Cross-Body Hammer Curl

Setup

Stand holding a dumbbell in a neutral grip at the side.

Execution

1. 1Keep the elbow relatively fixed near the side, allowing a small natural drift across the body
2. 2Curl the dumbbell diagonally up and across toward the opposite shoulder
3. 3Squeeze at the top
4. 4Lower under control back to the starting position, then repeat on the other side

Key cues

• Curl across the body toward the opposite shoulder, not straight up
• Keep the shoulder still, let the forearm do the diagonal travel
• Full control on both directions
• Don't let the torso twist to assist the curl

Common faults

• Twisting the torso to help move the weight across the body
• Excessive shoulder movement instead of isolated elbow flexion
• Using too heavy a weight, sacrificing the controlled diagonal path
• Uneven pacing between the two arms

Tweaks

• Seated version to remove any torso assistance
• Alternate arms every rep versus completing one side first
• Slow eccentric emphasis for extra time under tension

Muscles

Notes

A minor resistance-curve variation on the standard hammer curl; some lifters report feeling it more in the brachialis due to the diagonal path.

Sources

• Cross Body Hammer Curl Technique Tutorial
• Hammer Curl discussion - ExRx.net Forum

Attribution: General Bodybuilding Canon