How to do the Hammer curl exercise in detail

The hammer curl is one of the most important exercises mainly targeting the biceps (biceps), along with the upper and lower arm muscles. This exercise uses dumbbells (weights).

The hammer curl is a great addition to your upper body strengthening routine, In this article, we'll learn how to do the hammer curl, its types, common mistakes, and safety precautions.

How to perform the hammer curl exercise

The hammer curl needs dumbbells or suitable weights, You can do this exercise by following these steps:-

1. Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold a dumbbell in each hand at your sides.

2. Bend your elbows and lift your forearms to pull the dumbbells toward your shoulders, keeping your upper arms still.

3. Hold this position for about a second at the top of the movement.

4. Straighten your elbows to lower the dumbbells back to the start.

5. Repeat this exercise for 10-12 reps, for three sets.

Benefits of Hammer Curl Exercises

The hammer curl targets the biceps muscle in the arm, often called the "show-off" muscle because it's easy to see at the front of the body. People aiming for a muscular biceps often focus on this exercise for a sportier look.

Inside the body, the biceps is like the elbow hinge, meaning it controls bending at the elbow joint and also helps rotate the forearm.

Also, in daily movements, strong biceps help lift and carry heavy stuff and assist in other arm actions like closing doors or pulling things toward you.

Hammer curls are a solid way to build strong biceps. They help increase size and strength, and adding them to your workout routine can improve wrist stability and grip strength.

Other variations of the hammer curl exercise

There are many other ways to do hammer curls to fit different fitness levels and goals. You can make it easier or harder using benches, weights, or combining it with other exercises.

Other hammer curl variations include:

1. Alternating hammer curl exercise

If doing the hammer curl the standard way is tough, you can alternate by lifting one dumbbell while lowering the other by your side.

• How to do this exercise

1. Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart, hold a suitable dumbbell in each hand, and let your arms hang by your sides.

2. Start by bending one elbow to lift the dumbbell to your shoulder, while keeping the other hand by your side.

3. When you straighten that elbow back to the start, bend the other elbow to lift the other dumbbell to your shoulder, alternating like this.

4. Repeat this exercise for 10-12 reps, doing three sets.

2. Incline hammer curl exercise

There is another way to do the hammer curl, which is using an incline bench and sitting on it for the exercise.

• How to do this exercise

1. Sit on the inclined chair keeping your back straight and feet wider than shoulder-width apart.

2. Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your hands behind your hips to help protect your shoulders.

3. Bend your elbows to pull the dumbbells toward your shoulders, then lower them back down.

4. Repeat this exercise for 10-12 reps, three sets.

3. Preacher Hammer Curl Exercise

Some people use a bench for hammer curls. The preacher bench has a padded armrest at an angle so you can hold the upper arm isolated to lift more weight and better target the biceps.

• How to do this exercise

1. Adjust the padded armrest so only the upper part touches your armpits, place your upper arms on the pad, with your elbows straight.

2. Hold the weights with your palms facing each other, lift the weights to your shoulders, then lower them back down.

3. Repeat this exercise for 10-12 reps, in three sets.

4. Hammer curl power squat exercise

You can make the hammer curl harder by adding the squat to it, which helps target the leg and glute muscles along with the arm muscles.

• How to do this exercise

1. After doing the hammer curl motion above, with dumbbells at your shoulders, you should hold them there.

2. Then lower your hips down into a squat position, like that.

3. Repeat this exercise for 10-12 reps, in three sets.

Common mistakes in the hammer curl exercise

There are some common mistakes to avoid with the hammer curl to keep it safe and more effective.

Common hammer curl mistakes include:-

• Using momentum and pushing

Using momentum in hammer curls lowers your strength gains and raises injury risk. You can spot it if you start by leaning forward a bit. Usually, momentum means you’re lifting heavier than you should. So drop the weight and do the exercise right.

• Speed of arm bending

The hammer curl uses a relatively narrow range of motion, so it's easy to rush and use fast movements, especially when lowering the dumbbells. You should take your time though, because spending time lifting and lowering lets you control the moves and focus on doing the exercise right. Slowing down also adds more challenge since it keeps the muscles working longer.

• Moving the elbows

It's easy to let your elbows move away from your body when bending, which might involve other muscles during the lift, like the deltoid muscle, but this can also reduce how much the exercise targets the biceps. So, keep your elbows steady and focus on moving only the lower part of your arm during the exercise.

Precautions and safety

While the hammer curl suits most beginners, those with lower arm injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome might need a different exercise or some adjustments.

Feeling tension in your biceps usually means the movement is effective and the exercise is targeting your upper arm muscles well. But you should stop right away if you feel pain.

When starting this exercise for the first time, try doing two sets of 7-10 reps. Then, as you gain strength and flexibility, you can add more reps and more weight.

Source of the article.