Zottman curl
- Stand holding a dumbbell in each hand with an underhand grip (palms facing forward). Keeping your upper arms stationary, curl the weights up towards your shoulders.
- At the top of the movement, pause and rotate your wrists 180 degrees so that your palms now face forward (overhand grip).
- Slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position using this overhand grip. Once at the bottom, rotate your wrists back to the initial underhand grip to begin the next rep.
Tips
- Complete the wrist rotation fully at the top before you begin lowering, so that your palms face away from you and the overhand grip is firmly set before the descent starts.
- Lower the dumbbells with a controlled, deliberate pace on the way down, as the overhand grip places the forearms in a mechanically weaker position and rushing this phase makes it difficult to maintain control.
- Keep your upper arms close to your sides throughout the entire repetition, both during the curl up and the lowering phase.
Common mistakes
- Rotating the wrists partway rather than a full 180 degrees at the top, leaving the grip somewhere between underhand and overhand at the start of the descent.
- Swinging the upper arms forward or letting the elbows drift away from the sides during the curl, turning the movement into a shoulder raise rather than an isolated curl.
- Rushing the lowering phase by letting the dumbbells drop quickly under the overhand grip instead of controlling the descent.
Make Every Set Count.
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