Cross-Body Hammer Curl: Muscles Worked and How to Do It
TL;DR
Cross-body hammer curls work your biceps with a neutral, palms-in grip, curling the dumbbell diagonally toward the opposite shoulder. Your forearms assist heavily in this grip position, more than they would in a standard curl, making it a useful arm and grip builder.
- Primary muscle:
- Biceps
- Secondary muscles:
- Forearms
Muscles worked
Your biceps flex your elbow to curl the dumbbell up, though the neutral palms-in grip shifts some of the emphasis toward the muscle underneath the biceps compared with a standard palms-up curl.
Your forearms, especially the muscle running along the thumb side, assist strongly in this grip. The neutral hand position is a strong position for this muscle, which is why hammer-style curls are a common forearm builder.
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How to do it
- Stand up straight with a dumbbell in each hand. Your hands should be down at your side with your palms facing in.
- While keeping your palms facing in and without twisting your arm, curl the dumbbell of the right arm up towards your left shoulder as you exhale. Touch the top of the dumbbell to your shoulder and hold the contraction for a second.
- Slowly lower the dumbbell along the same path as you inhale and then repeat the same movement for the left arm.
- Continue alternating in this fashion until the recommended amount of repetitions is performed for each arm.
Form tips
- Keep your palm facing your body throughout the curl instead of rotating it as you would in a standard curl.
- Curl toward the opposite shoulder in a diagonal line rather than straight up, which is what separates this from a standard hammer curl.
- Keep your elbow pinned at your side and avoid swinging the dumbbell up with your shoulder.
- Lower the dumbbell fully and under control before starting the next rep.
- Alternate this with the standard hammer curl to hit the same muscles from a slightly different angle.
Exercise details
| Equipment | Dumbbell |
|---|---|
| Level | Beginner |
| Mechanic | Isolation |
Used by lifters following PPL, 5x5, upper/lower, and more.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a hammer curl and a cross-body hammer curl?
A regular hammer curl moves straight up in front of your body. A cross-body version curls diagonally toward the opposite shoulder, which some lifters feel more through the underlying arm muscle and forearms because of the added angle.
How many reps build the biceps best?
For muscle size, use 6-12 reps at a challenging weight. Lighter weight for 12 or more reps builds endurance in the biceps and forearms instead, per the standard NSCA rep ranges.
More biceps exercises
Exercise instructions and photos come from the free-exercise-db library, public domain, the same library used inside the PR Streak app.
