Cable Rope Hammer Curl
Standing cable curl on a rope with a neutral grip that loads the biceps, brachialis and forearms together.
How to do it
- Attach a rope to the low pulley and select a light weight.
- Stand facing the stack with your feet about shoulder width apart.
- Take one end of the rope in each hand with your palms facing each other.
- Tuck your elbows against your sides and brace your abs.
- Curl the rope up toward your shoulders, keeping the wrists neutral.
- Squeeze at the top, then lower until the arms are almost straight.
Key technique cue
Palms face each other the whole way, elbows at your sides.
Common mistakes
- ✕ Letting the elbows drift forward, which turns the curl into a front raise for the shoulders.
- ✕ Leaning back to start the rep, which uses the hips instead of the elbow flexors.
- ✕ Rolling the wrists into a palms up position, which drops the brachioradialis out of the movement.
- ✕ Stopping short at the bottom, so the arm never reaches the loaded stretch the cable provides.
Benefits
- ✓ Trains the biceps, brachialis and brachioradialis in one neutral grip movement.
- ✓ Keeps cable tension at the bottom of the rep where dumbbells unload.
- ✓ Neutral wrists usually feel easier on the elbow than a supinated curl.
Progression: from easier to harder
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Step 1 You are here - Cable Rope Hammer Curl
- Alternate Hammer Curl
- Cross-Body Hammer Curl
- Dumbbell Hammer Curl
- Dumbbell Standing Single Arm Hammer Curl
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Step 2
About the exercise
The cable rope hammer curl keeps the palms facing each other on a rope attached to a low pulley, so the elbow flexes with the forearm in a neutral position. That grip splits the work between the biceps brachii, the brachialis underneath it and the brachioradialis along the top of the forearm, which is why the forearms fatigue faster here than in a palms up curl. The cable keeps tension on the arm at the bottom of the rep, where a dumbbell hammer curl unloads completely, and the elbows stay pinned to your sides so the shoulders cannot swing the weight up.
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