Which Exercise is Best for Biceps Training, Standing or Seated Preacher (Scott) Curls?
I'm putting together a small training facility in my town. I'd like to get your expert opinion on a particular piece of equipment, the preacher benches made by Atlantis. Do you recommend their standing preacher bench or the seated variation?
Now that we know why the Atlantis Scott Bench is superior, I will address your specific question. Do I prefer the standing version with its dual-sided pad, or the seated model? I definitely pick the seated variation over the standing one, for the following reasons:
First, sitting is easier than standing. The easier the posture is in any given exercise, the less neural drive needs to be diverted to maintaining the posture itself. In this case, that means there is greatly improved neural drive to the arms, which translates to faster strength gains.
It is also harder to cheat in the seated version of the scott curl, provided the bench is correctly designed and accurately adjusted. Since the Atlantis Scott Bench is well-designed and highly adjustable, the seated version is superior.
Finally, the Seated Atlantis Scott Curl Bench actually has two angles on it, just like the standing variation. The first one is approximately forty-five degrees, which comprises the main angle of the pad. The second position is the vertical angle that comes off the back end of the main pad. If you raise the main pad adjustment to a standing or semi-standing height, remove the seat from the bench, and face the opposite way, you can perform spider curls - a bicep curl similar to concentration curls in terms of the strength curve. This is the same exercise that you would perform in the dual-sided, standing variation.
