Preacher Pad Home Gym Equipment Video Review and Workout Test

2022-05-13 22:16:43 By : Ms. Fiona hu

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We tested the Preacher Pad to see if it can help you get you a gym-worthy pump in your own workout space.

If you’re looking to blow up your biceps, you’re likely a fan of the preacher curl. (Okay, or maybe you hate doing them. But either way, they’re on your radar.)

Lots of gyms have specialized preacher stations, with padded benches that allow you to position your arms against them to eliminate movement and isolate your biceps. Since this gear is fairly specialized and takes up a good deal of space, it can be tough to do it bilateral (read: both arms working at the same time) preacher curls at home—which is why we typically suggest using an adjustable bench and one arm at a time.

Enter: The Preacher Pad, the new home fitness gear that Men’s Health fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S., evaluated with the help of trainer Joshua Thompson to the test using our MH Strong criteria. This portable preacher curl device looks to solve the problem by putting the whole preacher bench on your lap.

Crafted from soft black vinyl and high density foam, the $130 apparatus can be used in two ways. First, you can simply sit in a chair (or on a bench) with the pad on your lap to assume the standard preacher curl position. For another way to get pumped, put the preacher pad atop a bench or chair and set up behind the preacher pad on your knees so you get a little more length in your spine.

Some benefits our MH duo called out? The Preacher Pad is definitely a space-saver. “You don't need to take up floor space with your usual preacher curl machine,” says Thompson. It’s also portable, and you can likely get more out of the exercise assuming you set up properly and maintain correct form than you do with regular machines.

As for the negatives and whether you should make the splurge on the Preacher Pad, click the video above to see our honest review, as well as whether the product makes the cut for our MH Strong seal of approval.

And if you’re looking to challenge yourself on arm day with some stellar moves that target your biceps, check out this 25-minute workout to grow big biceps and best biceps exercises to build muscle.