11 Best Preacher Curl Alternative Exercises Proven To Help Grow Your Biceps

Preacher curl exercises focus mainly on the upper arm. Preacher curls are a classical resistance exercise that helps build and strengthen your biceps, brachioradialis, and brachialis. These three muscles let you flex your elbow.

You might wonder why the exercise is so named. It is because you assume the position of a preacher on the pulpit to perform the exercise. The preacher curl bench, which is the gym equipment used for the exercises is shaped like a pulpit.

But you can still target the muscles in your biceps if you do not have access to a preacher curl bench by going for preacher curl alternative exercises instead. The preacher curl alternative exercises are what we will be discussing in this article.

The preacher curl is one of the few upper body exercises that strengthen your biceps without much involvement of other muscles in the upper body.

Strong elbow flexors help you to maintain a fit and functional upper body. You use your biceps to carry out your daily activities, involving lifting, pushing, and pulling. Beyond these essential functions your biceps perform, they add more aesthetic value to your physique when properly toned and bulky.

What muscles do preacher curls target?

The Preacher curl is a targeted workout with a focus on the biceps. However, a couple of other muscle groups are also activated. These are:

• The biceps – include both the short head and the long head of the biceps muscle.
• The brachialis.
• The brachioradialis.
• The anterior fibers of the deltoid muscle are recruited into an isometric contraction to keep the shoulder static.

The fibers of the muscles in the forearm maintain isometric contraction during this exercise. That is necessary to keep the wrist from buckling forward or backward.

What are the limitations of preacher curls?

Even though the preacher curl is a popularly accepted exercise for strengthening the biceps, it might not be suitable for everyone.

• Using too much weight when doing the exercise can strain your biceps tendon and shoulder joint.
• You need a preacher curl bench to perform this exercise. You might not have the extra space and resources to get that, especially if you train at home.
• The unnatural locked supinated position of your forearms places too much strain on the forearm. and can cause pain that may develop into tendonitis.

Due to these reasons and many other reasons, many fitness enthusiasts, especially those of us who work out from home go for preacher curl alternative exercises that can give the same benefits.

Best preacher curl alternative Exercises That Can Help grow your bicep muscles

If you want to work those biceps and do not like the preacher curls or do not have access to a preacher curl bench, then these are some preacher curl alternatives recommended by experienced trainers and fitness experts

Dumbbell Concentration Curl

The dumbbell concentration curl was patented by bodybuilding legends in the ’80s. It is a great preacher curl alternative exercise as it isolates the arm and reduces the ability to use compensatory movements to lift weights. You don’t need any fancy equipment to perform it and it involves using your own body to lock your joints.

Required Equipment: Dumbbell

Steps to follow

• Sit down on a bench or chair with your feet just beyond shoulder-width apart.
• Select a weight that you find comfortable and grab it with your palms supinated – facing away from you.
• Incline your chest forward and position your elbow near the underside of your knee.
• Slowly and steadily, move the dumbbell towards your shoulder.
• Once you reach the top, pause a little before bringing the dumbbell back to the starting position.
• Repeat for the recommended amount of reps.

Tips

• It is advised that you perform 8 to 12 reps on each side.
• You can place your other hand underneath the opposite thigh for more support. It will help stabilize your body while keeping your balance. When doing this exercise, you should use gradual negative reps. It will help keep extra tension on your muscle fibers and further mimic a preacher curl movement.

Incline Curls

Incline curls are excellent preacher curl alternative exercises if you have resistance weights and an adjustable bench. The exercise is superior to the preacher curl in a few ways as it provides more constant tension during the set, which implies that your biceps have to work harder.

Required Equipment: Weights, Adjustable Incline Bench

Steps to follow

• Adjust the bench to an inclination of 45–60 degrees.
• Grab a pair of dumbbells. Sit down lying against the bench. Put your arms by your sides with your palms facing away from you. Maintain a proper body posture by keeping your head and neck straight.
• Turn your shoulders outwardly to engage your lats. Your upper back should remain firm and sturdy throughout the whole set. All repetitions should start from this position.
• While maintaining still upper arms, tighten your biceps and start to flex your elbows. Flex your elbows until your lower arms touch your upper arms. The dumbbells should finish close to your shoulders without touching your shoulders. Squeeze your biceps and pause at the top of the movement.
• While maintaining still upper arms, steadily extend your elbows to return to the starting place. Come to a complete stop at the bottom before beginning another repetition.

Tips

• It is possible to test your strength and lift heavy on incline curls. Do not hesitate to perform sets of 6-10 reps to focus on fatiguing the fast-twitch muscle fibers.
• Ensure that your elbows do not fall behind the line of your body to avoid putting excess strain on your shoulder joint.
• Use slow controlled reps and focus on the negative reps to mimic a preacher Curl.

Spider Curls aka Prone Incline Curls

Spider Curls is another good preacher curl alternative exercise. The only difference is that you do spider curls in a prone position (You lie on the weight bench facing downward).

The inclined dumbbell curl and the spider curl are likely the most popular preacher curl alternative exercises for bodybuilders who want to strengthen the short head of the biceps.

Required Equipment: Weights or EZ Curl bar, Adjustable Incline Bench

Steps to follow

• Adjust the bench to a slight inclination.
• Grab a pair of dumbbells and sit down facing the bench with your chest pressed against the pad and your feet firmly planted. Allow your arms to hang by your sides with your palms facing forward. Maintain a proper body posture by keeping your head and neck straight.
• Contract your biceps and begin to flex your elbows. Flex your elbows until your lower arms reach your upper arms. The dumbbells should finish near your shoulders without contact with your shoulders. Contract your biceps and wait at the top of the movement.
• While maintaining still upper arms, Slowly extend your elbows to return to their starting place. Come to a complete stop with your forearms parallel to the ground.

Tips

• Set the bench up at a slight incline
• Perform the biceps curl in a slow and controlled manner
• If you are too short, you can bend your knees and put them against the bench instead of sitting.
• Ensure your biceps are engaged throughout this movement. The starting place is with your forearms parallel to the ground. Do not let your arms hang down beside you.
• You can use an EZ Curl bar if you do not have dumbbells.

Chin Up

Chin Up is a great strength exercise that works your biceps and deltoids, among other muscles in the upper body. It is a straightforward yet effective preacher curl alternative workout. It targets your arms, back, middle back, shoulders, and upper body.

Required Equipment: Power tower or Pull up bar

Steps to follow

• Standing up, hold the bar with an underhand grip. Your grips should be shoulder-width apart.
• Move up till your chin touches the bar and pause a little while. Squeeze your glutes and quads and engage your core while moving towards the bar. Your chin should stay tucked under your chin throughout the move. Begin all repetitions from this position.
• Move upwards by pulling your shoulder blades down and pulling your elbows towards your body. Continue until your collar bone reaches the chin-up bar.
• Pause for a second at the top of the movement.
• Slowly lower your body back to the starting position. You should extend your arms with a slight bend in your elbows.

Goblet Squat Curls

Goblet Squat Curls are a great preacher Curl alternative that is good for your biceps and has tremendous effects on the lower body.

Required Equipment: Kettlebell

• Start by holding a kettlebell by the vertical handles. The top of the handle should be just under your chin. The kettlebell should be in front of your chest.
• Step out and maintain a shoulder-width stance with your toes slightly pointed outward. Squeeze your abs and draw your shoulders down and back.
• Squat down till your thighs are at least parallel to the ground. Keep your lower back straight and your upper arms inside your upper legs.
• Staying in the squat position, extend your arms and bring the weight down to the floor. Curl the weight back up.

Tips
Either do a set of curls before standing or stand up and squat down between curl reps.
You can also do this exercise with a single dumbbell or a weight plate.

Zottman Curls

The exercise is a modified version of the standing dumbbell curl. It is another great preacher curl alternative exercise for growing the muscles in your biceps.

The regular Zottman Curls emphasize the strength of your biceps, while the lowering part, especially when using a heavier dumbbell, makes it possible for you to overload your forearms.

It is a great way to build a balanced physique.

Required Equipment: Dumbbell

• Using a supinated grip, pick up a dumbbell of appropriate size in each hand. Your palms must be facing upwards when you grasp the dumbbells.
• Stand upright with feet about shoulder width apart
• Take a deep breath and curl the dumbbells in the direction of your shoulders
• Hold the curl for a second or two when you get to the top of your curl
• Then, rotate the dumbbells to get your palms facing downward
• Bring the dumbbells down to your starting position
• Repeat 8-10 reps to complete a set and 2-3 sets per session

Standing Bicep Curl

The standing bicep curl is another great alternative to the preacher curl. Just like the Preacher curl, it targets your biceps and other flexors of the elbow. Standing bicep curls are among the most popular preacher curl alternative exercises. However, they do not isolate the biceps to the same extent.

Required Equipment: Pair of dumbbells

Steps to follow

• Stand up straight with your arms beside you.
• Grab two dumbbells – one in each hand. Use a supinated grip – your hand palms facing forward.
• Slowly lift the weights by bending your elbows. You should keep your upper arms in the same position through the movement. Keep your upper arms in the same position throughout the exercise.
• Slowly lower the dumbbells into starting position in a controlled motion.

Drag Curl

The drag curl is another good alternative to the preacher curl as it targets your biceps with slight differences. It is very similar to the Standing Biceps Curl. The only difference is that you move your elbow backward during the exercise. By doing this, you recruit more fibers of the long head of the biceps.

Required Equipment: Dumbbells

Steps to follow

• Stand up straight with your arms hanging beside you.
• Grab two dumbbells – one in each hand. Use a supinated grip – your hand palms facing forward.
• Slowly lift the weights by bending your elbows. You should move your elbows backward throughout the movement.
• Slowly lower the dumbbells into starting position in a controlled motion.

Reverse Curl

The Reverse Curl is another alternative that focuses on your upper arm muscles. The change in your grip for this exercise means that you can recruit more fibers of the brachialis muscle (11).

Required Equipment: Dumbbells

Steps to follow

• Stand up straight with your arms hanging beside you.
• Grab two dumbbells – one in each hand. Use a pronated grip – your hand palms facing backward.
• Fold your arms slowly at the elbows. Fold it as far as possible and keep your upper arms in the same position throughout the exercise.
• Slowly lower the dumbbells into starting position in a controlled manner.

Crossbody Curl

Crossbody Curls differ from regular biceps curls because the curls involve a change in the upward angle. This allows more focus on the long head of the biceps (11).

Required Equipment: Dumbbells

Steps to follow

• Stand up straight with your arms hanging beside you.
• Grab two dumbbells – one in each hand. Use a pronated grip – your hand palms facing backward.
• Slowly bring the dumbbell from one side to the shoulder of the opposite side. Lift the dumbbell as far as possible by folding your arms at the elbow.
• It is impossible to keep the upper arm entirely stable during the movements. But try to maintain a fixed upper arm position as much as possible.
• Lower the dumbbell into the starting position in a controlled motion.
• Repeat the movement with the dumbbell on the other side.

Stability Ball Preacher Curl

Stability Ball Preacher Curl is another good alternative to regular preacher curl. The good news is you can do it without weights or even a bench. All you need is a stability ball or exercise ball

Required Equipment: Stability Ball

Steps to follow

• Start the preacher curl alternative exercise by placing your stability ball on the floor and kneeling behind it.
• With a dumbbell in one hand, rest your upper arm on the ball. Stabilize the ball with your free arm.
• Bend your elbow and curl the weight up until your forearm is vertical.
• Lower the weight and repeat.