How to do the hammer exercise. Exercise "Hammer" or "Hammer
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Genus. 1984 Trained since 1999. Trained since 2007. CCM in powerlifting. Champion of Russia and the South of Russia according to AWPC. Champion Krasnodar Territory according to IPF. 1 rank by weightlifting. 2-time winner of the championship of the Krasnodar Territory in t / a. Author of over 700 articles on fitness and amateur athleticism. Author and co-author of 5 books.
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Date of: 2012-05-29 Views: 465 893
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Additional- brachialis and brachioradialis muscles
Difficulty of execution- light
Bending the arms with dumbbells "hammer" - video
Weight and reps for beginners
For men: 10 - 15 reps of 8 - 12 kg (each dumbbell). 2 - 3 approaches.For women: 10 - 15 reps of 3 - 5 kg (each dumbbell). 2 - 3 approaches.
Load on muscle groups
The load is indicated on a 10-point scale ( total load summed up)Description of the exercise
Holding your arm in this way puts more stress on the inner head of the biceps and forearm. Pretty simple and effective exercise. Watch your elbows. They should not "dance" either to the side or much forward. You can do both simultaneously and alternately. Both sitting and standing. For beginners, I still advise you to do it alternately. Then you will swing less. The hammer exercise is not suitable as a basic exercise. It is good to do it at the end of a hand workout. To finally score not only biceps, but also forearms. Main chips
1. Do not raise the dumbbell to the very shoulder (as if throwing it up). The biceps at the top of the trajectory should be as tight as possible. And when throwing, the load is removed from it and it relaxes. 2. Don't rock your body. Especially this happens by itself if you do it alternately. When swinging, you lift the dumbbells by inertia, and not by the strength of the muscles of the hands. Therefore, the effectiveness of the exercise decreases. 3. This exercise is not basic. Therefore, it makes no sense to take too much weight and somehow do 5-6 repetitions. The weight should be such that you can do at least 8 clean and beautiful reps. 4. IN lowest point straighten your arms to the end, relaxing your biceps. This way you can do more reps. But at the same time, you do not need to take your hand back to avoid swinging. 5. When sitting on a bench, it is better to do this with support on the back. That way you won't wobble. In addition, you can complicate the exercise if you put the back not vertically, but slightly at an angle.This exercise swings the hammer side part biceps, brachioradial and brachial muscle system. Thickens and shapes the muscles of the biceps and forearms.
Execution technique
- Raise the dumbbells and grab them with both hands with a simple grip (palms facing each other).
- Straighten as much as possible, bend slightly in the lower back and lower the dumbbells to the hips. The chin is parallel to the floor. Tighten the muscles of the lower back and fix the natural curve of the back until the end of the approach.
- Inhale and stop breathing. Tighten your biceps and raise one of the dumbbells to the delta. The elbows are fixed motionless and are located on the sides of the torso. Don't push them forward.
- At the moment when the brush reaches the level of the upper part chest, pause for 1-2 seconds, tighten your forearm and biceps even more. As you exhale, slowly lower the dumbbell.
- At the bottom point, pause and lift the second dumbbell to the indicated place. This ends one repetition.
- It is important to follow the hammer exercise so that top part hands during the exercise remained motionless and was in a vertical position. By pushing your elbows forward to make the lift easier, you are in other words “stealing” the load from the biceps.
- The housing must be fixed in a vertical position. Do not move your back back and do not push your pelvis forward, helping with your whole body to move the dumbbell from a fixed point at the very beginning of the lift. It will be better to take lighter dumbbells. Do not forget, first of all - the correct technique of movement, and after the weight of the load.
- Do not twist or bend your wrists. The palms should always look at each other. If at the moment of lifting the dumbbell you turn the brush so that during lifting up the palms look at the ceiling, then the focus of the load shifts from the deltoid muscle to the biceps. By turning the hand the other way, you contract the pronator teres and brachioradialis more strongly.
- In some cases, you can lift both dumbbells at the same time. But in this case, be careful - the closer the end of the set, the greater the fatigue and the greater the chance that you will start pushing the dumbbells with your whole body. Therefore, as soon as you start hacking, immediately proceed to alternate dumbbell lifts.
Application
Intended: Everyone from beginners to professionals.
When: At the end of the biceps workout. Before the hammer exercise, do lifts and /.
How many: 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps.
Sports instruction: Most athletes believe that the hammer exercise only loads the brachialis and brachioradialis muscles, in fact, it primarily contracts the (lateral / external) head of the biceps very much in the first place.
Thanks to this distribution of forces, you deliver a really powerful blow to the biceps: on the one hand, “load” the biceps itself, and on the other, the brachialis, which is located under the biceps, the development of which increases the volume of the biceps. In addition, the hammer exercise also powerfully bombs the brachioradialis muscle, which in turn largely determines the thickness of your forearms. In the event that the forearms look thin against the background of powerful biceps, then the hammer should be included in the training program.
By practicing the hammer often, you will increase your skill in wrestling, tennis, American football, boxing, hockey and many other sports in which you at least occasionally bend your arm at the elbow.
Video - Hammer exercise method
Almost every man and teenager wants to pump up big and strong hands. But you can often observe in the gym how beginners do not develop the necessary muscles quite correctly.
If earlier, most likely, this could be associated with a lack of information about arm exercises, now with the advent of the Internet in the life of every person, this can no longer be said. But how can you explain the fact that there is a lot of information, training videos, real methods, and at the same time there are still awkward attempts to increase your hands?
To a greater extent, this is due to human pride and unwillingness to listen to the advice of experienced athletes.
To avoid injury and sprains, you must first observe correct technique performing exercises. In this article, we will look at the hammer exercise and the correct technique for its execution.
What muscles are working?
If you do not take into account the forearms, which are involved in the movements indirectly, the maximum tension falls on the brachialis and biceps. Due to the fact that the brachialis is included in the work, the hands increase in size.
Due to the fact that this muscle is located under the biceps, with the growth of the brachialis, the visual effect of an increase in the biceps is created. Therefore, if you want your hands to be wide, the hammer exercise can be your guide to success.
What to do with?
Consider the technique of correct execution. This exercise involves working with additional burden in the form of a dumbbell. In principle, it can be done with a barbell, but then it will be necessary to work with both hands at once, and lean your elbows against the wall. This option is more likely to cause you more inconvenience than it will train your biceps with high quality.
So, let's start describing how to properly perform the "hammer" exercise with dumbbells.
Don't take on too much weight
Take one dumbbell in each hand. If you are a beginner, then start with a light weight, for example, 5-7 kg. Lower your arms down, relax your shoulders. Place your feet shoulder-width apart and slightly bend at the knee joints.
Turn your hands so that the two dumbbells are in a position parallel to each other. Inhale the air and as you exhale, begin to lift the right dumbbell up, bending your arm at the elbow.
The "hammer" exercise involves isolated muscle work, so that the elbow should be tightly pressed against the ribs and not move in any direction. As soon as you raise the dumbbell to shoulder level, linger in this position for a second and slowly begin to lower your arm to its original position.
When lowering the dumbbell down, you need to inhale again. After the right hand has dropped down, without a hitch, it is worth repeating the movement, but with the left hand. Perform 10-12 repetitions in this way.
You can do as many sets as you want, but the most effective number is in the range of 2-4.
Common mistakes
When doing the hammer exercise just like everyone else, people tend to make similar mistakes. To prevent them, carefully read the rules:
Perform the biceps hammer exercise according to the above recommendations, follow the correct technique, avoid mistakes, and you can noticeably increase the volume of your arms.
What will be required
Hammers with dumbbells are one of the most effective exercises in order to pump up the hands. It is suitable for both beginners and more experienced athletes. The technique for performing this exercise is quite simple, and the risk of injury is minimal.
Many athletes consider hammers to be the main exercise for gaining muscle mass and increasing arm size. This point of view is entirely valid. Many of those who regularly lean on hammer-grip dumbbell curls have impressive biceps and forearms, as well as good strength grip.
For a full arm workout, two exercises for biceps and three exercises for triceps are enough. If you do, say, dumbbell hammers and barbell curls, you will create all the prerequisites for further hypertrophy.
In our today's article, we will analyze how to properly perform a hammer with dumbbells, what benefits this exercise will bring and tell you what functional complexes exist with it.
The essence of the exercise
The name of the exercise reflects the way we move and hold the dumbbell while lifting - the movement is very similar to driving nails with a hammer. We do not turn the hand, but keep it parallel to the body, while the palms look at each other. The load is completely different than with the classic dumbbell lifts for biceps with supination or with an extended hand. The biceps work much less.
Most of the load is shifted to the brachialis, brachioradialis and muscles of the forearm. This is especially true for those who have a well-developed biceps, it has a good peak shape, but the overall volume is not enough, and visually the arm seems thin. More muscles are involved in the work, therefore, working weights can be increased. Usually, when performing a hammer with dumbbells, athletes use a weight 10-20% higher than with classic ones.
Brachialis - small muscle running under the biceps. It is designed in such a way that if it is sufficiently developed, then it “pushes” the biceps outward. Due to this, the hand becomes more massive. Also, the forearms become more voluminous and strong, which makes your grip stronger. Without strong hands in iron sports nowhere, a secure grip is needed for deadlifts without the use of straps, rope climbing and farmer's walks with dumbbells or kettlebells, and a developed biceps will serve as good stabilizers in heavy bench presses, and you will be able to lift more weight.
What muscles are working?
What muscles work when bending the arms with dumbbells with a hammer grip? The main part of the work is performed by the biceps and brachialis ( shoulder muscle). The brachioradialis (brachioradialis muscle located in the upper part of the forearm) also works no less. Static load falls on the front beams deltoid muscles, triceps and trapezius muscles. The stabilizers are the extensors of the spine and the muscles of the press (if you do hammers with dumbbells while standing). If you do a hammer with dumbbells while sitting, the load on the stabilizer muscles is reduced to almost zero. Sitting on a bench (or lying on incline bench on your stomach) you will practically deprive yourself of the opportunity to use cheating. Due to this, the load on the muscles of the hands will increase, the efficiency of the exercise will increase.
Due to the fact that a large number of muscle groups are involved in the work, in lifting the dumbbells with a hammer grip you can work with more weight than in ordinary curls with dumbbells.
This does not mean that you need to try to set power records and work on 1-2 reps. Hands, of course, love a heavy load, but it is recommended to perform at least ten repetitions in one approach.
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Exercise technique
If during the execution of hammers with dumbbells you do not feel the isolated work of the target muscle groups, then you are doing something wrong.
Performing hammers with dumbbells while standing is as follows:
- Remove the dumbbells from the racks. Fully straighten them and keep them parallel to the body. The back is completely straight, the gaze is directed forward. Keep your elbows as close to your ribs as possible.
- Begin to bend your elbows and lift the dumbbells up. Hands "love" a constant load, so the option with alternate lifting of dumbbells here is not entirely suitable for us. Lift both dumbbells at the same time, or first complete the planned number of repetitions with one hand, and then with the other. The number of repetitions in the approach will decrease from this, since you will not rest for a second or two after each repetition, but the blood supply to the muscles will be much stronger.
- Next important point- range of motion. Bend your arms to approximately a right angle between the forearm and biceps. Lifting the dumbbells is accompanied by an exhalation. It is not necessary to do this strictly in a vertical plane. Turn your arms slightly inward, then the load will shift to the brachioradialis and small muscles of the forearm. If you turn your hands slightly outward, and press your elbows even closer to the body, the biceps will work more.
- At the top point, it is advisable to make a short pause and additionally statically tighten the muscles of the hands. This simple trick will enhance the pumping. Of course, lifting in this style is much more difficult than without a pause. Be prepared to do 2-3 fewer reps than usual.
- Slowly lower your arms down while inhaling. Lowering dumbbells should be about two times slower than lifting. It is important not to relax your arms, you need to feel how the muscles are stretched. At the bottom point, you do not need to fully straighten your arms, relax and linger. On the contrary, it is better to work without pauses and not even fully unbend your elbows below. In total, there should be at least ten repetitions in one approach.
Other variations of the hammer with dumbbells - sitting, lying on an incline bench, or using a Scott bench - are technically no different from regular standing hammers. They just give more points of support, due to which it will be easier for you to keep the body stationary. This will reduce cheating and make the load more isolated.
Typical beginner mistakes
It often happens that an athlete thinks that technically he is doing everything right, but there is no result. The solution to the problem lies in the word "seems." Just lifting the dumbbell up is a simple matter. It is much more difficult to work out a specific muscle group and thereby make it grow. This is the basis of bodybuilding. The tips below will help you do just that.
Using a lot of weight
Use too heavy weight a very common mistake. Power circuits in the spirit of 5x5 are not of interest to us here. Arm workouts should be voluminous and high intensity, you should stick to a fairly high rep range: 10-15-20-25-30, all of these options have a place to be in arm training. Sets should be heavy, reach failure or stop 1-2 reps before it. It is only important to properly dose the load and give the muscles enough resources to recover, then the result will be inevitable.
Another argument is inextricably linked to the previous one. Using huge weight, many athletes completely forget about the technique of performing exercises. This does not result in bending the arms with dumbbells with a hammer grip, but incomprehensible throwing the dumbbell up with the whole body. The work includes legs, back, shoulders and others. muscle groups. Then the muscles relax, and the dumbbell falls down with great speed, creating a monstrous load on the elbow ligaments. Do not do this, try to do all the exercises as "cleanly" as possible.
Wrong amplitude
Incorrect range of motion is also not in the best way affects the performance of the exercise. No need to try to raise the dumbbell almost to shoulder level. After passing the right angle, the load on the biceps, brachialis and brachioradialis drops to zero. In addition, this leads to a violation of technology. By lifting the dumbbell too high, you will involuntarily bring your shoulder forward. This will increase the load on the ligaments and rotator cuff of the shoulder, which are very easy to injure. Try to work in a continuous manner, do not go the last few centimeters at the bottom of the amplitude, as you will load the muscles of the arms much more than if you paused after each repetition.
Excessive cheating
Excessive use of cheating is also not good. Many people forget that, first of all, cheating is a way to increase the intensity of training, but not an option for performing an exercise. You do not need to use it on an ongoing basis and start performing the first repetitions in the approach with a relatively small working weight already with cheating. For those who often use cheating, over time it turns into a habit, and they can no longer lift weights technically correctly. In order to get rid of this habit when doing hammers with dumbbells (and other basic exercises for biceps) try doing them while standing against a wall. The neck, shoulders, shoulder blades, lower back and buttocks should be firmly pressed against the wall. So you will not physically be able to use cheating and will be able to focus on the muscles of the hands.
Training complexes
If you are unhappy with the size of your hands, I recommend that you try the complexes below in your next workout. They combine elements of high repetition and strength work, which will have a beneficial effect on muscle mass and arm strength.
Quite often in gym you can hear standard and boring questions: “How can I pump up my biceps?”, “Why hasn’t my arm been growing for several months?” etc. You need to understand that the biceps is a muscle that is incredibly difficult to pump up, so each person should approach arm training individually. For example, in some people, the biceps grow well only from others - from exercises with isolation, while the third needs an alternation of both. In this article, we will discuss an exercise that is not only basic, but also correct execution Provides excellent bicep isolation.
To begin with, let's look at what muscle groups the Hammer exercise shakes. The main load, of course, goes to the biceps, but the “Hammer” is also quite involved. You need to do it in the middle. It is best to start this part by doing barbell lifts or pull-ups, then do the “Hammer” and finish the workout with either a concentrated sitting dumbbell lift. Both beginners and professional bodybuilders can perform this exercise.
Execution technique this exercise easy even for a beginner, the main thing is to fix the elbows. Beginners are advised to hold them close to the body to ensure maximum correct Dumbbell we take it so that the palms are directed inward, we put our legs a little narrower than shoulder width, straighten our back and begin the exercise. As you inhale, you raise one arm so that the dumbbell almost touches your shoulder, fix your arm in this position for a split second, then exhale and return to the starting position. Repeat the whole procedure with the other hand.
There are a few other options for doing this exercise. For example, you can perform bending of the arms not in turn, but simultaneously. This option is more often used by professionals, since beginners with this execution will not be able to follow the correct technique. Another option is to bend your arms inward rather than parallel to each other. With this performance, the emphasis of the exercise shifts from the outer bundle of the biceps to the inner one. In no case do not turn the brush at the top point, since such an execution will completely remove the load from the forearm and partially from the outer part of the biceps.
As mentioned above, the Hammer exercise should be performed in the middle of a workout for maximum effectiveness. If you want to build up through this exercise muscle mass then do 3 to 5 sets of 8-10 reps. If you use this exercise in order to "finish off" the biceps at the end of the workout, then perform either one set of 50 reps, or 2-3 sets of 15-20 reps. With the last repetitions, it is not always possible to perform the exercise correctly technically, so you can do small swings of the body.
Exercise "Hammer" is a great way to pump up quite massive and beautiful hands. If during intensive training using a barbell
