The Hammer Curl Bicep Exercise is a variation of the standard dumbbell curl. The difference between the hammer curl and a standard dumbbell curl is that you keep your thumbs facing towards you. It is one of my favorite arms and bicep exercises. The reason? It exercises your biceps, one arm at a time if you do alternate hammer curls, which puts a lot of focus on your bicep muscles. Because your palms are faced inwards, the exercise doesn't put a lot of stress on your wrists, which is especially helpful if you have weak wrists like me. With regular dumbbell curls you might feel your wrists weaken for the last few reps, this does not happen with the hammer curl. The hammer curl also forces you to stop your range of motion when your wrists are about parallel to the floor, this keeps the tension in your bicep muscles. And one of the best things about the hammer curl exercise is that it hits your forearms pretty hard as well.
The two main types of hammer curl are the standing hammer curl and seated hammer curl. Essentially, both hammer curls have the same action. I will focus on the standing hammer curl here. OK, so here's how to do the hammer curl correctly.
Stand so that your feet are shoulder-width apart. Bend your knees slightly. Keep your back straight and your shoulders relaxed. Contract your abdominal muscles to support your back.
Grasp the dumbbells with an underhand grip. Let your arms hang down by your side with your elbows loose, not locked. For hammer curls, turn your palms inward so they face each other.
Lift the dumbbells, slowing until the weights reach your shoulders and keeping your wrists locked in position. Your arms and elbows must stay tight against your sides throughout the exercise. Keep your abs contracted and shoulders relaxed during the motion.
Lower the dumbbells slowly and fully extend your arms back to the starting position. Maintain a straight back. Your arms must be the only muscles working during the exercise to properly isolate the bicep muscles.
Repeat the exercise for about 3 sets of 12 reps to make sure you are building muscle.
Tips for the hammer curl
Through the whole hammer curl, keep your elbows locked in at your sides. If you find that when you are doing the hammer curl that your elbows are moving forward, lower your weight.
Don't lean back! Like I have been telling you with all bicep exercises, the hammer curl is no different. Use your bicep muscle to move the weight, not your bodyweight!
You can choose whether you do the hammer curl with one are or two at a time. I recommend the one arm hammer curl. That way you can focus your energy on that one arm!
