Dorian Yates is definitely not a fan of preacher curls. In a recent Instagram post (October 28, 2026), he explained that you should avoid the exercise at all costs, adding that it’s ineffective for building muscle and downright dangerous.
Yates’s bodybuilding career was all about going against the grain. He never conformed to conventional bodybuilding methods and was always open to learning new strategies. His high-intensity training system was inspired by the late Arthur Jones and Mike Mentzer, who both believed that achieving failure with minimal sets produced greater results rather than sticking with an arbitrary number.
Yates remains one of the most dominant champions the sport has seen. His training philosophy produced gold under the stage lights, and he went unbeaten during his six-year Mr. Olympia reign. After tearing his biceps and triceps while competing actively, Yates is outspoken about which exercises he believes ultimately work against us.
“Never Fuc**ng Do This Exercise” — Dorian Yates Says Stop Doing Preacher Curls Now
In the video, Yates said he never recommends preacher curls. He cited multiple reasons, including the lack of tension at the top portion of the rep and the vulnerable position it leaves the arm and bicep in throughout the movement. As an alternative, he suggested the Nautilus curl machine or dumbbell concentration curls.
“I don’t ever recommend this… What I’d do instead is use ideally, a Nautilus bicep curl machine since the resistance is the same throughout the movement. Or you could flip it and do this on a 90-degree angle or simply do dumbbell concentration curls. But yeah, I’m not a fan of these preacher curl benches or machines.”
“Never ever fucking do this exercise. Never. All you’re doing is this: massive tension on the tendon here, nothing at the top, just loads of stress on the tendon, and I go here [upward], nothing [no stimulus], so very unproductive and dangerous at the same time.”
He added that when using a Nautilus curling machine, the bicep goes through similar tension throughout the entire range of motion.
“Gravity at the bottom; there’s loads of tension, and as you come up, it falls off. A Nautilus machine is the same tension through the whole movement.”
Not everyone shares Dorian’s disdain for preacher curls. According to seven-time Mr. Olympia Arnold Schwarzenegger, they’re worth keeping in his routine. Schwarzenegger argued that preacher curls put more tension on the bicep compared with traditional incline dumbbell curls.
While some find the movement useful, Yates believes there are safer, more effective ways to grow bigger biceps. He stands by the dumbbell concentration curl and the Nautilus arm curl machine as two of his favorites.
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