The Dumbbell Standing Single Arm Hammer Curl is a beginner-friendly dumbbell strength exercise that targets the biceps. Here's how to do it right — and what to stop doing.
Primary musclesBiceps
Secondary muscles—
EquipmentDumbbell
LevelBeginner
TypeStrength
3D demo in the EGON app
01 Execution
How to do the Dumbbell Standing Single Arm Hammer Curl
Stand tall with a dumbbell in one hand at your side and the other hand resting on your hip.
Set your feet shoulder-width apart with knees soft and core lightly braced.
Start with the working arm fully extended and palm facing your thigh.
Curl the dumbbell up toward your shoulder while keeping the palm facing in throughout the rep.
Squeeze the biceps and brachialis hard at the top with the elbow tucked beside your ribs.
Lower the dumbbell slowly back down to full extension, then repeat for reps before switching arms.
02 The payoff
Why it earns its spot
Builds the brachialis underneath the biceps for thicker arms.
Strengthens the forearm and improves grip endurance.
Adds variety to curl programming with neutral-grip loading.
03 Don't do this
Common mistakes
Rotating the wrist into a regular curl partway up, which turns the hammer into a standard biceps curl.
Swinging the torso to throw the dumbbell up, which removes the work from the biceps and forearm.
Letting the elbow drift forward, which shortens the range and reduces brachialis loading.
Cutting the lowering phase short, which skips most of the muscle-building tension.
EGON Put it on record
Track it in EGON.
Log every set of the Dumbbell Standing Single Arm Hammer Curl, get your PRs detected automatically, earn aura for the work — and climb five leagues of statues, from Stone to Ego.
