Biceps Exercises - Strength Exercises for the Biceps

By Paige Waehner, About.com Guide

Updated September 16, 2009

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Like the regular curl shown previously, the hammer curl targets the biceps muscles. But, because the hands are rotated in, the forearms also get a bit more attention in this exercise. Changing the hand position can also make the exercise challenging in a different way, so you can do these in combination with regular curls or barbell curls to target the full range of the biceps and the forearms.

1. Stand with feet about hip-width apart, abs engaged as you hold medium-heavy dumbbells in front of the thighs.
2. Turn the hands so that the palms face each other and squeeze the biceps to curl the weights towards the shoulders.
3. Keep the elbows stationary and only bring the weight as high as you can without moving the elbows.
4. Slowly lower the weights, keeping a slight bend in the elbows at the bottom (e.g., don't lock the joints and try to keep tension on the muscle)
5. Repeat for 1-3 sets of 8-15 reps.