Machine Preacher Curl
The machine preacher curl is a curl with your upper arms resting on an angled preacher pad and a lever that follows a fixed arc. It isolates the biceps, with the hardest part at the bottom. Choose it to load the biceps in the stretched position, where dumbbell curls feel easy.
Muscles worked
The machine 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 machine preacher curl
- 01Adjust the seat so your armpits sit snugly over the top of the angled pad.
- 02Place the backs of your upper arms flat on the pad and grip the handles underhand.
- 03Line up your elbows with the pivot point of the lever.
- 04Curl the handles up until your forearms are close to vertical.
- 05Lower slowly until your arms are nearly straight, keeping a slight bend at the bottom.
Coaching cues
- Armpits tight on the pad
- Slow through the bottom stretch
- Curl up, don't lean back
Common mistakes
- Dropping into full lockout under load can strain the elbow, so control the bottom and stop just shy of straight.
- Leaning back to lift the weight takes your arms off the pad, so stay forward and choose a lighter load.
- Setting the seat too low puts your elbows above the pad's angle, so raise it until your armpits fit over the top.
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.
Machine 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 machine preacher curl free. Swole.fit picks the next weight, counts your weekly sets and tells you when to deload.