The Lone Preacher Bench Arm Curl Fest

Pressure Cascade · Mechanism

Kneel at the preacher bench with one dumbbell and curl with the devotion of someone who truly believes in the power of bicep training. The One-Arm Dumbbell Preacher Curl is a beginner bicep exercise that isolates your arm with the kind of focused intensity that makes the rest of the gym fade away, leaving just you, the bench, and the burning desire for bigger arms.

You sit at the preacher bench with your working arm draped over the angled pad, armpit snug against the top, holding a dumbbell with an underhand grip. You curl the dumbbell up toward your face, squeezing your bicep at the top like you're trying to bend the dumbbell into a horseshoe with sheer arm willpower. Then you lower it slowly — very slowly — fighting the resistance on the way down like you're negotiating with a very stubborn door that won't close. The preacher bench pins your upper arm at an angle, which eliminates any cheating and provides a unique stretch at the bottom of the curl that targets the long head of the bicep.

The one-arm version lets you focus all your attention on one bicep at a time, which is great for building a strong mind-muscle connection and correcting any size or strength differences between your arms. You can also use your free hand to assist on the last few reps when your working arm gives out, a technique called forced reps that adds extra volume and extra pain in equal measure. Kneel, curl, squeeze, and build biceps with peaks so high that they cast shadows on your forearms