Curls VS hammer curls

[atlmo]

Guys can someone tell me what the differnece is if I do seated curls where my elbow rests on my inner thigh VS doing standing hammer curls. I have done both and am wondering what the difference is in results.

 

[borrachopower]

curls

moving the DB to the supinated(palms up) position works both heads of the bicep muscle.

doing hammercurls works the brachialis and brachioradialis muscles more.

 

[Chip Bronson]

the hammer curls still kill my forearm, even if i'm using 8lb bells. the dumbbell concentration curls that you mention, altmo, do not. this leads me to believe that hammers hit the forearm extensors, in addition to the brachialis, a lot harder than the curls. i love the hammer curls at the end of a workout because it really plumps the arm up. can't wait to be able to incorporate them into my workouts.

 

[atlmo]

I on the other hand really like the hammer curls, I can do much more weight. I think however that I may have been doing them incorrectly. I took a look at the animation at exrx.net. I have been doing them for years where my arm is held close to the body and I basically bring the dumbell up and down from my groin to my upper chest, basically i hjave been moving it across my body. According to the illustration this is incorrect.

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Brachioradialis/DBHammerCurl.html

Now in reference to the pain, in your forearms I have done some reading about the forearm pain, I used to get it to. But basicallyy I read that the pain comes from not having your arms far enough out from your body. this is often manifested with a barbell or ez curl. People try to keep there arms at shoulder length and you really need to keep them slightly wider than shoulder length. They say that you normally dont see this using dumbells because of the free range of motion, your arms naturally go to the proper width from your body. HOpe this helps.

the hammer curls still kill my forearm, even if i'm using 8lb bells. the dumbbell concentration curls that you mention, altmo, do not. this leads me to believe that hammers hit the forearm extensors, in addition to the brachialis, a lot harder than the curls. i love the hammer curls at the end of a workout because it really plumps the arm up. can't wait to be able to incorporate them into my workouts.

 

[Chip Bronson]

I on the other hand really like the hammer curls, I can do much more weight. I think however that I may have been doing them incorrectly. I took a look at the animation at exrx.net. I have been doing them for years where my arm is held close to the body and I basically bring the dumbell up and down from my groin to my upper chest, basically i hjave been moving it across my body. According to the illustration this is incorrect.

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Brachioradialis/DBHammerCurl.html

Now in reference to the pain, in your forearms I have done some reading about the forearm pain, I used to get it to. But basicallyy I read that the pain comes from not having your arms far enough out from your body. this is often manifested with a barbell or ez curl. People try to keep there arms at shoulder length and you really need to keep them slightly wider than shoulder length. They say that you normally dont see this using dumbells because of the free range of motion, your arms naturally go to the proper width from your body. HOpe this helps.

thanks mo. you are correct about not keeping the arms so close to the body. it is painful and you can't lift as much weight. my pain is due to some problems i'm still having as a result of an accident i was in last august, though. but, still, hammers are great. they pump up the whole arm and you can use considerably more weight than with regular curls. can't wait to use 'em again.

 

[tomrob]

Hammer Curls and Concentration Curls work different areas of the arms, like people have already said, Hammer Curls arm more of a Forearm workout, whereas Concentration Curls put all the emphasis on your Biceps.

If you want to try something else, incline dumbell curls are good for isolationg the bicep

 

[atlmo]

Hey arent you the DBOL only guy?



I'm just kidding my friend thanks for the suggestion I will check them out. I was doing 100 pound hammers at one point and now I am at 70 pound concentration curls. The change in weight was a bit of an ego buster. But it turns out I was doing it incorrectly any how.

Thanks againi and dont let the guys scare you off.

Hammer Curls and Concentration Curls work different areas of the arms, like people have already said, Hammer Curls arm more of a Forearm workout, whereas Concentration Curls put all the emphasis on your Biceps.

If you want to try something else, incline dumbell curls are good for isolationg the bicep

 

[Bob Smith]

Both are basically isolation movements, so why bother with them at all?

 

[atlmo]

Well I have to do something for my biceps, if not one of those then what?

Both are basically isolation movements, so why bother with them at all?

 

[Bob Smith]

Straightbar curls. Close grip, supinated chin-ups. Rope pulls (Strongman style - pulling a truck or something).

 

[borrachopower]

biceps

thank you Bob...finally someone that uses the exercises i do...
all these damned years of training and i just started doing the reverse grip chin ups--i've had great results in a short time. im 240lbs---i have a belt that i load with another 80lbs. 4 sets of straight bar curls one day....another day, 4 sets of the chin ups---it's all i do.

everyone should try the chin ups.

 

[atlmo]

Well in that case I'll give the straight bar or ez curl bar another chance, I used to do it all the time but then my forearms started hurting, but since I have learned that it was likely due to too close of a grip.

thank you Bob...finally someone that uses the exercises i do...
all these damned years of training and i just started doing the reverse grip chin ups--i've had great results in a short time. im 240lbs---i have a belt that i load with another 80lbs. 4 sets of straight bar curls one day....another day, 4 sets of the chin ups---it's all i do.

everyone should try the chin ups.

 

[BigLibby]

the hammer curls still kill my forearm, even if i'm using 8lb bells. the dumbbell concentration curls that you mention, altmo, do not. this leads me to believe that hammers hit the forearm extensors, in addition to the brachialis, a lot harder than the curls. i love the hammer curls at the end of a workout because it really plumps the arm up. can't wait to be able to incorporate them into my workouts.

same with me

 

[full power]

the hammer curls still kill my forearm, even if i'm using 8lb bells. the dumbbell concentration curls that you mention, altmo, do not. this leads me to believe that hammers hit the forearm extensors, in addition to the brachialis, a lot harder than the curls. i love the hammer curls at the end of a workout because it really plumps the arm up. can't wait to be able to incorporate them into my workouts.

i do hammer curls and barbell curls in my bicep workout. lift heavy and 2 days later your arms are massive *BAM*