Reverse Barbell Preacher Curls

What it is

Performed on a preacher bench with an EZ-bar (easy curl bar), this isolation exercise targets the front of your upper arms. It specifically engages your biceps as the primary muscle, with your forearms acting as secondary movers. You will use a pronated, palms-down grip to emphasize forearm involvement while still powerfully working your biceps.

Technique tips

• Use a shoulder-width, palms-down grip on the EZ-bar.
• Ensure upper arms are fully extended and flat on the preacher bench at the start.
• Exhale as you curl the weight, squeezing your biceps hard at the top.
• Inhale while slowly lowering the bar, feeling a full stretch in your biceps.
• Avoid lifting your elbows off the bench during the movement.
• Maintain constant tension on your biceps throughout each repetition.

How to track your progress

Log the weight and reps of each set. Straddly turns every set into an estimated one-rep max, so a heavier single and a strong set of eight both count as progress, and it flags a personal record the moment you beat your best.