Whilst EZ Bar Preacher Curls appear the staple of almost any man’s gym training for as far back as we can remember, both the EZ Bar product (previously known as both the Dymeck Curling Bar and the E-Z-Kurl) and the “Preacher Curl” exercise (popularised by Vince Gironda and his protégé Larry Scott, the first Mr. Olympia) have only been in commercial use since the 50’s. Despite having 60+ years for us to perfect the art of this lift, mistakes are commonplace - too much weight being used, insufficient stretch on the biceps at the mid-position, and swinging of the bar (momentum). Here, we’ll journey back to how the legends of the iron game intended for this exercise to be performed and achieved physiques that anyone would be envious of today: 

EZ Bar Preacher Curls

Start Position

EZ Bar Preacher Curls

Mid-Position

  1. Set up the “preacher” station to the correct height and load the bar with a suitable workout weight. 
  2. Hold the bar on either the inner or outer bends (whichever you find most comfortable); allow your hands to form a semi-supinated position to match the curvature of the bar and assume the load.
  3. With the upper arms positioned against the preacher bench pad and the chest against it, hold the EZ Bar at shoulder length. This will be your starting position.
  4. As you breathe in, slowly lower the bar until your upper arm is extended and the biceps is fully stretched.
  5. As you exhale, use the biceps to curl the weight up until your biceps is fully contracted and the bar is at shoulder height. Squeeze the biceps hard and hold this position for a second. 
  6. Repeat.

If you have found this article interesting, please support our free-online-resource by sharing it online. You may also wish to check out our Globe Gripz invention; similar to the EZ Bar being invented to reduce stress on the wrists and improve comfort by adopting a semi-supinated grip, our ergonomic workout aid is designed to allow many variations of grip for improved comfort when lifting weights. 

Thanks and best regards,

Matt

An aside: If you are unfamiliar with the names mentioned within this article, please check them out. For me, Vince Gironda is (was) one of the most important men in bodybuilding history; although many of his methods were (and are) considered unorthodox, gym equipment items such as the preacher bench, hack squat, sissy squat platform (less well-known), and v-shape dip bars, probably would not be in almost every gym around the world if it were not for his teachings. Here's the Wikipedia link for Vince Gironda: Vince Gironda.

Top image: Arnold Schwarzenegger (source unknown).
Colour images: Matt Bembridge (me) at Bob's Gym, Bristol