Arms
Hammer Curl to Wide Curl
A hammer curl and a wide curl, back to back. Switching grips works your biceps and forearms from more than one angle.
- Works
- Biceps, forearms
- Equipment
- A pair of dumbbells
- Load
- Light to medium
How to do it
- 1Stand tall with the dumbbells at your sides, palms facing in.
- 2Do a hammer curl: curl both dumbbells up to your shoulders with your thumbs up, then lower them.
- 3Turn your palms forward and do a wide curl: elbows stay by your sides while the dumbbells curl up and out, wider than your shoulders.
- 4Lower slowly and turn your palms back in. One hammer curl plus one wide curl is 1 rep.
Cues
- Thumbs up on the hammer, palms up on the wide.
- Elbows stay pinned by your sides on both.
- Slow on the way down every time.
Common mistakes
- Swinging to keep going. When the reps get hard, slow down instead of throwing the weight up. Go lighter if you need to.
- Elbows flaring on the wide curl. Only your hands go wide. Your elbows stay close to your ribs.
- Half reps. Straighten your arms at the bottom of every curl.
Easier
Go lighter, or do all your hammer curls first, then all your wide curls.
Harder
Take 3 seconds to lower each curl.
Try it: 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps, or 30 seconds on and 30 off.
What does a wide grip curl work?
Curling with your hands wider than your shoulders puts a little more of the work on the inner part of your biceps. Paired with a hammer curl, which brings in your forearms, you work the front of your arm from different angles.
