Dumbbell Incline Hammer Curl

How to Perform the Dumbbell Incline Hammer Curl

Set an adjustable bench to a 45-60 degree incline and sit back with a dumbbell in each hand, arms hanging straight down.
Position your palms facing each other in a neutral hammer grip.
Keep your upper arms stationary and curl both dumbbells upward by flexing at the elbows.
Raise the dumbbells until your forearms are roughly vertical and you feel a strong contraction in your biceps.
Squeeze the biceps at the top for a brief pause.
Lower the dumbbells back to full arm extension under control, feeling the stretch at the bottom, and repeat.

Swinging the upper arms forward during the curl

Pin your upper arms against the bench and only move at the elbow joint.

Using momentum to curl the weight

Use a controlled tempo; the incline position should make strict form easy to maintain.

Not going to full extension at the bottom

Allow your arms to fully straighten at the bottom to take advantage of the increased stretch.

✓Greater stretch and activation of the biceps long head due to the incline position.
✓Targets the brachialis and brachioradialis for thicker, more complete arm development.
✓Eliminates body momentum, forcing strict form and better muscle isolation.

●The incline angle provides a greater stretch on the biceps long head compared to standing curls.
●Keep the neutral grip throughout; do not rotate your wrists during the movement.
●Use a slightly lighter weight than you would for standing hammer curls due to the increased difficulty of the stretched position.

Strength

4-5 sets of 3-5 reps at 80-90% 1RM

Hypertrophy

3-4 sets of 8-12 reps at 65-75% 1RM

Endurance

2-3 sets of 15-20 reps at 50-60% 1RM

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