Preacher Hammer Dumbbell Curl
Also works: Forearms
A preacher curl held with the palms facing each other throughout. The neutral grip shifts a large share of the work onto the brachialis and brachioradialis, and the pad means those muscles get loaded hardest with the elbow nearly straight.
Own the movement
Set up first, then execute. Every cue below is something you can check on your next set.
Before the first rep
- Set the seat so the top of the pad reaches your armpits and both feet sit flat on the floor.
- Pick up both dumbbells before you settle in, then lay the upper arms flat on the pad.
- Hold the handles with the thumbs on top and the palms facing each other, and keep them that way all set.
- Grip the handles firmly rather than letting them sit loose in the fingers — a slack grip drops the wrist.
- Press the chest into the top of the pad and start with the elbows soft, not locked out.
Every rep
Breathing & tempo — Exhale on the way up, inhale on the way down. One second up, one second squeezed, three seconds down, brief pause at the stretch before the next rep.
Sets, reps & load
Where to start, and what to change when it stops being hard.
Most people start with 6-12 kg dumbbells. You will handle a little more than on a supinated preacher curl because the brachialis is strong in this position, but noticeably less than standing hammer curls. Add weight when all reps hold a straight wrist through a three-second lowering.
What goes wrong
The errors that show up most often, and the cue that fixes each one.
Watch your thumbs — they should point at the ceiling from the first rep to the last. The moment they turn outward you have swapped to a normal preacher curl, which is a different exercise at a weight you chose for this one.
Cut it by about a third. Standing hammer curls get help from a small body swing; the pad removes all of it. Start lighter and let the load climb from there.
Keep the back of each upper arm pressed flat and cue your chest into the pad. If the elbows still travel, drop 2 kg per hand.
Control the last third of the lowering deliberately and pause with the arms extended. Elbow tendons dislike a sudden loaded stretch far more than they dislike heavy weight.
Why bother
A neutral grip takes the biceps out of its best position for supination and hands work to the brachialis, which lies underneath the biceps, and the brachioradialis in the forearm. Both are pure elbow flexors, and a thick brachialis pushes the biceps up from below — which is where visible arm width actually comes from.
Doing it over the preacher pad rather than standing matters because those muscles are usually trained with swing and momentum. Trapped upper arms and a loaded bottom position mean the brachialis has to hold the dumbbells through the stretch instead of being hurried past it.
Where it fits
At the end of a pull day, or as the second arm movement after a supinated curl. Two or three sets of 8-12. It is also the version to reach for when a palm-up grip aggravates your wrist or the inside of your elbow, since the neutral grip is far kinder to both.
If this one isn't it
No kit, too hard, or too easy — here's where to go instead.
Same job, different kit
Start here instead
When this gets easy
Asked and answered
Does a hammer grip train the biceps at all?
Yes, but less of it. The biceps still flexes the elbow in a neutral grip; it simply is not in the position where it contributes most, because it is also a supinator. The brachialis and brachioradialis take a bigger share. Run both grips across a week rather than arguing about which one is correct.
Should I do both arms at once or alternate?
Both at once. Over a preacher pad the point is a controlled, evenly loaded stretch, and alternating turns the resting arm into a place to rest while the working one is still hanging in extension. Alternate on standing hammer curls if you like; here, curl them together.
Is this better than incline hammer curls for the brachialis?
They load opposite ends of the same job. The incline version hangs the arms behind the torso, so the stretch is deeper but the resistance peaks in the middle of the rep. The preacher pad puts peak resistance in the stretch itself, which is the harder stimulus and the reason the weight drops. If you only run one, run this and keep the incline version as the variation you rotate to every couple of months.
Can I use this instead of a normal preacher curl if my elbow hurts?
Often yes. A neutral grip reduces the strain on the inside of the elbow and the wrist compared with a supinated bar grip, and many people who cannot do EZ bar preacher curls tolerate this fine. Stop a few degrees short of full extension as well, and if the ache persists across sessions, get it looked at rather than working around it forever.