Cross Body Hammer Curls: Benefits And Technique
Cross body hammer curls are a particular workout of the biceps focusing on the forearms. The exercise is done to maintain a balance between the upper and lower parts of the arms. Unlike cross body biceps curls, it targets the muscles in between your triceps and biceps. And the exercise is mostly done at the end of the workout.
It is muscle strengthening exercise, usually performed by using dumbbells. The primary focus of the workout is mainly the biceps and secondary focus on the forearm balancing. This article is a basic description of why, how and who should perform this routine.
How To Get Prepared For Cross Body Hammer Curls
It is significant to prepare yourself for the type of exercise you are about to perform. As it is not just a bicep workout, it will strain and pressurize your other muscles as well. Therefore, it is evident to keep yourself balanced and focused on getting the maximum benefit out of the exercise.
The one thing to remember is to start with a light warm-up routine. With low weight dumbbells and gradually increase your sets and weight. There is no need to hurry, and the main focus is to develop muscles and strength. Therefore avoid exhausting your muscles by straining them extra.
Technique To Perform Cross Body Hammer Curls
The correct technique to start up with your hammer curls is simple.
- Stand straight with dumbbells in hands and palms facing the thighs.
- Keep our back and neck straight to prevent excess strain.
- Open your legs to a shoulder-width to have better stability.
- Curl your arm up to the opposite shoulder with a dumbbell in hand and hold on for few seconds.
- Then move the arm back to its position and repeat the procedure with the alternate arm.
- If you find your waist bending, then switch to the lighter weights.
- Try to keep your muscles tight and stretched with every repeat.
Benefits Of Cross Body Hammer Curls
The exercise is most suitable for weight lifters and for the people who are looking up for building some muscle mass. As the exercise works on the area between your biceps and triceps, it makes these muscles move apart from each other, hence creating a great muscle mass at the forearms.
The main hammer curl muscles are brachialis and brachioradialis. It makes these muscles more robust and balanced. As the routine tenses your other body muscles as well, therefore it is also great for balancing different body muscles and keeping your posture correct.
Things To Remember While Performing Hammer Curls
Although the hammer curls are not challenging to perform, some considerations should be kept in mind while performing this exercise. The goal is to gain muscle mass and strength with no damage. Therefore be careful with your body posture and the amount of weight you will be curling. Start with small weights and then gradually shifts to heavier ones.
The shoulder and elbow flexion exercise is even be done as a warm-up before your workout to let your shoulders and biceps get some tension. Or perform it at the end of a workout for the muscle gain purpose.