What is the difference between a reverse curl and a hammer curl?

A reverse curl keeps the palms facing down, while a Dumbbell Hammer Curl keeps them facing each other. The hammer curl usually allows more weight, and the reverse curl puts more demand on the wrist extensors on top of the forearm.

How is it different from a Zottman curl?

A reverse curl stays palms down for the whole rep. The Dumbbell Zottman Curl lifts with the palms up and rotates them down at the top, so you lower a weight you curled with the stronger grip.

Why can't I lift as much as on a regular dumbbell curl?

With the palms down, the biceps brachii has poorer leverage at the elbow and your wrist extensors have to hold the dumbbells level, so the weaker link sets the load. Using noticeably lighter dumbbells than on a Dumbbell Curl is normal.

Can I do reverse curls with tennis elbow?

Often not while it is painful, because resisted wrist extension with the palm down is one of the movements that typically reproduces tennis elbow pain. Switch to a neutral-grip curl and get the elbow assessed before loading this grip again.

Should I use dumbbells or a barbell for reverse curls?

Both work. Dumbbells let each arm work independently and let each wrist settle into its own angle, while the Barbell Curl (Reverse Grip) lets you load both arms more heavily and progress in smaller steps.

Dumbbell Reverse Curl

What Is the Dumbbell Reverse Curl?

Dumbbell Reverse Curl is an isolation exercise that primarily targets the biceps, specifically the brachialis beneath the biceps brachii, and also engages the brachioradialis and wrist extensors of the forearm. It is a beginner-level movement that follows the same path as a standard curl, but with the palms facing down from start to finish.

The reverse curl is mainly used to build thickness in the upper arm and the top of the forearm, and to strengthen the muscles that keep the wrist straight while holding a load. Because those wrist extensors rarely get direct work in pressing and pulling, many lifters use it to balance out grip-heavy training. It usually sits near the end of an arm or pulling session as an accessory, alongside or in place of other curl variations.

Turning the palms down puts the biceps brachii at a mechanical disadvantage, so more of the lift falls to the brachialis and brachioradialis. A lab study of 16 healthy adults doing slow, unweighted elbow bends found the brachioradialis worked significantly harder with the palm turned down than with it neutral or up, while biceps activity stayed about the same. All three elbow flexors still work in every curl grip; the grip only shifts the balance between them. The Dumbbell Hammer Curl uses a neutral grip and usually allows more weight, the Dumbbell Curl turns the palms up to load the biceps brachii most, and the Dumbbell Zottman Curl lifts palms up and lowers palms down.

The exercise suits anyone who wants fuller arms or whose forearms lag behind their biceps, and the dumbbells let each arm work on its own so one side cannot carry the other. Expect to use noticeably lighter dumbbells than on a standard curl. If holding the wrists straight with the palms down is hard, build up first with the Dumbbell Hammer Curl and the Dumbbell Curl, then move to light reverse curls.

Muscles Worked

MuscleActivation

Brachialis: Primary
Brachioradialis: Primary
Biceps Brachii: High
Extensor Carpi Radialis: Medium
Flexor Carpi Radialis: Low
Flexor Carpi Ulnaris: Low
Deltoid: Minimal
Upper Trapezius: Minimal

Instructions

Stand tall with your feet about hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand with an overhand grip.
Let your arms hang straight with the dumbbells beside your thighs and your palms facing behind you.
Keep your elbows close to your sides, brace your core and hold your wrists straight in line with your forearms.
Bend your elbows to curl both dumbbells up, keeping your palms facing down throughout.
Keep your upper arms still so that only your forearms move.
Stop when the dumbbells are in front of your shoulders with your knuckles facing forward.
Pause briefly, then lower the dumbbells slowly until your arms are fully straight, without letting your wrists bend.
Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Common Mistakes

Bending the wrists
Letting the knuckles drop or the wrists bend back shifts the load off the elbow flexors and strains the wrist and outer elbow.
Going too heavy
Using standard-curl weights forces a swing or a bent wrist, because the palms-down grip is much weaker than a regular curl.
Swinging the torso
Leaning back or rocking the hips to start the rep uses momentum instead of the arm muscles the exercise is meant to train.
Elbows drifting forward
Letting the elbows travel forward or flare out turns part of the lift into a front raise and takes tension off the arms.
Turning the palms in
Rotating the dumbbells toward a neutral grip as they rise turns the rep into a hammer curl and drops the point of the palms-down position.
Cutting the bottom short
Stopping before the arms are straight skips the hardest part of the range and reduces the work done per rep.

Injuries

Dumbbell Reverse Curl is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The loads are light and the movement is simple, but the palms-down grip asks the wrist extensors to hold the dumbbells level for the whole set. Those muscles attach at the outer elbow, so the outer elbow and the wrist are where problems usually show up.

Most strain comes from going too heavy, letting the wrists bend back or drop, and swinging the weight up. Choose dumbbells you can lift with straight wrists for every rep, keep the elbows at your sides and lower slowly instead of letting the weight drop into the bottom of the rep. Warming up with a light set helps the forearms settle into the grip.

If the palms-down grip bothers your wrists or elbows, regress to the Dumbbell Hammer Curl, whose neutral grip is easier on both, or try the EZ Bar Curl (Reverse Grip), whose angled handles turn the wrists slightly inward. Once light reverse curls feel solid, progress to the Barbell Curl (Reverse Grip) or the Dumbbell Zottman Curl.

Stop the set if you feel sharp pain on the outside of the elbow, pain that lingers into the next day, or numbness or tingling in the hand. Pain on the outer elbow when gripping or lifting with the palm down is typical of tennis elbow, which this grip can aggravate, so check with a clinician before loading through it.

Overview

Primary Focus: Biceps
Equipment: Dumbbell
Modality: Strength
Difficulty: Beginner

Alternative Exercises

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the difference between a reverse curl and a hammer curl?: A reverse curl keeps the palms facing down, while a Dumbbell Hammer Curl keeps them facing each other. The hammer curl usually allows more weight, and the reverse curl puts more demand on the wrist extensors on top of the forearm.
Q: How is it different from a Zottman curl?: A reverse curl stays palms down for the whole rep. The Dumbbell Zottman Curl lifts with the palms up and rotates them down at the top, so you lower a weight you curled with the stronger grip.
Q: Why can't I lift as much as on a regular dumbbell curl?: With the palms down, the biceps brachii has poorer leverage at the elbow and your wrist extensors have to hold the dumbbells level, so the weaker link sets the load. Using noticeably lighter dumbbells than on a Dumbbell Curl is normal.
Q: Can I do reverse curls with tennis elbow?: Often not while it is painful, because resisted wrist extension with the palm down is one of the movements that typically reproduces tennis elbow pain. Switch to a neutral-grip curl and get the elbow assessed before loading this grip again.
Q: Should I use dumbbells or a barbell for reverse curls?: Both work. Dumbbells let each arm work independently and let each wrist settle into its own angle, while the Barbell Curl (Reverse Grip) lets you load both arms more heavily and progress in smaller steps.