Preacher Curls vs Hammer Curls: Which Builds Better Biceps for Beginners?

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Signup for Newsletter Fitness Calculators Upper Body Preacher Curls vs Hammer Curls: Which Builds Better Biceps for Beginners? By Robbie Wild Hudson | Oct 08, 2026 / 11 min read / –> / –> –> Follow Boxrox –> –> Biceps curls look simple, but the variation you choose can change which muscles do the most work, how stable the exercise feels, and how easy it is to progress with good technique. For beginners, preacher curls and hammer curls are both useful, but they solve slightly different problems.

Preacher curls put your upper arm against a pad, limiting body movement and making it harder to cheat the weight upward. Hammer curls use a neutral grip, with your palms facing each other, and place more emphasis on muscles that help the elbow bend alongside the biceps. Neither exercise is automatically superior for every goal.

If your main priority is learning to contract the biceps through a controlled curl, preacher curls are usually the better starting choice. If you want to build thicker looking arms while also strengthening your forearms and elbow flexors, hammer curls deserve a place in your routine. The best beginner plan often includes both, but with a clear reason for each.

Muscle growth comes from repeatedly challenging a muscle with enough tension, enough hard training sets, and steady progression over time. Exercise selection matters, but it is only one part of the result. A curl variation will not transform your arms if you cannot control the weight, train close enough to muscular fatigue, recover properly, and gradually make the exercise more demanding.

The biceps brachii has two main sections, commonly called the long head and short head. Its most obvious job is bending the elbow, but it also helps turn the palm upward. This is called forearm supination. The biceps tend to work strongly when you curl with an underhand grip because that grip combines elbow flexion with the biceps’ role in rotating the forearm.

Your arms also contain the brachialis, a powerful elbow flexor that sits underneath the biceps, and the brachioradialis, a large forearm muscle that crosses the elbow. Building these muscles can make the upper arm and forearm look thicker, even though the brachialis is not visible in the same way as the biceps.

Research consistently shows that resistance training volume is closely linked with hypertrophy, provided the sets are demanding and recovery is sufficient. That means a beginner should worry less about finding one perfect curl and more about performing a few quality sets with a repeatable technique.

A preacher curl is performed with the upper arm supported on an angled pad. You can use a barbell, dumbbell, cable, or machine. The key feature is the support under the upper arm, which reduces the ability to use the shoulders, torso, and momentum to move the weight.

The biggest advantage of preacher curls is stability. Beginners often turn standing curls into a whole body movement without realizing it. The shoulders drift forward, the torso swings back, and the hips contribute to the lift. This can help move more weight, but it also makes it harder to know whether the biceps are actually doing the work.

The preacher pad gives you a fixed position. It encourages a slower movement and makes the curl feel more direct. This can help beginners learn what a controlled biceps contraction feels like, particularly if they have struggled to feel their biceps during standing dumbbell curls.

Because the upper arm is supported, preacher curls can also make it easier to standardize progress. You can use the same seat position, arm angle, range of motion, and tempo from one session to the next. That makes it more obvious when you have genuinely improved.

The underhand grip used in most preacher curl variations also favors the biceps brachii because the muscle contributes to both elbow flexion and forearm supination. For a beginner whose primary goal is bigger, more visible biceps, this makes preacher curls a highly relevant exercise.

Preacher curls are demanding in the lengthened position, when the elbow is closer to straight. This can be productive, but it also means beginners need to resist the urge to chase heavy weights. Lowering the weight too aggressively or forcing the elbow completely straight under load may irritate the front of the elbow for some lifters.

You do not need to lock out hard at the bottom. Instead, lower the weight under control until your arms are almost straight and you still feel secure on the pad. Then curl smoothly upward without letting your shoulders rise or your wrists bend backward.

Preacher curls are also less practical if your gym does not have a preacher bench or curl machine. You can still do them with an adjustable bench, but hammer curls require less equipment and are easier to perform anywhere.

Hammer curls are performed with a neutral grip, meaning your palms face each other throughout the movement. They are usually done with dumbbells, although rope cable hammer curls are another excellent option.

The neutral hand position changes the contribution of the elbow flexors. The biceps still work, but the brachialis and brachioradialis can make a larger contribution than they do during an underhand curl. This matters because muscular arms are not built by the biceps alone.

Hammer curls are especially useful for building the muscles that add depth around the biceps and forearms. The brachialis sits beneath the biceps and can contribute to the appearance of a fuller upper arm. The brachioradialis runs along the upper forearm and helps create a stronger, more athletic look when viewed from the side.

Electromyography research has shown that changing grip position during curl exercises can alter muscle activity. However, it is important not to overstate what this means. More electrical activity in one exercise does not automatically prove that it will cause more long term growth. Muscle growth depends on training effort, total volume, range of motion, recovery, and the ability to progress over many weeks.

Still, the anatomy gives hammer curls a clear place in a balanced arm program. They train elbow flexion without relying as heavily on the biceps’ supination role, allowing you to challenge related arm muscles that may receive less direct work from standard underhand curls.

Hammer curls also tend to feel comfortable at the wrist for many beginners. If an underhand curl feels awkward or causes discomfort around the wrist, a neutral grip may be an easier option. Comfort is not a minor issue. An exercise you can perform consistently and confidently is more useful than an exercise that looks ideal on paper but causes irritation.

Hammer curls are not the most direct choice if your only goal is maximizing biceps focused work. The biceps still contribute, but the neutral grip allows more work to be shared by the brachialis and brachioradialis. If you only have time for one curl exercise and want to prioritize the visible biceps muscle, preacher curls with an underhand grip may have the edge.

Beginners can also accidentally turn hammer curls into a shoulder exercise by letting the elbows drift too far forward. Keep the upper arms close to the torso, curl the dumbbells toward the shoulders, and lower them with control. A slight natural movement is fine, but the elbow should not travel so far forward that the front deltoid takes over.

There is no strong direct evidence showing that preacher curls consistently produce more biceps growth than hammer curls in beginners over a long training period. That is an important distinction. The best choice depends on what you need most from the exercise.

Preacher curls are better for direct biceps focus. The underhand grip, fixed arm position, and reduced ability to use momentum make them an excellent teaching tool. They are particularly useful for beginners who struggle to keep their curls strict or who want an exercise that makes the biceps work hard with relatively modest loads.

Hammer curls are better for total arm thickness. They still train the biceps, but they also give substantial work to the brachialis and brachioradialis. This can help build arms that look more complete from multiple angles, while also improving grip related strength and forearm development.

If you are new to lifting, there is no need to choose one forever. Use preacher curls as your main biceps focused movement and add hammer curls as a secondary exercise. This gives you the benefits of both grip positions without filling your workout with unnecessary variations.

Start with two arm sessions per week, ideally after your larger pulling or upper body exercises. Beginners do not need huge amounts of direct biceps work because rows, pulldowns, and pull ups already train the elbow flexors.

Perform preacher curls for two or three sets of eight to fifteen repetitions. Choose a weight that lets you control the lowering phase and avoid swinging or forcing the bottom position. Stop each set when you feel you could complete roughly one to three more good repetitions.

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Perform hammer curls for two or three sets of ten to fifteen repetitions. Use dumbbells that you can lower smoothly without rotating the shoulders forward. You can perform both arms at the same time or alternate sides. Alternating can make it easier to focus on each repetition, while curling both dumbbells together can save time.

Progress by adding repetitions first. Once you can complete the top of your repetition range with good technique on every set, increase the weight slightly and begin building the repetitions again. This slow approach is much more reliable than jumping to heavier dumbbells before you have mastered the movement.

For beginners who want to build better biceps, preacher curls are the better primary exercise. They make it easier to learn controlled technique, limit cheating, and place direct emphasis on the biceps through an underhand grip.

Hammer curls are the better complementary exercise because they build the supporting elbow flexors and forearms that help make the arms look thicker and stronger. They are also a useful option for lifters who prefer a neutral grip or find standard curls uncomfortable.

You do not need an argument between the two exercises to become a better lifter. Start with preacher curls to develop your biceps focused technique, add hammer curls to build more complete arms, and prioritize consistent progression over constantly changing your routine.

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