What Muscles Does a Preacher Curl Exercise?

Whether you're a fitness buff or someone who just enjoys keeping in shape as you age, strength-training exercises can benefit your health. Strengthening your arms through exercises such as preacher curls has a number of everyday benefits. This exercise isn't quite the same as traditional barbell or dumbbell curls, which target your biceps. By using a preacher bench, the exercise targets a different muscle.

A bald man in a tanktop performs a preacher curl in a gym. (Image: dkotinsky/iStock/Getty Images)

Target Your Brachialis

Whether you perform the preacher curl with a dumbbell or barbell, standing or sitting, the target muscle of this exercise is the brachialis muscle, which is part of your lower biceps. The brachialis aids the flexion of your elbow.

Other Muscles Help Out

While preacher curls target your brachialis muscles, you can't correctly perform this exercise without the help of some other muscles. The synergist muscles, which play an assisting role, include the biceps brachii and brachioradialis. The stabilizer muscles, which contract but otherwise have little to no movement, include your wrist flexors.