EXERCISE GUIDE

Hammer Curl

The Hammer Curl is a beginner dumbbell curl that primarily trains the biceps. It is useful for training elbow flexion and adding direct biceps work.

Primary muscles
biceps
Secondary muscles
None
Equipment
dumbbell
Difficulty
beginner

TARGET AREA

Muscles worked

Primary muscles

biceps

Secondary muscles

None

THE MOVEMENT

How to perform

  1. Stand or sit tall with the dumbbells by the sides and the palms facing each other.
  2. Keep the upper arms close to the torso and the wrists neutral.
  3. Curl the dumbbells without rotating the palms or swinging the body.
  4. Lower under control until the elbows are straight and repeat.

IRONYOU / CORE

Core cues

  • Keep the upper arm mostly still while the forearm moves.
  • Control the lowering phase instead of dropping the weight.
  • Use a grip and load that let you finish the rep without swinging.

STAY SHARP

Common mistakes

  • Driving the elbows forward and turning the curl into a shoulder movement.
  • Swinging the torso to get the weight moving.
  • Cutting the bottom position short to use more load.

YOUR PROGRESS

Your strength

Use your best set to calculate your current IronYou rank and see what comes next.

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IRONYOU RANK SYSTEM

Standards

Published reference points from the production IronYou rank system.

IronYou has 13 strength ranks: Copper I–III → Silver I–III → Gold I–III → Titanium I–III → IRON. IRON is the highest IronYou rank. The public standards tables show the estimated 1RM required to enter Silver I, Gold I, Titanium I, and IRON. Standards vary by sex and bodyweight.

Logged load: weight of one dumbbell. Public value: per dumbbell.

Hammer Curl Strength Standards — Male

Male

Published estimated 1RM thresholds by bodyweight. Load is recorded as per dumbbell.

Hammer Curl estimated 1RM strength standards by bodyweight and IronYou rank — Male.
Bodyweight (kg)Silver IGold ITitanium IIRON
50 kg12.2 kg16.1 kg20 kg28.3 kg
60 kg13.2 kg17.5 kg21.8 kg30.8 kg
70 kg14.1 kg18.7 kg23.2 kg32.7 kg
80 kg14.8 kg19.5 kg24.3 kg34.3 kg
90 kg15.3 kg20.2 kg25.2 kg35.5 kg
100 kg15.7 kg20.8 kg25.9 kg36.5 kg
110 kg16 kg21.2 kg26.4 kg37.2 kg
120 kg16.3 kg21.5 kg26.8 kg37.8 kg

Hammer Curl Strength Standards — Female

Female

Published estimated 1RM thresholds by bodyweight. Load is recorded as per dumbbell.

Hammer Curl estimated 1RM strength standards by bodyweight and IronYou rank — Female.
Bodyweight (kg)Silver IGold ITitanium IIRON
40 kg5.7 kg7.6 kg9.4 kg13.3 kg
50 kg7.5 kg9.9 kg12.4 kg17.4 kg
60 kg8.5 kg11.3 kg14.1 kg19.8 kg
70 kg9.1 kg12.1 kg15.1 kg21.2 kg
80 kg9.5 kg12.6 kg15.6 kg22 kg
90 kg9.7 kg12.8 kg16 kg22.5 kg
100 kg9.8 kg13 kg16.1 kg22.8 kg
  • Values are estimated 1RM thresholds required to enter the named IronYou major rank tier.
  • Standards are derived from the production IronYou Rank V1 model.

KEEP EXPLORING

Variations

  • Related variations: Single Arm Cable Biceps Curl, Cable Biceps Curl, and EZ Bar Biceps Curl.
  • Choose the version that matches your equipment, joint comfort, and the movement you can repeat consistently.

EARLY ACCESS

Track Hammer Curl in IronYou.

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