E-Z bar preacher curl

The E-Z-Bar Preacher Curl is a classic weightlifting exercise that uses the E-Z bar—a zigzag-shaped bar commonly found in curl racks. It's a popular choice for building bicep strength and size. This variation differs from the straight bar curl in its hand position, which aligns your wrists and forearms more naturally.

Here we will delve into the muscles worked, how to perform E-Z-Bar Preacher Curls, benefits, common mistakes to avoid, reps and sets, how to progress this exercise, how and where to fit it into your workout plan and finally other exercises targeting the same muscle groups.

Muscles Worked When Performing the E-Z-Bar Preacher Curl

The E-Z-Bar Preacher Curl isolates the biceps, emphasising both the long and short heads of this muscle group. The preacher bench (also known as a curl rack) provides essential support and stability during the exercise, allowing for better isolation of the biceps.

No other muscle group should be assisting as you perform this exercise.

You can use the muscle highlighted image at the top of this page for a visual guide of the muscles worked.

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How to Perform the E-Z-Bar Preacher Curl

To perform the E-Z-Bar Preacher Curl effectively, follow these steps:

1. Equipment: You'll need a curl rack and an E-Z bar for this exercise. Position the E-Z bar on the rack.

2. Set Up: Take a seat on the preacher bench, ensuring that the backs of your upper arms rest on the pad in front of you. Your chest should also make contact with the bench.

3. Start Position: Hold the E-Z bar with your palms facing upwards and positioned slightly inwards to match the alignment of the bar.

4. Curl: With your arms firmly in place, curl up from your elbow, lifting the bar towards your chest. Focus on isolating the bicep, ensuring a full contraction at the top of the movement.

5. Back to Start: Hold the contracted position for a moment and then extend your bicep, lowering the bar back to the starting position.

6. Remember: Throughout the exercise, the movement should hinge at your elbow joint. No other joint or muscle group should be activated during this exercise.

7. Go for reps.

Benefits of the E-Z-Bar Preacher Curl

Incorporating E-Z-Bar Preacher Curls into your workout routine offers several benefits:

Bicep Development: This exercise is highly effective for building and shaping the biceps, targeting both the long and short heads of the muscle group.

Isolation: The support of the preacher bench (aka, curl rack) ensures that the biceps are fully isolated and engaged during the exercise, preventing the involvement of other muscle groups and momentum.

Stability: With the support of the bench and the more natural hand position supported by the E-Z Bar, you are set up for a more stable and effective bicep curl. Allowing you to effectively isolate the intended muscle group for maximum gains.

E-Z-Bar Preacher Curl: Common Mistakes to Avoid

To maximise the effectiveness of the E-Z-Bar Preacher Curl and reduce the risk of injury, be mindful of these common mistakes:

Form: Incorrect form may lead to the recruitment of unintended muscle groups, hindering bicep engagement and potentially causing injury. Pay attention to your technique throughout the exercise and keep yourself in check!

No Momentum: Remember that the E-Z-Bar Preacher Curl is an isolation exercise designed to work the biceps through a single joint movement (the elbow). Avoid swinging the weight through your shoulder or using your body for momentum.

Mind the Muscle: Concentrate on the bicep muscle with every single repetition to ensure that you are working it fully as intended.

Weight: Be mindful of the weight on the bar, make sure it’s not too light, but also not too heavy. The next section has details on how you can determine the right weight for you by determining how many full, clean reps and sets you can do.

Reps and Sets

The number of repetitions and sets for the E-Z-Bar Preacher Curl depends on your fitness level and goals:

Beginners: Start with simply mastering the move. Keep in mind that if you’re just starting out, 3 reps is a valid set.

To determine how many reps/sets of E-Z-Bar Preacher Curls you should start with, you first need to figure out how many reps you can comfortably perform. Then add 2, and perform that number of reps for 3 sets.

For example; let’s say you can perform 4 reps comfortably. Add 2 to make 6 reps. Perform those 6 reps 3 times over, allowing yourself sufficient rest inbetween.

Experienced lifters: You know your body and its abilities better than anyone, use your own judgment.

We recommend that you avoid performing more than 12 reps per set. If you’re comfortably performing 12 reps for up to 6 sets, it’s time to make the exercise more challenging.

How to Make the E-Z-Bar Preacher Curl More Challenging

Like most, you can make this exercise more challenging by increasing the weight you are working with. Alternatively, to make E-Z-Bar Preacher Curls more challenging, you can slow the exercise down to increase your time under tension.

How to Incorporate the E-Z-Bar Preacher Curl into Your Workouts

You can integrate E-Z-Bar Preacher Curls into your arm or upper body focused workouts, you can also combine them with other bicep exercises. Complementary exercises include Hammer Curls, Cable Curls, and Barbell Curls.

Because this is an isolation exercise, which is also a bar exercise, but not quite a full sized barbell exercise, and because it is performed on the preacher curl rack, you should perform this exercise after your barbell exercises, but before your dumbbell exercises. The reason for that is because you should always work through exercises in order of the most physically demanding to the least.

You can learn more about exercise order here.

Exercises that Work Similar Muscles to the E-Z-Bar Preacher Curl

Alternative exercises include; Preacher Curls, Incline Dumbbell Curls, and Cable Curls. These exercises complement the E-Z-Bar Preacher Curl and contribute to well rounded bicep growth as well as overall development of your upper body strength.

You can also check out our full list of Arm Exercises at the bottom of this page.

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