A version of the hammer curl workout that works the anterior muscles of the arm are the cable hammer curls. It is comparable to the biceps curl, however the hand posture is neutral. The fundamental benefit of employing cables is that they keep the muscles taut at all angles and over the full range of action. To increase strength and muscle in the biceps and forearms, including this cable hammer curls exercise in your biceps training regimen. You may include it in a variety of ways.
Cable hammer curls are not the most common bicep workout, but they are nonetheless good for all trainers and have tremendous development potential. This article covers all of these in addition to cable hammer curls muscles worked and all of its variants and alternatives. Please keep reading!
What Are Cable Hammer Curls?
An efficient isolation exercise that continuously stresses the muscles throughout the eccentric and concentric phases are the cable hammer curls. These are excellent for strength training since the cable machine helps the user lift large weights by doing the pulling movement itself. This is especially true for novices. You may incorporate cable curls into an upper-body muscle-building regimen or utilize them on their own. This exercise is a variant on the biceps curl, but instead of using a closed grip, you maintain a face-to-face position throughout the movement. Your hands should be facing up when doing a standard biceps curl. Holding onto the rope or handle attachment on the cable pulley machine, you execute the cable hammer curls.
The Cable Hammer Curls: How To Perform It
An extremely basic workout is the cable hammer curl. But like every curl variant, a lot of exercisers do not get the most out of it because they use too much weight and have bad technique.
Here’s an easy-to-follow guide to help you complete this activity correctly. A low location on the cable machine is where you should attach a double or single rope handle. Grip the ends of the rope with a neutral or hammer grip, keeping your feet hip-width apart. Your hands should naturally be neutral. Make sure there is resistance so that the area of the weight stack that you have chosen does not come into contact with the other portions of the weight stack by standing up straight.
Maintain a neutral posture with your shoulders and elbows close to your sides. Curl the weight to the top and squeeze. The elbows may advance one or two inches, but not farther.
Repeat after lowering the weight gradually back down just short of completely extending your elbows. Select a weight that will enable you to use your whole range of motion when doing the exercise. The upper arms should be tucked to your sides. To draw attention to the forearm muscles more, you might adopt the thumbless grip seen in the video above. You can move the elbows forward a little bit, but not too much, since this will start to give the front delt more control.
With a single rope attachment, you may perform this exercise and train each arm independently. If you get discomfort, cease right away.
How to Include the Cable Hammer Curls Exercises In Your Workout Program
This is one efficient approach to train your biceps for the cable hammer curls. It is a standard exercise. Without worrying about severely exhausting your biceps before you reach them, you can perform hammer curls before biceps curls. The brachioradialis and brachialis get most of the effort during cable hammer curls. As the forearms are already weary, this might even be helpful as a pre-exhaustion technique, which would make the biceps work harder during regular curls.
Given that back training or pulling exercises primarily engage the brachioradialis, brachialis, and biceps. You might also utilize cable hammer curls exercises as a pre-exhaustion approach. In addition to this, cable hammer curls are a fantastic way to warm down after a long day of hauling. Furthermore, exercising them directly will benefit heavier pulls as well, enhancing your total performance.
Cable Hammer Curls Muscles Worked
This exercise tones the brachialis, brachioradialis, and brachii muscles, which are the muscles in your biceps that bend your elbow. The brachioradialis provides the muscular mass in your forearm, whereas the biceps brachii, which is the most superficial muscle, provides the muscle mass on the front of your arm. Your biceps brachii mostly cover the brachialis, which is also located in your forearm. Additionally strengthening your grip while holding onto the rope or handle are cable hammer curls exercises.
Brachialis Muscle
Neutral grip arm curls are considered by many experts to be the most effective exercise for developing the brachialis muscle. Bending your arm or bringing your fist up toward your shoulder as it crosses the elbow joint is mostly accomplished by the brachialis. Although it might be challenging to feel for the muscle, regular training can increase upper arm breadth.
Brachioradialis Muscle
The brachioradialis is a forearm muscle that allows the forearm to rotate to raise or lower the palms. Its primary function is to flex the elbow at the forearm. Without a doubt, hammer curls will improve the growth of your brachioradialis.
Biceps Muscles
The two heads that make up the biceps are the long-outer and short-inner. The fact that the biceps muscles are stronger than the elbow flexors as forearm supinators and pronators would surprise a lot of people. A neutral grip curl may include more activation of the brachialis than the biceps.
Are Cable Hammer Curls Good?
There are several advantages to doing cable hammer curls to build upper body strength. Hammer curls offer a unique way to develop both biceps and forearms simultaneously, thanks to the wrist position that puts the biceps in a slightly disadvantaged position, resulting in more balanced growth. Cable hammer curls with rope provide constant tension, unlike free weights, which offer varying resistance levels. They also allow for various angles to attack muscles effectively. Such as standing over a pulley, placing the pulley in a high position, and using various attachments like straight bars, handles, or rope.
Increases Forearm And Bicep Mass And Strength
Your biceps brachii will get stronger with both cable hammer curls and standard biceps curls, essentially to the same extent. While a biceps curl primarily works the biceps brachii, cable hammer curls also train the forearm muscles (brachioradialis and brachialis) due to the neutral or palms-in grip. This is helpful if you want to strengthen and increase the bulk in both your arms and forearms.
Boosts Wrist Stability And Grip Strength
Cable hammer curls build your wrist muscles and improve your grip strength since you are holding onto handles or a rope. Which enhances wrist stability overall. In addition to being useful for lifting large weights, having a firm grasp is advantageous for daily tasks. Like, lugging goods or popping up glass containers.
Persistent Tension
The cables, in contrast to free weights, are made to maintain tension throughout the whole range of motion. Allowing the user to rest at both the top and bottom of the exercise. Furthermore, since the machine offers some stability and control and frees you up to concentrate on your technique. Cables can be a safer option for amateurs.
A fantastic technique to strengthen the biceps and forearms in one quick and simple activity is to perform a cable hammer curls with a rope. Which allows for a full range of motion. You may perform a variety of upper and lower body workouts on cable pulley machines in addition to cable hammer curls exercises. Even though they can seem complicated, changing the grips and changing the weights only requires sliding a pin.
Reduced Joint Stress
Cable hammer curls with rope reduce joint tension since they activate the cooperative muscles of your biceps (biceps brachii) and forearms. This is because of the neutral grip posture. If you have a wrist injury, the palms-up position during a biceps curl may put additional strain on your wrist and cause pain.
For people who suffer from tennis elbow or other elbow ailments, a cable hammer curl can also be helpful since it reduces elbow strain. You may strengthen your biceps without putting as much strain on your shoulder by doing cable hammer curls exercises. If you have a shoulder issue, such as tendinitis or a rotator cuff injury.
Hammer Curls vs Biceps Curls
For many fitness fanatics, building massive biceps is a rite of passage. These front-facing arm muscles have long been a focus for gym-goers of all skill levels. From seasoned bodybuilders to those just beginning their fitness adventures. They symbolize power and commitment.
Many people do arm-based isolation workouts in the hopes that they would be the secret to big bicep glory, in order to have that well-defined look. There are two of these competitors in this competition for muscular growth. The first is the traditional bicep curl, which you may see people performing with barbells or adjustable dumbbells in every gym. The second is the hammer curl, a more contemporary substitute. With a neutral grip that works the brachialis and brachioradialis in addition to pumping up the biceps. The latter is similar to the rebellious cousin.
Difference: Hammer Curls vs Biceps Curls
Although the muscles in front of your arms are the focus of both workouts, there is a little distinction between them. Bicep curls highlight the biceps brachii, the upper arm’s two-headed muscle that facilitates flexion. Particularly when executed with a supinated grip with the palms facing upward.
On the other hand, hammer curls train not just the bicep brachii muscle but also two other related muscles: the brachioradialis, one of the main forearm muscles that supports elbow mobility, and the brachialis, the muscle that lies beneath the biceps brachii and helps with elbow flexion. Hammer curls employ a neutral grasp with palms facing each other, whereas bicep curls use a palms-up grip. This is the main grip difference.
How To Do It: Hammer Curls vs Biceps Curls
A fantastic workout for building forearms and biceps is the hammer curl. Here’s the right way to do things. To begin, place your feet shoulder-width apart and bend your knees just a little. With the palms of your hands toward your thighs, hold a dumbbell in each hand. Curl the weights while keeping your upper arms close to your sides and exhaling. Breathe deeply as you gently drop the weights back to the starting position, being sure to squeeze your biceps at the top of the curl. Continue till the desired number of times.
As you can see, doing the hammer curl is not that difficult. But in order to get the most of it, there are a few things to remember. Prior to beginning the workout, make sure your upper arms remain still as you concentrate on bicep contractions. Secondly, avoid swinging the weights or lifting them with momentum. Precise form should be maintained for every repetition.
When doing a bicep curl, there are a few important considerations. Throughout the exercise, keep your back straight and refrain from arching it. Make use of a weight that you can raise with ease. Try not to overlift weight as this might lead to harm. As you do the curl, carefully bend and control your elbows. Refrain from jerking the weights or flailing your arms. After your biceps are completely tensed, curl the weights up and slowly return them to the starting position. Continue till the desired number of times.
Hammer Curls vs Biceps Curls: Which Is Superior?
When attempting to provide a response, there are several factors to take into account. What is your first desired outcome? Exercises that especially target the biceps should be your main emphasis if you want to develop larger biceps. Exercises that develop biceps, including hammer curls and bicep curls, are equally effective yet target the muscle slightly differently.
You may want to give bicep curls a little more attention than hammer curls if your objective is to develop larger biceps. You may gain muscular mass more quickly by isolating the biceps muscle more effectively with bicep curls. Hammer curls are still a useful workout for developing biceps, though. They just might not have the same impact as bicep curls.
Thus, which is superior? It truly is dependent upon your objectives. You should concentrate on bicep curls a little more than hammer curls if your goal is to develop larger biceps. If, on the other hand, your primary goal is to tone your arms and you have no interest in developing larger biceps, then any workout will suffice.
Cable Hammer Curls Variations
With Cable:
There are additional versions of the cable hammer curl that you may try to see how hard you can go. Variety never hurts, even though the cable hammer curl is a great variant that is on par with any other. These are some possible variants.
Cable Hammer Curls With Rope
Compared to the handle attachment, cable hammer curls with rope attachment improves your grip more when you maintain the rope’s taut and your hands parallel. Additionally, it gives you greater wrist angle flexibility, which is advantageous if you have ever had a wrist injury. To choose which attachment you prefer, you can test each of them.
In front of a cable pulley machine, stand with your feet hip-width apart and your knees slightly bent. Connect the low pulley to the rope attachment. Turn your palms so they are facing each other as you hold onto the rope. As you draw the handles up, bend your elbows while maintaining them at your sides. Make careful to maintain a straight back and hands facing each other. After pausing at the peak, carefully drop your arms to the beginning position. Repeat six to twelve repetitions in between two and three sets.
Ball Cable Hammer Curls
This workout stimulates your core muscles since you are sitting on a giant exercise ball, which creates an unstable surface. Fasten the handle attachment or rope to the low pulley. With your feet spread wide enough on the ground to provide you with some support, take a seat on an exercise ball. The height of the ball should allow you to place your feet level on the floor and your knees at a 90-degree angle.
Hold onto the rope or handle, place your elbows on your knees, and bend your palms inside. Maintaining a flat back and using your core muscles, slant slightly forward. As you draw the grips up, bend your elbows while keeping them on your knees. Make careful to maintain a straight back and hands facing each other. After pausing at the peak, carefully drop your arms to the beginning position. Repeat six to twelve repetitions in between two and three sets.
Cable Hammer Curls Iso Lunge
This is a terrific method to train your core, upper body, and lower body all at once. You should only do this more difficult move—the cable hammer curl—after you have mastered the simpler one. Fasten the handle attachment or rope to the low pulley. Choose a lighter weight to begin with as you will be exercising one arm at a time. Turn your face away from the machine and use your right hand to grab hold of the pulley.
To make a low lunge, take a step back with your right foot and bend your left knee. Bend your elbow upward while keeping it at your side, then return it to its original position by keeping it straight. Maintain your lunge posture for the duration of each set. As you rest in between sets, come up. Repeat six to twelve repetitions in between two and three sets.
Single Arm Cable Hammer Curls
One machine exercise that works the biceps mainly is the single arm cable hammer curls. The cable machine is the only piece of equipment you actually need for single arm cable hammer curls. Nonetheless, you may experiment with a variety of one-arm cable curl variants that can call for various kinds of equipment or might not even call for any equipment at all. Exercises like single arm cable hammer curls are best suited for people with an intermediate degree of expertise and physical condition.
Standing somewhat back from a low pulley cable machine. Grip a single hand attachment bar with your palm facing ahead and your arms stretched downward. This is where you are supposed to start. Exhale, bend your elbow, and raise (curl) the handle to your shoulder while keeping your upper arm still. After a little period of holding still, take a breath and gradually return the motion to the beginning position. After completing a set, switch sides and repeat.
Without Cable:
A popular exercise that helps athletes isolate the biceps for more strength and definition is the hammer curl without cables. It is typical among athletes and bodybuilders who want to define their biceps more.
Seated Hammer Curls Inclined
A multipurpose exercise that strengthens the forearms and biceps and increases bicep growth and endurance is the inclined sitting hammer curl. With just a bench and dumbbells needed, it is appropriate for athletes of both genders. Beginners can benefit from this variant since it supports perfect technique, and experienced lifters can isolate certain muscles to enhance growth and definition. Additionally, it strengthens the elbow, wrist, and hands.
This exercise is suitable for beginners since the back support allows for a greater range of motion. It can be a good cable hammer curls alternative. The most frequent error is to move too quickly during repetitions. Thus, it is critical to keep your motions steady and fluid, regulated.
Cross Body Hammer Curls
The cross-body hammer curl is a multipurpose exercise that works the biceps and brachialis, giving athletes of both genders a well-rounded workout. Because it alternates the arms, the training may be more evenly distributed. It might serve as a cable hammer curls alternative, which fasten pulleys with rope handles. Since the upper arms do the most of the effort, the workout concentrates more on the biceps. Focus on slow, fluid movements, utilize lower weights, and perform more repetitions to guarantee perfect technique. Although this version is suitable for beginners, lifters who are intermediate or expert may still get the benefits.
Preacher Hammer Curls
A type of hammer curl that emphasizes strength and definition in the biceps and brachioradialis muscles is the preacher hammer curl. Weightlifters and bodybuilders will find this workout perfect as it allows them to target particular arm muscles and keep their muscles taut throughout the activity. Using kettlebells or resistance bands, as well as concentrating on wrist and grip strength, are substitutes for preacher hammer curls. But the most frequent error is to move weights by using momentum, which isolates the arm muscles.
It is another sound cable hammer curls alternative. Make sure the machine is at the appropriate level, and activate your muscles with steady, deliberate actions with each step to preserve perfect form. Intermediate and advanced athletes with good form and strength may do these curls.
Hammer Curls With Bar
For weightlifters and sportsmen, a form of hammer curls that targets the biceps and forearm muscles is the Swiss bar hammer curl. Those who want to gain power and gain more weight can try this variant. Squats, adding weight, and using broader or narrower grips are some alternatives to the curl. These variants push more skilled lifters and add to the difficulty.
For lifters who are intermediate or advanced, the Swiss bar hammer curl is a great exercise since it strengthens the grip and works the biceps, brachialis, and brachioradialis muscles. Still, it is critical to focus on good technique and refrain from utilizing excessive weight.
Conclusion
One of the finest workouts you can do to strengthen your arm muscles is the cable hammer curl. We truly enjoy it even if it is not necessary since it provides the muscles with consistent tension regardless of the angle and range of motion. It appears to offer benefits, thus it would be worthwhile to incorporate it into your exercise regimen.
