Arms / Beginner / Isolation (single joint)

Two-Arm Dumbbell Preacher Curl

A dumbbell isolation exercise for the biceps.

At a glance

Primary

Biceps

Equipment

Dumbbells, Bench

Movement pattern

Elbow flexion (curl)

Level

Beginner

Type

Arms, Isolation (single joint)

Loads the elbow. Use a load you can control and skip it if it causes pain.

How to do it

1. Grab a dumbbell with each arm and place the upper arms on top of the preacher bench or the incline bench. The dumbbell should be held at shoulder length. This will be your starting position.
2. As you breathe in, slowly lower the dumbbells until your upper arm is extended and the biceps is fully stretched.
3. As you exhale, use the biceps to curl the weights up until your biceps is fully contracted and the dumbbells are at shoulder height.
4. Squeeze the biceps hard for a second at the contracted position and repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

Common mistakes

• ✗ Dropping into a straight arm at the bottom.

  Why it hurts: The biceps tendon is loaded at full stretch with the pad locking the arm; this is a known cause of biceps tears.

  ✓ Instead: Lower slowly and stop just short of a fully straight elbow.

Open in the appGet started