Dumbbell Hammer Curl
The dumbbell hammer curl is a curl with your palms facing each other the whole time. It trains the biceps, with heavy help from the brachialis and the forearm muscles. Pick it to build thicker arms and forearms, or when palms-up curls feel rough on your wrists.
Muscles worked
The dumbbell 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 dumbbell hammer curl
- 01Stand tall with dumbbells at your sides, palms facing your thighs.
- 02Keep your elbows close to your torso and your wrists straight.
- 03Curl the dumbbells up without rotating your hands, as if lifting a hammer.
- 04Stop when your thumbs are near your shoulders, then lower slowly to full extension.
Coaching cues
- Thumbs up all the way
- Wrists neutral and rigid
- Elbows glued to your sides
Common mistakes
- Rotating the palms up mid rep turns it into a normal curl, so keep your grip neutral throughout.
- Swinging the dumbbells forward with your shoulders cheats the range, so keep your upper arms still.
- Bending the wrists to finish the rep takes load off the target, so keep them straight and stacked.
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.
Dumbbell 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.
- Arm Blaster3 days a week, biceps, triceps, shoulders
- Beach Emergency3 days a week, chest, shoulders, biceps
- Full Body Power3 days a week, chest, back, quadriceps, hamstrings
- Upper Body Classic3 days a week, chest, back, shoulders
- Weekend Warrior3 days a week, chest, back, shoulders, quadriceps
- Arm & Delt Destroyer4 days a week, biceps, triceps, shoulders
Log it. Let the app plan the next one.
Track your dumbbell hammer curl free. Swole.fit picks the next weight, counts your weekly sets and tells you when to deload.