Dumbbell hammer curls

By holding your arm this way, you load the inner head of the biceps and the forearm more. It’s a fairly simple and effective exercise. Watch your elbows; they should not "dance" sideways or lean too far forward.

You can do it both simultaneously and alternately, while sitting or standing. I still advise beginners to perform it alternately. This way, you will sway less. The "hammer" exercise is not suitable as a basic exercise. It is good to do at the end of your arm workout to thoroughly exhaust not only the biceps but also the forearms.

Nuances and mistakes

1. Do not raise the dumbbell all the way to your shoulder (as if throwing it upwards). The biceps should be maximally tense at the top of the trajectory. When you throw it up, the load is released and the biceps relax.

2. Avoid swaying your body. This tends to happen naturally, especially when performing alternately. When you sway, you lift the dumbbells by inertia rather than through the strength of your arm muscles. Therefore, the effectiveness of the exercise decreases.

3. This exercise is not a basic one. Therefore, there’s no point in using excessively heavy weights to barely manage 5-6 repetitions. The weight should be such that you can perform at least 8 clean and beautiful repetitions.

4. At the bottom position, fully extend your arms, relaxing the biceps. This way, you can perform more repetitions. However, do not move your arm back to avoid swaying.

5. When sitting on a bench, it’s better to do this with your back supported. This will prevent you from swaying. Additionally, you can complicate the exercise by tilting the back support slightly instead of keeping it vertical.