For biceps growth
For biceps growth, machine preacher curl rates higher on our research criteria: easier to progress, easier on the joints.
Incline dumbbell curl gives more stretch.
Both are good choices that train the biceps the same way, so they swap freely. Rotating between them every few weeks is an easy way to vary your training.
The research score comes from these, scored by hand from the studies. Lifter scores appear once an exercise has 10 ratings. How scores work
Incline Dumbbell Curl. The incline stretches the long head at the bottom of every rep.
Machine Preacher Curl. The preacher position loads the biceps at the bottom, and the machine keeps that tension steady and easy to progress.
For biceps growth, machine preacher curl rates higher on our research criteria: easier to progress, easier on the joints. Incline dumbbell curl gives more stretch. Both are good choices that train the biceps the same way, so they swap freely. Rotating between them every few weeks is an easy way to vary your training.
About the same: both are easy to learn.
Incline dumbbell curl needs dumbbells and a bench, so a home gym covers it. Machine preacher curl needs a machine, so for most people it’s a gym exercise.
Machine preacher curl: it rates Excellent for joint and recovery cost in our research rubric, against Strong for incline dumbbell curl.