Zottman Preacher Curl

How to do the Zottman Preacher Curl

1. Grab a dumbbell in each hand and place your upper arms on top of the preacher bench or the incline bench. The dumbbells should be held at shoulder height and the elbows should be flexed. Hold the dumbbells with the palms of your hands facing down. This will be your starting position.
2. As you breathe in, slowly lower the dumbbells keeping the palms down until your upper arm is extended and your biceps are fully stretched.
3. Now rotate your wrists once you are at the bottom of the movement so that the palms of the hands are facing up.
4. As you exhale, use your biceps to curl the weights up until they are fully contracted and the dumbbells are at shoulder height. Again, remember that to ensure full contraction you need to bring that small finger higher than the thumb.
5. Squeeze the biceps hard for a second at the contracted position and rotate your wrists so that the palms are facing down again.
6. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

Muscles worked

Role	Muscles
Primary	biceps
Secondary	forearms
Equipment	dumbbell
Difficulty	intermediate
Type	isolation

No dumbbell? Train the same muscles with these

Ordered by how likely you are to own the 6 options.

Barbell Curl Barbell Close-Grip EZ Bar Curl Barbell Close-Grip Standing Barbell Curl Barbell Reverse Barbell Curl Barbell Barbell Curls Lying Against An Incline Barbell Close-Grip EZ-Bar Curl with Band EZ Curl Bar

Easier than the Zottman Preacher Curl

Same movement pattern, lower entry difficulty — work up from here.

Alternate Hammer Curl beginner · Dumbbell Alternate Incline Dumbbell Curl beginner · Dumbbell Barbell Curl beginner · Barbell

Superset the Zottman Preacher Curl with

Opposing triceps work — alternate sets without extra rest.

Dumbbell One-Arm Triceps Extension triceps Lying Dumbbell Tricep Extension triceps Seated Bent-Over Two-Arm Dumbbell Triceps Extension triceps Tate Press triceps

Common questions

What muscles does the Zottman Preacher Curl work?

The Zottman Preacher Curl primarily works the biceps, with the forearms as secondary movers. Alternate Hammer Curl, Alternate Incline Dumbbell Curl, and Barbell Curl train the same muscle, across 8 equipment types.

What equipment do you need for the Zottman Preacher Curl?

Dumbbells. Without dumbbells, Barbell Curl, Close-Grip EZ Bar Curl, and Close-Grip Standing Barbell Curl train the same muscle, and 1 of the catalogue's options for this muscle need no equipment.

Is the Zottman Preacher Curl suitable for beginners?

It is rated intermediate. Start with Alternate Hammer Curl, Alternate Incline Dumbbell Curl, and Barbell Curl and work up.

Where should the Zottman Preacher Curl go in a workout?

Late — the Zottman Preacher Curl is isolation work, so it follows your compounds. Supersetting it with Dumbbell One-Arm Triceps Extension and Lying Dumbbell Tricep Extension cuts session time without extra rest.

Similar exercises

Alternate Hammer Curl Dumbbell Alternate Incline Dumbbell Curl Dumbbell Barbell Curl Barbell Cable Preacher Curl Cable Machine Close-Grip EZ-Bar Curl with Band EZ Curl Bar Close-Grip EZ Bar Curl Barbell