To the forefront: build beautiful biceps and watch your strength develop with the hammer curl

mOST OF US AREN'T too adventurous when it comes to working our biceps. We stick with a basic curl, which involves nothing more than bending, then straightening, the arms. Nothing wrong with that, but a slight tweak in hand position transforms an ordinary curl into a hammer curl. And with this small change comes big rewards. Hammer curls revamp your biceps training by hitting your muscles in a completely different way, and by involving your oft-neglected forearm muscles. If your biceps routine is in a rut, it's definitely hammer time.

PERFORMANCE

* Grasp a dumbbell in each hand. Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart and your arms straight down at your sides with your palms facing inward.

* Keep your knees and legs relaxed and pull your abdominals inward.

* Keeping your shoulders down and relaxed and your elbows in, bend your elbows to raise the dumbbells up toward your shoulders.

* Pause a moment at the top of the movement and then slowly return to the start position, taking care to extend your arms completely.

TRAINER'S TIPS

* Avoid leaning back as you lift the weights.

* To avoid rocking forward or overusing your lower back, lower the dumbbells slowly and with control.

* You'll maximize biceps usage by keeping shoulder blades down and drawn together. This will also make it easier to control the movement.

* While you shouldn't allow your elbows to stick out as you lift, you shouldn't press them against your body, either.

* Exhale through your mouth as you lift and inhale through your nose as you lower.

* To change this exercise, you can alternate arms instead of lifting with both arms at the same time. Or, you can rotate your palms upward as you lift and rotate them back to a palms-inward position as you lower.

MEETING YOUR GOALS

Your biceps brachii muscle is the large surface muscle that runs the length of the front of your upper arm, from the crook of your elbow to the top of your shoulder. Its main function is to bend your elbow but, along with some of the other deeper biceps muscles and the muscles of the forearm, it also helps rotate your forearm. Because you keep your palm facing inward as you lift, the hammer curl is an excellent exercise for working your biceps and forearm muscles thoroughly. If you want to build bigger biceps, use a relatively heavy weight and do six to 10 reps per set. Use a weight that's challenging, but not so challenging that you find yourself leaning back to use the rest of your body to help you lift. If you have trouble controlling the weight on the way up or down, drop down to a lighter weight. To sculpt, shape the muscle and build up a decent amount of strength, use a weight you can handle for eight to 12 reps per set using perfect form. Do two to three sets of hammer curls as part of your arm training routine. Add them to basic biceps curls, barbell curls and preacher curls for a solid, well-rounded biceps workout. Work your biceps two to three times a week for best results.

FUNCTIONAL TRANSLATION

The hammer curl is aptly named--it's the exact same motion you use when you pound a nail into a board with a hammer. It's also the same move you make when you chop up vegetables, lift a can of veggies off the counter or pull up a stubborn weed out of the garden. As every volleyball player, tennis player, basketball player and even fly fisherwoman knows, you do hammer curl-type movements all the time in a variety of sports and fitness activities. The hammer curl is an important exercise to include in your workouts because, in addition to working your biceps, it brings your forearms into play. Many people don't give their forearms enough attention in their weight training routine, and as a result, they're prone to injuries, especially the type of injuries resulting from typing and other highly repetitive movements that involve the fingers and forearms.

ALTERNATIVE EXERCISE

The hanging hammer curl is even more challenging than a standing hammer curl. Start by setting the back of your bench at a 45-degree angle. While holding a dumbbell in each hand, sit on the bench and lean back into the padding. Place your feet on the floor hip-width apart and let your arms hang down at your sides directly in line with your shoulders, with your palms facing inward. Pull your abdominals in to prevent your lower back from arching. Without changing arm position, slowly bend both of your elbows to bring the dumbbells up in front of your shoulders. Pause and slowly return to the start.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group