Alternating Hammer Curl
Trains the Biceps, Brachialis and Brachioradialis.
- Equipment
- Dumbbells
- Mechanic
- Isolation
- Force
- Pull
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Stand with a dumbbell in each hand at your sides, palms facing each other.
- Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart and your elbows tucked in.
- Curl one dumbbell up, keeping the palm facing inward the whole way.
- Stop when the forearm is roughly vertical, then squeeze briefly.
- Lower under control to a straight arm as you begin the other side.
- Continue alternating, keeping the torso still.
Common mistakes
- Letting the palms rotate upward during the curl. The neutral grip held throughout is what puts the biceps at a disadvantage and lets the brachialis and brachioradialis take over.
- Swinging the torso in time with the alternation. One arm always carries more than the other here, and the rhythm makes a rock easy to fall into.
- Starting the second arm before the first has straightened. Overlapping them turns it into a two-arm hammer curl done unevenly.
- Skipping it because it feels less like a biceps exercise. It is not primarily one, and that is the point — the brachialis sits underneath the biceps and pushes it up as it grows.