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Exercise library · Biceps

Hammer curl

Curl for the biceps with dumbbells.

How to do it

1 of 3

Palms facing each other

  1. Starting position

    Stand firmly with a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing each other and elbows close to your sides.

  2. The movement

    Bend your elbows and curl the dumbbells toward your shoulders with the same grip, then lower them with control.

Most common mistake

Don't turn your palms upward, keep them facing each other throughout the movement.

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Muscle group
Biceps
Equipment
Dumbbells
Where
Home or gym
Logged as
Weight × reps

Muscles worked

Here the biceps share the work with two muscles that do more than in a regular curl. The brachialis sits under the biceps and bends the elbow whatever your grip, and the brachioradialis on top of the forearm is at its strongest when your palms face each other. That is why many people can lift a little more in the hammer curl than with palms up. The grip also trains your forearms. To shift even more work to the forearm, turn your palms down, as in the reverse curl.

Common mistakes

  • Swinging your body. When the dumbbells get heavy, it is tempting to use your hips and back for momentum. Stand still with soft knees and a braced stomach, and go lighter if you have to throw the weight up.
  • Elbows drifting forward. Near the top, your elbows tend to slide forward and up, turning the lift into part curl, part front raise. Keep your elbows by your sides and finish the rep there.
  • Dropping the dumbbells. The lowering is half the exercise. Letting them drop wastes part of the training. Control them all the way down, ideally over about two seconds.

Variations and alternatives

  • Dumbbell curl: palms facing up. Choose it when you want the biceps to do more of the work.
  • Reverse curl: a barbell with palms facing down, which puts even more on the forearms. Expect a lighter weight.
  • Zottman curl: up with palms up and down with palms down, to train biceps and forearms in one exercise.
  • Band hammer curl: the same grip with a resistance band when you train at home.

Sets and reps

The hammer curl handles slightly heavier weights than a regular curl, but it is still an isolation exercise. Very heavy sets of 3 to 5 reps usually become more swing than curl. To build muscle, 6 to 12 reps over 2 to 4 sets works well. For endurance, or with light dumbbells at home, you can do 12 to 20 reps. The guide to sets and reps explains how to choose.

Lift both arms together or one at a time, but stick to one way so your numbers stay comparable. Add one rep at a time, and only move up to the next pair once you reach the top of your range on every set. That is how progressive overload works when the weight steps are large.

Swap for

Taken, or missing the equipment? The same movement with something else.

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