Kettlebell Hammer Curl – Muscles Worked, How-To, Benefits, and Alternatives

There isn’t a bodybuilder alive who doesn’t want bigger biceps and more muscular forearms. The upper and lower arms are arguably the most readily visible body parts, and, as such, almost every lifter dedicates plenty of time to pumping up their guns.

While regular barbell and dumbbell curls, and maybe some machine and cable curls, can produce decent gains, even those great exercises will eventually lose their potency if that’s all you ever do. Repeat the same workouts with the same exercises over and over, and eventually, you’ll hit a bodybuilding progress rut.

That’s why every smart lifter needs an extensive library of exercises for each and every body part. Then, armed with a long list of options, you’ll find it much easier to keep your workouts fresh and interesting and steer clear of training plateaus.

Kettlebell hammer curls are a very unusual exercise, which is why they deserve a place in your workouts. We reveal why and how to do this unique arm builder.

Kettlebell Hammer Curl – Muscles Worked

Kettlebell hammer curls are an isolation exercise, meaning they involve movement at just one joint – the elbow. Despite this, they work several important muscle groups:

Biceps brachii – usually just called the biceps for short, this is the most prominent anterior upper arm muscle. The biceps have three functions: flexion of your elbow, supination of the forearm, and flexion of the shoulder joint. Biceps brachii means two-headed arm muscle.

Brachioradialis – located on the thumb-side of the upper forearm, the brachioradialis works with the biceps to flex the elbow. It’s technically a forearm muscle but is strongly involved in the kettlebell hammer curls. Well-developed brachioradialis muscles link your upper arm to your lower arm and adds thickness to your forearm.

Brachialis – located beneath your biceps, the small but powerful brachialis muscle is your strongest elbow flexor. It works with your biceps to bend your elbow joint. As well as being very strong, this muscle helps to “prop up” your biceps and makes it look bigger. Kettlebell hammer curls place a lot of tension on this important muscle.

Forearms – there are lots of muscles that make up the forearms. The flexor group bends your wrist while the extensors straighten it. Both sets of muscles are involved in kettlebell hammer curls, making this exercise good for building your upper and lower arms. These muscles are especially active during kettlebell hammer curls because you’ll need to work extra hard to stabilize your wrists.

How to Do Kettlebell Hammer Curls

Get more from kettlebell hammer curls while keeping your risk of injury to a minimum by following these guidelines:

1. Seated or standing, hold a kettlebell in each hand. With your arms down by your sides, turn your hands, so your palms are facing inward, i.e., a neutral grip.
2. Set your wrists and grip the kettlebell tightly. Pull your shoulders down and back and brace your core.
3. Without using your legs or back, bend your elbows and curl the weights up until your forearms are just above parallel to the floor. Keep your wrists straight.
4. Lower the kettlebells and repeat.
5. You can also do this exercise unilaterally, i.e., using one kettlebell. You could also kettlebell hammer curls with an alternating arm action.

Kettlebell Hammer Curls Benefits and Drawbacks

Not sure if kettlebell hammer curls deserve a place in your next arm workout? Consider these benefits and then decide!

A total arm exercise – kettlebell curls work several major arm muscles at the same time, making them a very time-efficient exercise. If you want bigger biceps AND more muscular forearms, this exercise delivers great results in less time.

A stronger grip – you’ll need to hold your kettlebells tightly to stop them swinging around as you do this exercise. This will not only increase forearm and biceps muscle engagement but will also strengthen your grip. A strong grip is important when performing several different exercises, including pull-ups, rows, and deadlifts.

More stable wrists – leading on from the point above, you’ll need to keep your wrists straight during this exercise, which will lead to stronger, more stable joints. If you currently rely on using wrist wraps to stabilize your wrists, you’ll probably appreciate the joint strengthening effect of this exercise.

Variety – kettlebell hammer curls are a highly unusual exercise. As such, they could shock your muscles into new growth. Expect some serious muscle soreness after doing this exercise for the first time!

A little weight goes a long way – because of the long levers involved, you don’t need heavy kettlebells to do this exercise. In fact, you’ll probably be surprised how heavy even light kettlebells feel when you use them for hammer curls. This makes kettlebell hammer curls ideal for home exercisers with access to limited workout equipment.

While kettlebell hammer curls are a mostly beneficial exercise, there are also a few drawbacks to consider:

Kettlebell availability – needless to say, you’ll need some appropriate-sized kettlebells to do this exercise. Depending on where you train, you may not have the equipment you need to do kettlebell hammer curls.

Most of the muscle tension is at the midpoint of the exercise – kettlebell curls start easy but then get harder as your elbows near 90-degrees. This is a very uneven strength curve. While this isn’t a significant disadvantage, it does mean you’ll need to do exercises that load your muscles when your arms are straight if you want to develop full-range strength, e.g., cable hammer curls.

Hard to stabilize the weights – this is both an advantage and disadvantage. Working harder to stabilize the weights will increase forearm and biceps engagement and strengthen your joints. However, some lifters may find that their grip fails before their biceps.

7 Kettlebell Hammer Curl Variations and Alternatives

Kettlebell hammer curls are a highly effective upper and lower arm exercise, but that doesn’t mean you need to do them all the time. There are several variations and alternatives you can use to keep your workouts productive and interesting:

1. Two-handed kettlebell hammer curl

Do you only have access to a single kettlebell but still want to train both arms at the same time? The two-handed kettlebell hammer curl is the perfect solution. You won’t need to work so hard to stabilize your wrists, either, so you should be able to use heavier loads with this exercise.

How to do it:

1. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent. Hold your kettlebell by the vertical handles with your thumbs uppermost. Pull your shoulders down and back, brace your abs, and tuck your upper arms into your sides.
2. Bend your elbows and curl the weight up toward your shoulders.
3. Extend your arms and repeat.

2. Kettlebell concentration hammer curl

According to studies by the American Council on Exercise, or ACE for short, concentration curls are one of the best biceps exercises you can do (1). Using a kettlebell adds an extra dimension to this arm builder and also means you can hit your forearms as hard as your biceps.

How to do it:

1. Sit on an exercise bench, lean forward, and rest one arm against the inside of your thigh. Hold a kettlebell using a neutral grip.
2. Bend your elbow and, without rotating your wrists, raise the kettlebell up toward your shoulder. Extend your arm and repeat.
3. Swap sides and do the same number of reps on the opposite side.
4. Use your non-working arm to self-spot and do a few forced reps if required.

3. Rope hammer curl

Kettlebell hammer curls have a very uneven strength curve. They start easy but become much more challenging as your elbows approach 90-degrees. The long lever makes this effect even more noticeable. Using cables provides a much more even workout for your biceps, brachialis, and brachioradialis muscles. The near-constant tension should also produce a superior pump.

How to do it:

1. Attach a rope handle to a low pulley machine. Hold one end of the rope in each hand with your thumbs against the knots/stoppers.
2. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, core braced, and shoulders down and back.
3. Bend your elbows and curl your hands up toward your shoulders.
4. Extend your arms and repeat.

4. Preacher hammer curl

Preacher curls allow you to position your upper arm away from your body, changing the angle of your biceps and the effect of the exercise. In addition, the preacher curl bench eliminates the ability to cheat the weight up, making it a much stricter, more targeted exercise. You can do this exercise with a dumbbell or if you prefer, a kettlebell.

How to do it:

1. Sit behind the preacher curl bench. Put your upper arm on the sloped surface and hold your dumbbell/kettlebell with a neutral grip.
2. Starting with your arm extended but not fully straight, bend your elbows until your forearm is vertical and then lower the weight again.
3. Do the same number of reps on both arms.

5. Triceps bar hammer curl

Contrary to its name, you can use a triceps bar for biceps curls. In fact, the neutral grip handles mean that it’s perfect for replicating hammer curls. Using both arms together means you should be able to lift more weight.

How to do it:

1. Load your triceps bar with an appropriate amount of weight. Pick the bar up and hold the vertical handles, thumbs pointing upward.
2. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent. Brace your core and pull your shoulders down and back.
3. Keeping your upper arms close to your sides, bend your elbows and curl the weight up to your shoulders.
4. Extend your arms and repeat.
5. Take care not to use your legs or back to help you lift the weight – that’s cheating!

6. Neutral grip chin-up

No, we haven’t slipped a back exercise into this article by mistake. Neutral grip chin-ups work your arms in much the same way as kettlebell hammer curls, and you get an extra lat workout for free! The only difference is that, instead of curling a weight up to your shoulders, with neutral grip chin-ups, you curl your shoulders up to the bar.

How to do it:

1. Hang from a neutral grip pull-up bar, so your feet are clear of the floor. Pull your shoulders down and back and lift your chest.
2. Bend your arms and pull your chin up and over the bar.
3. Descend smoothly and repeat.
4. Do not swing or kick yourself up – this is bodybuilding and NOT CrossFit!

7. Dumbbell hammer curl

Classic exercises are classics for a reason – they really work! So, don’t worry if you don’t have access to kettlebells. You can still train your biceps, brachialis, and brachioradialis muscles with a pair of good old-fashioned dumbbells and by doing regular hammer curls.

How to do it:

1. Seated or standing, hold a dumbbell in each hand with your arms by your sides and your palms facing inward.
2. Bend your elbows and curl the weights up toward your shoulders.
3. Extend your arms, lower the weights, and repeat.
4. You can also do this exercise with an alternating arm action.

More on Hammer Curls:

• Seated Hammer Curl Guide
• Cable Hammer Curl Exercise Guide
• Bicep Curl vs. Hammer Curl – Is One Best For Massive Arms?
• Compound Exercise Workout for Strong, Massive Arms
• How To Build Bigger Arms With Biceps 21s
• 4-Week Total Sleeve-Busting Arm Training Program
• The 10 Best Brachialis Exercises For More Muscular Arms

Kettlebell Hammer Curls – Wrapping Up

Using kettlebells and not dumbbells for hammer curls completely changes how this popular exercise feels. It doesn’t change the muscles you are working, but it most definitely affects how they work. As such, it’s a valuable exercise that’ll add some welcome variety to your arm workouts.

While supinated (palms up) curls are probably the best way to target your biceps, neutral grip hammer curls ensure that your brachialis and brachioradialis get more attention. These muscles can have a big impact on the size and shape of your upper AND lower arms.

So, if you want to build your best arms ever, make sure you include both hammer and supinated curls in your workouts to develop all those crucial muscles equally.

References:

1– American Council on Exercise: ACE Study Reveals Best Biceps Exercises https://www.acefitness.org

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