BICEP CURL FULL

Exercise form still has to be on point, however. If the main training goal of any workout is to build mass, the best exercises to do are compound exercises working with heavy resistance levels and often lower rep ranges. Whether you are performing a preacher curl or barbell curl, your exercise form, including range of movement should be constantly scrutinized to make the most of these bicep exercises.Īssuming the exercise form and range of movement is good with both exercises, as we are using a straight bar, the muscles activated with both exercises are the same, so this is a draw Bicep curl or preacher curl for mass building? As the hand is supinated (palm rotated to face forwards), activation of both the long head and short head is present. The above images show a supinated hand and arm, along with the position of the long and short head of the biceps, marked in green. This can not only lead to low-quality exercise but can also flexibility issues.

BICEP CURL FULL

This is known as supination, so muscle activation is equal over both heads of the biceps on both exercises and there is an element of forearm muscle activation also.īy supinating the hands, we will automatically activate our biceps and this is why a full range of motion is important, if we are training “half reps” or “three-quarter reps” we are losing out on full contraction and full extension.

The long head of the bicepĪs we are using barbells to compare these exercises, the palms will always be facing up. If the bicep curl is performed with strict exercise form, the muscle activation will be similar to that of the preacher curl, but as there is no anchor point for the elbows and upper arms it has the potential to bring in other muscle groups if form is lost through muscle exhaustion.

This results in a much more concentrated muscle contraction and is the reason that trainers choose to use this exercise for isolated muscle activation. Preacher curls and bicep curls use the same hinge movements, but the big difference is that with a preacher curl, the elbows are in front of the body and in most cases, use an anchor point to keep the upper arm in position.

Bicep curl vs preacher curl muscle activation The short head of the bicep It may be worth experimenting with this if you can’t feel the work on the bicep.Īs these exercises can be utilized in a training session to maximize different training effects, this is a draw. The preacher curl movement is the same as the bicep curl, but as the elbows and upper arm are locked in place in front of the body, the exercise can be focused on the working muscles a lot more and the option for bringing in other muscles such as the shoulders are significantly reduced.īoth exercises should have a grip width of about shoulder width apart on the barbell, but this can be widened if the trainer has longer arms and shortened for trainers with shorter arms. A full range of movement at the start and mid-position of these exercises is essential, but remember not to lock out your joints if you don’t have control of the resistance. Some trainers will use this added mobility, but others will avoid it as it can take tension off the biceps. As the elbows are in line with the sides and not anchored to a single position, there is also an opportunity to bring in a slight shoulder rotation at the top of the movement whilst also moving the elbows forward slightly. The movement for the barbell bicep curl focuses on hinging at the elbows to contract the biceps. Preacher curl vs bicep curl movements Standing barbell bicep curl But there are differences in the positioning that make these exercises useful for different training effects. What do these bicep exercises do? The basic movement of both exercises is used to activate the biceps, both heads of the upper arm muscles. Elbows are in line with the sides of the torsoĪs it is with bicep curls, it is with preacher curls, there are many different ways to perform a preacher curl, and with a variety of equipment, but to keep this a fair comparison and for clarity, when we refer to a preacher curl in this post, we mean:.But for the purpose of this post, and to highlight the differences, when we refer to “regular bicep curls” we mean: There are many ways to perform bicep curls, they can be done with barbells, dumbbells, standing or seated, and there is certainly more than one preacher curl alternative out there. When looking for the right type of curl for your workout, and you are confronted with the bicep curls vs preacher curls decision, it’s a good start to understand what each exercise is designed to do.