What you'll gain

• Builds upper-arm thickness through the brachialis under deep stretch.

• Develops forearm size and grip strength through the neutral grip.

• Removes momentum cheating through the seated, anchored position.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. 1

   Set a bench to about a 60 degree incline and sit back with a dumbbell hanging from each hand.

2. 2

   Let the arms fully extend straight down, palms facing each other, with the shoulder blades pinned to the bench.

3. 3

   Keep the elbows pinned at your sides and resist any urge to swing them forward as you curl.

4. 4

   Curl both dumbbells up by bending only at the elbow, palms staying in the neutral hammer position.

5. 5

   Stop the curl just before the elbows travel forward, squeezing hard for a brief pause at the top.

6. 6

   Lower the dumbbells under control over 2 to 3 seconds back to the fully stretched start position.

Common Mistakes

• Letting the elbows drift forward at the top, which removes the brachialis stretch the lift is designed for.

• Rolling the shoulders forward off the bench, swapping arm work for front-shoulder strain.

• Rushing the lower portion and dropping out of the stretched bottom where the growth happens.

• Loading too heavy, which forces a swinging cheat rep and ruins the isolation.

About This Exercise

The dumbbell incline hammer curl is a hammer curl performed seated on an inclined bench, with the arms hanging back behind the body. The neutral grip biases the brachialis and forearm, while the inclined position pre-stretches the working muscles before each rep. The result is a curl that builds visible upper-arm thickness from a stretched start. For app and content use, this is a specialist accessory for hypertrophy-focused arm programs. Ship it in pull-day flows, dedicated arm blocks, and aesthetic tracks that want both peak development and arm thickness from the same library. It's also a wrist-friendly alternative to the standard incline curl, which makes it an easy substitute in beginner-to-intermediate programs.

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