Cable preacher curl

Low cable, preacher bench

Cable preacher curl, end position — Images: Free Exercise DB (public domain)

A preacher curl with a bar or handle on a low cable in front of the bench. The cable keeps some tension near the bottom, where a free weight on a preacher bench goes light.

Upper arms flat on the pad
Lower until the arms are nearly straight
Curl up without lifting the elbows

Movement

Pattern: Elbow flexion
Type: Isolation, one joint moves
Sides: Both sides together
Equipment: Bench, Cable
Variation of: Preacher curl

Muscles worked

Main movers get full credit for a set, helpers half.

Upper body

BicepsMain
ForearmsHelper

Ratings

Scores 1-5 averaged over sources. Tap a rating for the claims behind it. Claims are our summaries of the linked sources, fact-checked by AI.

Muscle growth higher is better3.0
Solid; a reasonable default. 2 sources.
By muscle: Biceps 3.0 (2).
- 3/5 10 weeks in untrained young men, within-person: biceps thickness rose about 7%, not different from the Bayesian cable curl. Attarieh et al., Comparison Between Shoulder Flexed and Extended Positions in Elbow Flexion Resistance Training on Regional Hypertrophy and Maximum Strength: Preacher versus Bayesian Cable Curls. @ Results / Table 1for bicepspaperTrial2025checked by AI
- 3/5 10 weeks in untrained young adults: biceps thickness rose about 7%, no difference from the barbell version. Nunes et al., Placing Greater Torque at Shorter or Longer Muscle Lengths? Effects of Cable vs. Barbell Preacher Curl Training on Muscular Strength and Hypertrophy in Young Adults. @ Resultsfor bicepspaperTrial2020checked by AI
Loaded stretch higher is better1.0
Hardest part is at short muscle length. 1 source.
By muscle: Biceps 1.0 (1).
- 1/5 Authors describe the cable version as loading hardest with the elbow flexed and the biceps shortened, so tension is lowest in the stretched position. Nunes et al., Placing Greater Torque at Shorter or Longer Muscle Lengths? Effects of Cable vs. Barbell Preacher Curl Training on Muscular Strength and Hypertrophy in Young Adults. @ Abstractfor bicepspaperMechanism2020checked by AI