Cable Preacher Curl

The cable preacher curl is an excellent exercise for building big biceps. It uses a specialized bench to support the triceps and isolate the biceps for a more targeted workout. This reduces the chances of shoulder involvement.

The cable provides consistent resistance to the biceps as your arm extends and returns to the starting position. This exercises the bicep muscle, which helps to build strong, well-defined arms.

This guide explains how to use the cable preacher curl for maximum muscle engagement and growth. Let's take a look!

How To Do

  1. Place the preacher bench close to the cable machine so that you can reach the pulley handle while seated.
  2. Adjust the seat height to ensure that your arms rest comfortably on the bench pad.
  3. Set the pulley height to the lowest possible setting to ensure that the exercise angle is low enough to effectively target the biceps.
  4. Securely attach a straight bar to the cable's carabiner, or attachment point.
  5. With your arms shoulder-width apart, completely extend them to grab the bar with an underhand grip.
  6. Inhale and engage your core. Exhale and contract your biceps to gently curl the weight up while keeping your body and upper arms stable. Your elbows should stay in the same position.
  7. When the biceps are fully contracted, hold the position. 
  8. Inhale and gently drop the weight until the arms are fully extended, making sure the weights do not contact the rack for continuous tension.
  9. Repeat the motion at a slow pace for a predetermined number of sets.

Tips From Expert

  • Warm up the biceps and elbows with stretches or start with light weights. It increases blood flow to the arms and shoulders, reducing the risk of injury.
  • To guarantee optimal muscular engagement, lift and lower with controlled movements.
  • Maintaining a moderate weight allows you to retain proper lifting form throughout the reps. Avoid using momentum to lift to limit lower back strain.
  • To improve stability, practice controlled breathing by inhaling when going down and exhaling when lifting up.

Optimal Sets and Reps

When performing the cable preacher curl, use the following table to find your sets and reps.

Training Type Sets Reps
Strength Training 3–5 4–6
Hypertrophy 3–4 8–12
Endurance Training 3–4 15–20
Power Training 3–5 1–3 (Explosive)
Optimal Sets & Reps of Cable Preacher Curl

How to Put in Your Workout Split

The cable preacher curl uses an isolation-type movement pattern while providing constant resistance. It offers several benefits when programmed correctly. 

The loading recommendations below are based on your one repetition maximum or 1RM. This is the maximum amount of weight you can lift with the correct form. You can customize your exercise split to engage your biceps as follows.

  • Hypertrophy — The cable preacher curl can be easily incorporated into an upper-body exercise plan designed to increase muscle mass. Use the cable preacher curl with weights totaling 60–80% of your one repetition maximum. Combine them with other bicep exercises such as barbell curls and hammer curls.
  • Strength And Power Training — Incorporate the cable preacher curl into your strength and power workout, using 80–100% of your one repetition max. This can be done following your compound movements. Perform it after overhead presses and barbell rows.
  • Endurance Training — Cable preacher curls can be adapted for endurance training by using less weight and performing more reps. Use 40–60% of your one repetition max.

For strength and power work, allow two to three minutes of rest between sets. For hypertrophy and endurance training, small rest periods of 60–90 seconds are enough.

Primary Muscle Groups

Biceps Short Head

Most inside portion of the biceps. Located at the front of your upper arm closest to your chest.

Biceps Short Head

The biceps brachii is made up of two muscles — the biceps short head and the biceps long head. The short head originates at your humerus, or upper arm bone, and inserts into your ulna, or forearm bone. 

It brings your forearm towards your body and bringing your shoulder towards the midline. The muscle flexes the elbow and stabilizes the shoulder as you curl the cable towards your chest.

The biceps brachii activation rate during an elbow flexion ranges from 10–20% of a maximum muscle contraction. Combining the preacher curl with other short-head bicep exercises improves its size and definition.

Secondary Muscle Groups

Biceps Long Head

Most outside part of your bicep.The front of your upper arm.

Brachialis

Muscle which starts at the middle of your upper arm and connects just below the elbow.

Wrist Flexors

Muscles that span the inside of your lower arm, between your elbow and wrist palm side up.

Brachioradialis

Muscle located between outside portion of your forearm from the elbow to the wrist.

Biceps Long Head 

The biceps long-head is on the outside of the upper arm. It performs elbow flexion and helps to stabilize the shoulders. It is more noticeable because it is on the arm's outside edge and largely contributes to the biceps appearance.

It works alongside the short head to curl the weight and stabilize the shoulders to keep the same arm position. Combining this with other long-head bicep exercises speeds up the muscular development process.

Brachialis 

The brachialis is beneath the biceps brachii and plays an important role in the arm's functional strength and aesthetics. It plays a key role in elbow flexion movements, with some considering it as part of the bicep muscle.

In the cable preacher curl, it stabilizes the movement and assists with elbow flexion while the biceps short head acts as the primary mover.

To best target the brachialis, change your grip on the bar to an overhand grip. This isolates the brachialis, resulting in maximum muscular activation during exercise.

Brachioradialis 

The brachioradialis muscle originates from the lower half of the upper arm. It links to the lower arm via the radius, also known as the forearm bone. It controls elbow mobility and helps stabilize the forearm when the hand is in motion.

Specifically, the brachioradialis aids with elbow flexion, especially when the forearm is neutral. It also aids with forearm pronation and supination, which are movements in which the palm turns down or up respectively.

When doing cable preacher curl, the brachioradialis distributes the workload with the biceps brachii. It helps to maintain grip strength throughout the movement.

Wrist Flexors 

The wrist flexors are found on the inner side of the forearm. These muscles help to flex your wrists and fingers, providing wrist stability. 

The cable preacher curl causes tension in these muscle groups as they actively contract when holding the bar and curling. They help to maintain a firm grip on the cable attachment by stopping the wrists from over-flexing.

Equipment

Lat Bar

Lat Bar

This provides a useful cable machine attachment that allows you to work your lats. Ensure you use the right grip width.

Single Pulley Tower

This is a smaller cable machine option that takes up less space. It can be used with a wide range of attachments.

Variations

Exercises that target the same primary muscle groups and require the same equipment.

Cable Hammer Curl

Cable Bicep Curl

Bayesian Curl

Close-Grip Lat Pulldown

Alternatives

Exercises that target the same primary muscle groups and require the different equipment.

Barbell Biceps Curl

Barbell Preacher Curl

Ez Bar Preacher Curl

Dumbbell Preacher Curl

Dumbbell Cross-Body Hammer Curl

Dumbbell Concentration Curl

Dumbbell One-Arm Zottman Preacher Curl

Dumbbell Zottman Curl

Dumbbell Zottman Preacher Curl

Crucifix Curl

Who Should Do?

Bodybuilders

Bodybuilders strive to achieve optimal muscular tone and definition. To do this, they need to perform suitable resistance training with enough exercise volume.

The cable preacher curl is a simple movement pattern that bodybuilders can easily program into their training regimen. It allows them to systematically increase load and volume, allowing them to achieve better muscle growth.

By isolating the biceps, the cable preacher curl can maximize biceps activation. This keeps the focus on the primary movers while limiting the participation of other muscle groups.

Furthermore, the utilization of cables ensures continuous resistance during the workout. With this, the muscles are activated throughout the full range of motion. This consistent resistance is essential for fostering hypertrophy and muscle endurance. 

Athletes

Total-body strength training is required for athletic success. Biceps strength is useful for various sports, contrary to the popular assumption that it is only a vanity muscle. 

Powerlifters and strength athletes need to use their full body to improve power generation when lifting weights. These include the bicep muscles, especially when pulling.

Strong biceps are also necessary for maintaining control and stability when completing heavy compound exercises. They also help to stabilize the elbow joint and increase grip strength.

Beginners

Beginners tend to have similar goes when starting a resistance training program. These include gaining muscle and improving strength. At this stage of training, focus should be placed on foundational training using simple movement patterns.

The cable preacher curl uses a simple elbow flexion movement with the preacher bench providing arm support. Because it’s easy to perform, it’s great for beginners to work their biceps using an easy movement pattern.

Who Should Not Do?

People With Chronic Wrist Problems

Exercises that stress the wrist joints should be avoided by athletes who have a chronic wrist injury or problem. Examples include those with carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinitis, or a history of wrist injuries in sports.

The cable preacher curl involves a significant amount of tension on the forearms and wrists. The wrist flexors need to work to control the wrist position as you curl. When combined, both of these may cause pain for people who already have wrist problems.

*Expert tip: If you have any wrist issues, speak with a physical therapist. They will advise or recommend an appropriate rehabilitation program such as a resistance band bicep workout.

People With Elbow And Forearm Issues

People with elbow or forearm issues such as tennis elbow, should avoid cable preacher curl exercises. These conditions frequently result in adverse symptoms such as discomfort, reduced range of motion, and weakness.

As a result of this, individuals may struggle to grasp or lift objects. They may also struggle to move the elbow joints through their normal range of motion.

The cable preacher curl requires repeated elbow flexion and extension, which might make elbow and forearm issues worse. This recurrent motion might cause more discomfort and swelling, slowing down the healing process.

Benefits Of The Cable Preacher Curl

Builds Strength 

To improve strength athletes and general gymgoers need to perform training at a suitable intensity. This allows the body’s adaptive responses to take place. In scientific terms, this is known as progressive overload.

The cable preacher curl isolates the biceps, increasing training intensity and allowing for progressive overload. The isolation guarantees that other muscles are minimized, leaving the biceps to bear the most load. This facilitates improved bicep strength and peak performance.

Therefore, regular performance of the cable preacher curl is a great way to build strength and improve performance. Include it at the end of your session after your main strength-building lifts.

*Expert tip: Gradually increase the weight to promote progressive overload and improve strength. Use a suitable model of periodization to achieve this as an advanced athlete.

Improves Stability 

Stability refers to the function of the joints and muscles when used against resistance. This determines the movement patterns that take place and therefore the risk of injury. Good body stability is important throughout sports performance and exercise.

Having good stability is vital for minimizing injuries and maintaining proper body form during a variety of physical activities. When you change position, your muscles maintain a stable body position. As you curl the preacher bar towards you, your elbows stabilize the movement of the forearms.

Regular practice of the cable preacher curl strengthens your key elbow flexors, improving arm stability. This helps to improve functional movement pattern performance and reduce the risk of injury.

Tones Muscles

Many people seek to tone or define their muscles for health and aesthetic purposes. Muscle definition is the degree to which different muscle groups may be separated from one another. This results from maintaining a healthy balance of lean muscle mass and body fat. 

The cable preacher curl has a considerable advantage since the cables provide consistent resistance throughout the whole range of motion. This continual strain keeps the biceps engaged at all angles, increasing muscular activation and growth. 

This consistent resistance provides a bigger training volume to the working muscles. With volume a key determinant of muscle growth, this directly improves muscle tone.

The cable preacher curl isolates the biceps and is easy to perform. Both of these make it easier to increase volume over time. Therefore, the cable preacher curl is great for improving the volume and therefore muscle tone. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How to set up a cable preacher curl?

Set the preacher bench to your desired height so your arms are firmly against the pad at chest height, attach a straight bar to a low pulley, and select the weight.

What muscles do cable preacher curls work?

The cable preacher curls primarily target the biceps short head. The secondary movers include the biceps long head, brachialis, and brachioradialis.

How heavy should I go on cable preacher curls?

Use the loading guidelines above based on your training style. Use a weight that will allow you to complete the rep range with proper form.

What are the disadvantages of cable preacher curls?

Cable preacher curls do not activate stabilizer muscles as much as free-weight movements. This is due to the cable machine’s assistance. Also, they require access to a cable machine, which may not always be available.

Can beginners do cable preacher curls?

Yes, novice trainers can safely execute cable preacher curls using lighter weights and focusing on proper form. They use a simple movement pattern that has a small initial learning curve.

Resources

Endomondo.com refrains from utilizing tertiary references. We uphold stringent sourcing criteria and depend on peer-reviewed studies and academic research conducted by medical associations and institutions. For more detailed insights, you can explore further by reading our editorial process.

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