Skip to content
Exercise details
- Target muscle: Brachioradialis
- Synergists: Biceps Brachii, Brachialis
- Mechanics: Isolation
- Force: Pull
Starting position
- Sit on the preacher bench with a dumbbell in each hand.
- With your elbows flexed, place the backs of your upper arms flat on the arm rest.
- Pronate your forearms (rotate them so that your palms face away from you).
Execution
- Keeping your forearms pronated, inhale as you lower the dumbbells until your elbows are almost fully extended.
- Exhale as you curl the dumbbells back up toward your shoulders.
- At the top of the movement, hold for a count of two and squeeze your biceps.
- Repeat for the prescribed number of repetitions.
Comments and tips
- You can perform the dumbbell reverse preacher curl with both arms simultaneously, as described, or with one arm at a time.
- Positioning your elbows in front of your body and pronating your forearms, as you do with the dumbbell reverse preacher curl, puts your biceps brachii into a state of mechanical disadvantage. In this position, the brachioradialis is a stronger elbow flexor than the biceps brachii and brachialis, which is why it is the target.
- The long head of the biceps brachii is activated more than the short head because the long head is more stretched in this position and can therefore make more of a contribution.
