Zottman Curl

Move · Resistance Training · Movement, Typed Supps

One dumbbell, two exercises: the way up is a biceps curl, the way down is a forearm exercise, and the weight is chosen for whichever is weaker.

Stage by stage

Set-up (Supinated grip, biceps-led): The lift starts as an ordinary curl, with biceps brachii working as both elbow flexor and supinator in its strongest position.
At the top (Rotation removes leverage): Turning the palms down at peak flexion strips the biceps of its supinated advantage before the lowering begins.
Lowering phase (Brachioradialis and extensors): The pronated eccentric shifts load to brachioradialis, brachialis and the wrist extensors holding the wrist against the weight.
Months later (Forearms adapt first): Wrist extensor and forearm strength improve fastest because they start least trained, with slower elbow flexor hypertrophy behind them.

Muscles trained

Primary: biceps, forearms

Intensity

3.5 METs (Resistance (weight) training, multiple exercises, 8-15 repetitions at varied resistance).

Time to effect

Weeks: Within the first couple of weeks, the palms-down lowering phase is usually what feels disproportionately hard — a sign of how undertrained the forearm extensors are compared to the biceps.
Months: Given a few months, that unusual combination tends to build noticeably thicker, stronger forearms alongside normal biceps gains, since few other common lifts load the wrist extensors this directly.

Common myth

"Zottman curls are just a regular biceps curl with a fancy wrist twist." In reality: The wrist rotation isn't cosmetic — it changes which muscles do the work. The palms-up concentric trains the biceps like a standard curl, but the palms-down eccentric shifts the load onto the forearm extensors and brachioradialis, muscles a normal curl barely touches on the way down.