Muscles worked
The Zottman curl is two exercises in one. On the way up, palms facing up, your biceps and brachialis do the work as in an ordinary curl. Once your palms turn down at the top, the biceps are in a poorer position, and the lowering falls largely to the brachialis, the brachioradialis and the muscles on top of the forearm. It is a reverse curl, but only in the lowering, where most people are stronger than when they lift. That is why it is often used to train upper arm and forearm in the same set.
Common mistakes
- Turning with your whole arm. As your palms rotate, your elbows tend to flare out and your shoulders join in. Rotate only your forearms and keep your elbows close to your body.
- Wrists dropping on the way down. Palms down, the dumbbells pull your wrists towards the floor and the muscles on top of the forearm switch off. Keep your knuckles in line with your forearm all the way down.
- Choosing the weight from your normal curl. If the lift goes up but the lowering turns into a drop, the dumbbells are too heavy. Pick ones you can brake palms-down for at least two seconds.
Variations and alternatives
- The dumbbell curl keeps your palms up throughout, when all the work should go to your biceps.
- The reverse curl keeps your palms down both ways, when the forearm is the main target.
- The hammer curl sits in between with your palms facing each other, and is easier to learn if the rotation feels fiddly.
Sets and reps
Start with two to three sets of 8 to 12 reps, for muscle and endurance alike. The rotation takes concentration, so heavy low-rep sets rarely go well. Place it after the heavier arm work, or make it your only curl on a day when you want to cover biceps and forearms together. How reps relate to your goal is described in the guide to sets and reps.
For many people the forearms give out first. Only count reps where both the lift and the lowering went as they should, and add reps before heavier dumbbells. That keeps your progressive overload honest, even when one half of the movement is weaker.