7 BENEFITS OF SEATED INCLINE HAMMER CURLS

By Adriana Albritton

Being in the fitness arena, competing, training, and coaching others, I see how the bicep is a body part that’s associated with a strong physique. The bicep or biceps brachii is the large muscle that lies on the front part of the upper arm between the shoulder and the elbow. It arises on the scapula and runs towards the upper forearm.

The biceps muscle has two heads, therefore its name is the short head, and the long head. The biceps’ main function is to flex and supinates the elbow -allowing it to rotate so the palm faces up or forward. The biceps is one of three muscles in the anterior compartment of the upper arm, along with the brachialis muscle and the coracobrachialis muscle.

A great bicep exercise is the Hammer Curl. It targets the long head of the biceps as well as the brachialis and the brachioradialis (forearm muscles). Some of the stabilizer muscles involved in the movement are the anterior deltoid, the trapezius, and the extensor carpi radialis. The incline dumbbell hammer curl is a hammer curl that’s performed seated on an incline bench.

BENEFITS OF SEATED INCLINE HAMMER CURLS

1. Full Range: A great benefit of incline hammer curls is that it stretches the biceps much more as it allows you to have a bigger range of motion.
2. Hypertrophy: Hammer curls help increase bicep size.
3. Strength and Endurance: Incline hammer curls allow the muscle to be under tension for a long period of time, increasing endurance and making you stronger.
4. Proper Form: Having your back against the bench prevents you from cheating while performing the movement. This position prevents you from bouncing your upper body back and forth as sometimes happens to help bring the weight up.
5. Strong Wrists and Grip: Hammer curls improve wrist stability and strengthen your grip, much needed when lifting heavy and engaging in other compound moves.
6. Safety: Another positive is that your wrists and elbows are less likely to be strained as it’s a more controlled movement.
7. Simple: The Incline Hammer Curl is a straightforward and simple movement. You just need a bench and a pair of dumbbells.

HOW TO DO INCLINE HAMMER CURLS

• Set up a bench at a 30-45 degree angle.
• Sit down and press your feet firmly to lay back.
• Grab a pair of dumbbells and hold them with a neutral grip so that your palms face your body and the dumbbells hang down at your side. This is your initial position.
• Slowly flex at the elbows and curl the weights up while keeping your upper arms steady.
• Pause for a second at the top and lower the dumbbells to the initial position in a controlled manner.
• Repeat.

AVOID SEATED INCLINE HAMMER CURLS MISTAKES

• Be sure not to move your elbows and upper arms throughout the movement. Aim to maintain the arm steady.
• Avoid performing the move fast. Slow down the repetition timing by lowering the weights in a controlled way.

BICEP WORKOUT

You can complete your bicep workout with the following exercises drag curls, overhead cable curls, Zottman curls, and bicep curls.