Cable Hammer Curl
The cable hammer curl is a neutral-grip curl, usually done with a rope on a low pulley, with your palms facing each other. It trains the biceps along with the brachialis and the brachioradialis in the forearm. Pick it to build thicker arms and forearms or when supinated curls bother your wrists.
Muscles worked
The cable hammer curl trains the biceps, with forearms helping.
Weekly sets for biceps
Hard sets per week that Swole.fit plans for biceps, counting every exercise that trains it. Start a cycle near the growth line and climb toward the recovery limit before a deload.
How to do the cable hammer curl
- 01Set the pulley at the lowest position and attach a rope.
- 02Grab the rope ends with palms facing each other and thumbs pointing up.
- 03Stand tall a small step back from the stack with your elbows tucked against your sides.
- 04Curl the rope up toward your shoulders, keeping your palms facing each other the whole way.
- 05Pause near the top, then lower the rope slowly until your arms are fully straight.
Coaching cues
- Thumbs to the ceiling
- Elbows stay pinned
- Lower slower than you lift
Common mistakes
- Twisting your palms up as you curl turns it into a standard curl, so keep a neutral grip the whole time.
- Swinging your elbows forward to finish the rep cheats the range, so keep your upper arms vertical.
- Letting the wrists bend back under load weakens the forearm work, so keep your wrists straight and firm.
How Swole.fit programs it
Log it once and the app plans the next session for you.
- Most sets land between 8 and 15 reps, the range the plan steers isolation work toward for size.
- Week one starts around 2 to 3 reps in reserve. Each week you train a little closer to failure, ending around 0 to 1 in reserve before a deload week.
- Hit the top of the range on every set and the next session adds the smallest real jump in weight, rounded to the plates, dumbbells or stack you actually have.
- Sets for this exercise count toward your weekly volume for every muscle it trains: a full set for the primary muscles, half a set for the helpers.
The full method, with the maths, is in how mesocycles work.
Cable Hammer Curl alternatives
Same muscles, different tool. Swap in one of these when the equipment is taken or your joints want a change.
Free programs that use it
Ready-made splits from the Swole.fit library. Pick one and the app runs the progression.
- Pull Domination3 days a week, back, biceps
- Pump & Circumstance3 days a week, chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps
- Arms Race4 days a week, biceps, triceps
- Pull Power4 days a week, back, biceps
- Volume Ascending4 days a week, chest, back, shoulders, quadriceps
- Classic Physique5 days a week, chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps
Log it. Let the app plan the next one.
Track your cable hammer curl free. Swole.fit picks the next weight, counts your weekly sets and tells you when to deload.