles, half a set for the helpers.
The full method, with the maths, is in how mesocycles work.
EZ Bar Preacher Curl alternatives
Same muscles, different tool. Swap in one of these when the equipment is taken or your joints want a change.
Log it. Let the app plan the next one.
Track your ez bar preacher curl free. Swole.fit picks the next weight, counts your weekly sets and tells you when to deload.