The preacher curl is a super-strict exercise designed to isolate the bicep muscle and cause significant strength increase and muscle growth in the arms. It requires a preacher curl bench to place your triceps against to prevent any unneeded movement in the arms. The preacher curl can be performed using dumbbells or a barbell.
But what happens if you don’t have a preacher curl available to you in the gym or at home? In this guide, you’ll discover the number 1 preacher curl alternative and many others you can perform at home without needing a preacher curl bench.
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10 Best Preacher Curl Alternatives
While the preacher curl is a fantastic bicep builder, sometimes it’s impossible to perform the exercise in your gym or at home. If you find yourself in this position, here’s a list of 10 of the best alternatives to preacher curls that’ll stimulate your biceps and forearms into growth.
1. Wall Curls
Wall curls are one of the hardest bicep exercises to perform due to the strict movement pattern it creates. To put it simply, the wall curl is when you perform a bicep curl with your back against the wall... who’d have guessed it?
Placing your back against the wall removes any swinging and swaying that might occur during the movement. This increases the difficulty as your biceps need to work harder to move the weight.
It’s an excellent preacher curl substitute.
How to perform it:
Related Article - Barbell Vs Dumbbell Curls
2. Sitting Dumbbell Curls
If you want the perfect alternative for preacher curls, the sitting dumbbell curl is the one for you. As you’re in a seated position, it’ll prevent you from swaying too much. However, there is still a small amount of sway, so you should be able to lift a heavier load in theory.
How to do it:
Garage Gym Pro Tip: Twist your hands inward at the bottom of the movement to fully lengthen the biceps; I always find this increases the range of motion during the exercise.
3. Incline Dumbbell Curls
This barbell preacher curl alternative is a seated dumbbell curl with the bench placed at an incline rather than upright. The bench is placed roughly between straight up and completely flat (Usually 2-3 pin positions from upright).
The incline position increases the difficulty allowing no swinging movement to occur. Another benefit of the incline dumbbell curl is that it changes the way gravity acts on the bicep, increasing the work done by the bicep.
How to do it:
4. Prone Incline Curl
The prone incline curl looks extremely similar to the spider curl (which you’ll see in a moment); however, the movement is entirely different.
During this preacher curl alternative, you lift the dumbbell across your body, which targets the outer head of the biceps (long head).
How to do it:
5. Single Incline Bench Curl
This dumbbell preacher curl alternative is excellent if you don’t have a preacher curl bench available, allowing you to use a regular bench to support your arm during the movement.
During this movement, you get all the benefits of the preacher curl without needing to have access to the equipment.
How to do it:
Read Also - 20 Single Dumbbell Exercises
6. Spider Curl
The spider curl is pretty similar to the preacher curl as your arms are placed at roughly the same angle as they would be during the preacher. However, your upper arms are relatively free, so the movement isn’t as strict as the preacher curl.
How to do it:
See Also - Hammer Vs Bicep Curls
7. Dumbbell Concentration Curl
The dumbbell concentration curl is probably the closest dumbbell preacher curl alternative there is. It’s ideal for anyone who doesn’t have the equipment to perform a preacher curl in their home gym.
During the dumbbell concentration curl, your leg minimizes the movement your arm can do, placing the entire load on the biceps. As the movement is extremely strict, making it difficult to “cheat” during your set.
Another major reason I love this substitute for the preacher curl is because it's a unilateral movement, so you can train each arm equally without developing muscular imbalances.
How to do it:
8. Cable Concentration Curl
This preacher curl substitute is almost identical to the regular concentration curl, but you use a cable instead of a dumbbell with one significant difference.
Using a cable challenges the bicep differently as it applies constant tension to the biceps throughout the entire movement. You'll need a cable machine for this one.
How to do it:
9. Wide-Grip Barbell Bicep Curl
The wide-grip barbell bicep curl is one of the first bicep exercises you undoubtedly performed when you first started working out. It’s a fantastic biceps developer and has proven to activate more muscle fibers than the dumbbell.
During this barbell preacher curl alternative, the wider grip moves the focus to the short head of the bicep (inner biceps), so if you find you're lacking size in that area, they're ideal for you.
How to do it:
10. Floor Curls
When it comes to alternatives to preacher curls, the floor curl is excellent for bicep development.
The exercise is relatively similar to the wall curl, except you’re lying on the floor. However, you need to use a cable machine to create tension in the biceps during this movement. Due to this, you can adjust the angle of the cable to alter the angle of the bicep curl.
Although the angle of the cable doesn’t make a huge difference, it’s nice being able to work the biceps through various angles.
How to do it:
What Muscles Do Preacher Curl Substitutes Work? (Do They Build Mass?)
Biceps Brachii
The biceps are made up of two smaller muscles:
Both the long and short heads can be worked during the preacher curl. Simply adjust your hand placement, and a wider grip works your short head, while a close grip works your long head.
Anterior Deltoids
The anterior deltoids are located at the front of your shoulders, and they are worked during the bicep curl; however, during the preacher curl, they aren’t. This is due to the preacher curl bench placing the load entirely on your biceps and forearms.
Forearm Muscles
During the preacher curl, the forearms are required to grip and help stabilize the barbell or dumbbell. This makes the preacher curl a great forearm builder.
Learn More - Best Dumbbell Forearm Exercises
Benefits Of Preacher Curls & Similar Exercises
The preacher curl involves resting your triceps against an angled bench to help control the bicep curl movement, preventing swinging from occurring.
It's suitable for most ability ranges and benefits anybody looking to develop thick-looking biceps and forearms. Legendary bodybuilder Larry Scott famously developed god-like arms that no other bodybuilders could compete with.
The main benefits to the preacher curl include:
Personally, I find the preacher curl far superior to the standing bicep curl.
How To Make Your Own Preacher Curl Bench At Home
If you enjoy building your own gym equipment, you’ll definitely want to create a preacher curl. The steps below are a brief outline of how to make your own preacher curl bench at home.
- 1Collect all the materials you’ll need for your home preacher curl bench, such as wood (2x4), screws, nuts & bolts, plywood, sponge or foam, and material for the seat and pads.
- 2Ensure you have all the correct equipment: Saws, hammer, power tools, etc.
- 3Start by cutting the wooden (2x4) into two long pieces to form the base. Then cut two uprights per side to give the bench some height.
- 4Construct the seat part of the preacher curl using the wooden 2x4.
- 5Build another vertical section along with a 30-degree angle tilting towards the seating area. This forms the back pad for your arms.
- 6Build a platform for the barbell to rest on between sets.
- 7Add plywood to the frame to form the seating area and a solid base for the arm pad.
- 8Apply the sponge or foam material to the plywood and attach the finishing material, e.g., leather or soft material.
- 9Ensure all parts are fixed and form a solid construction before using the preacher curl bench.
Frequently Asked Preacher Curl Questions
Can you do preacher curls without a bench?
If you don’t have a bench available in your home gym, the easiest way to preacher curl without a bench is to use your legs to support the back of your arms.
Sit down and place the back of your arm against your leg and curl the weight. While this isn’t perfect, it’s a brilliant substitute for preacher curls.
Why are preacher curls bad?
So long as you’re using good form, the preacher curl is a brilliant exercise for building the biceps. However, I must add that you don’t require an awful lot of weight due to the preacher curls strict nature.
I’d recommend using lighter weight and upping the weight once you’ve completed 3-4 sets with excellent form.
Lifting too heavy with bad form places a lot of strain on the biceps tendons and shoulder joints.
Why is the preacher curl so hard?
Preacher curls are challenging due to the extremely strict movement. By placing your triceps on a pad, you can’t cheat any of the reps or use momentum to help curl the dumbbell or barbell.
This places all of the work required onto the biceps, making it a much harder exercise than the regular bicep curl, which is easier to cheat on.
Conclusion
Even though the preacher curl is an excellent movement to increase the size and strength of your biceps, there are many other alternatives available to you.
The list above is 10 of the best preacher curl alternatives you can perform in your home gym. Combine a couple of these alternatives to fill your t-shirts with impressive-looking arms.
Next time someone asks you "which way to the beach," you can show them with your god-like arms.
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Last Updated on February 22, 2023
