A preacher curl and a regular dumbbell curl both train your biceps, but they are not the same exercise.

With a regular dumbbell curl, your upper arm is free, which means your shoulder, trunk, and even your hips can start helping if the weight is too heavy. You may think you are training your biceps, but you might actually be swinging, leaning back, or using momentum.

With a preacher curl, your upper arm is supported on the pad.

That support takes away a lot of the cheating.

It keeps the shoulder more stable, reduces swinging, and makes the biceps do more of the actual work.

The preacher curl also tends to feel harder near the bottom of the movement, especially when your elbow is more extended. That is the part many people rush through or lose control of, but it is also where you can build a lot of strength and awareness.

Why this matters in perimenopause, menopause and post menopause:

We want strength training that builds muscle, but we also want exercises that help us feel where the work is happening. The preacher curl can be a great option because it gives you support, teaches control, and helps you train the biceps without turning the movement into a full-body heave.

How to do it:

Set your upper arms on the preacher pad.

Keep your chest tall and your shoulders relaxed.

Start with your elbows almost straight, but do not aggressively lock them out.

Curl the weight up slowly.

Pause briefly at the top.

Lower with control, especially through the bottom half.

Think: slow down, own the range, and let the biceps work.

Common mistakes:

Going too heavy.

Letting the wrists bend.

Shrugging the shoulders.

Letting the elbows lift off the pad.

Dropping quickly through the bottom half of the movement.

Find more exercise breakdowns and progressive strength and endurance training plans inside my Substack exercise library under Posts.