Zottman Curl
A dumbbell curl with a twist at the top: you curl up with your palms facing forward, rotate them to face down, then lower slowly in that overhand grip, working your biceps and forearms.
- Primary muscles
- Biceps
- Secondary
- Forearm flexors, Forearm extensors
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Weight × reps
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Why do it
Zottman curls combine a regular curl and a reverse curl in one rep, so they suit anyone who wants to train the biceps and forearms with a single exercise. The lowering half, done with an overhand grip, is the hard part because the forearms are weaker than the biceps, so pick a weight you can control on the way down. It's an efficient choice when you're short on time, though it won't let you load the biceps as heavily as a standard curl.
How to do it
Stand with your feet hip-width apart, a dumbbell in each hand at your sides, palms facing forward.
Curl the dumbbells up to your shoulders with your elbows fixed at your sides.
At the top, rotate your wrists so your palms face down.
Lower them slowly in that reverse grip, then rotate back to palms forward at the bottom. You curl up with the biceps and lower with the forearms, so pick a weight the forearms can control.
Common mistakes
Rotating halfway down
Turn your palms down at the top, before the lowering starts. Rotating midway skips the part where your forearms do their work.
Picking a weight for the curl
The overhand lowering is the weak link, so a weight chosen for the curl tends to drop. Use a load you can lower slowly with your palms down.
Rushing the turn at the bottom
Spinning your wrists back while the weight is still moving makes the next rep sloppy. Pause, rotate to palms forward, then curl.
Swinging to get the weight up
If you need hip drive on the way up, the weight is too heavy for the lowering anyway. Keep your elbows fixed at your sides.
Sets, reps and progression
How many sets you do and how close to failure you take them depend on your goal and your week, not on the exercise. These guides cover it:
Alternatives that train the same thing
Same movement, a different angle or piece of equipment.
