With this exercise, you’ll earn the right to bare arms and show off those guns! Let’s get down to the science behind how to perform the cross body hammer curl exercise. A great move I know you’ll LOVE as it tones and strengthens your biceps.
Today I want to do a continuation of the arm training series that we started in the last video.
In the last video, I taught you how to execute drag curls perfectly.
But there’s another muscle that I want to focus on for today’s workout, that you’re really going to love.
Building biceps is something that’s on your list, so today we’re going to learn about the cross body hammer curl.
Why I Love The Cross Body Hammer Curl
One of the things that I love about this particular exercise is that it hits the brachialis muscle.
This muscle is actually deeper than the long and short heads of the biceps. So when you build up that muscle, honey it’s gonna give you that nice bicep peak!
For those of you who compete… Maybe you’re doing physique or natural bodybuilding, this is a great exercise to add to your repertoire when you want to get a beautiful double bicep curl!
Even if you’re just a woman out there who wants some strong looking arms, this is the perfect move for you!
So, let’s go ahead and get started.
Setting Up This Move
To set up you want to make sure that your arms are just a little bit wider than shoulder-width apart.
Your palms should be facing out when doing this exercise.
I do suggest that you go with a lighter set of dumbbells to start. It’s not really necessary to go super heavy with this one, especially if you’ve never done this before.
Keep Momentum OUT of the Motion
The number one thing that you want to keep in mind is to take momentum out of the equation as much as possible.
As you’re flexing up, you really want to think about squeezing the biceps at the top of the motion, and staying in complete control.
Do not swing your arms to bring them up. Muscle it up there and hold at the top of the motion.
Give your biceps a nice hard squeeze when you’re coming back down to the starting position. Be mindful to really PLACE your arms down by your side.
Pay Attention to Small Details
While watching the video, take notice of the placement of my hands when my arms cross my body.
The palms are going to be facing inwards. There is a slight internal rotation of your shoulder joint when you come up and curl across your body.
Try to keep everything nice and tight and really perfect your form!
Form is truly everything with this specific exercise. To get the most out of this, again, you want to be mindful of your mind/muscle connection on both the way up and down throughout this motion.
Another plus for this specific exercise that I really like is that, because of the position of your forearms, you’re also working the forearm muscles as well as your grip strength.
It’s a great multifaceted exercise to really challenge your entire upper body and arm structure.
Make sure that you throw them in every once in a while and you mix up your training to create the best development in your upper body that you can.
How to Work This Into Your Program
The cross body hammer curl is an incredibly versatile exercise. You can throw these into a superset, or you can do them on their own.
If you want to do high repetitions go for it! Do about 15 or 20 repetitions for a couple of sets. But if you really are looking to build up your arms, remember you want to train heavy.
Pick up those heavy dumbbells and aim for anywhere between 8-12 repetitions, and really challenge yourself in this motion.
I hope that you find today’s exercise demo useful!
