The Zottman curl goes up palms-up and down palms-down: one rep works both the biceps and the forearms.
1Starting positionStart2End positionFinish
Setup
Stand with dumbbells, palms forward, elbows at your sides. Curl them up like a regular curl. At the top turn your palms down and lower slowly.
Execution
Stand holding dumbbells, palms forward.
Exhale and curl them up to your shoulders with a regular grip.
At the top, rotate your wrists palms-down and lower slowly with a reverse grip.
Common mistakes
Turning your hands at the bottom instead of the top — rotate at the top and come down palms-down.
Lowering fast — the slow palms-down lowering is the point.
Using your regular curl weight — you're weaker palms-down, pick the weight for that.
Elbows drifting forward — keep them at your sides.
Alternatives
Equipment taken or the movement doesn't suit you — try Seated Dumbbell Curl, Dumbbell Curl, Incline Dumbbell Curl. All 8 substitutes and what changes →
Not sure about your form? Send me a video of a set — I'll take a look and tell you what to fix first.
