Seated Hammer Curls vs Standing (For Huge Biceps!)

If you’re looking for a comparison guide of seated hammer curls vs standing, then you’ve come to the right place.

In this article, we look at benefits of seated hammer curls vs standing, as well as whether seated or standing hammer curls are best for biceps growth.

Let’s get started.

Benefits of Seated Hammer Curls

You can change the incline of the bench

If you have access to an adjustable bench, you can attack the muscle from different angles.

Be careful not to use too shallow an incline, though, as the demands of the muscle around the elbow are greater the more you lay back.

Less likelihood of lower back strain

Whether the seat has backing or not, you’re much less likely to overextend your lower back when sitting.

In this sense, the the seated version is “stricter” as you’ve removed most of the involvement from the lower body. You can’t lean back any further to complete the rep.

You can have a sit down

I may be the laziest fitness professional of all time, but if I there’s an option to perform an exercise sat down, I am taking it.

When you’re trying to bulk you got to conserve calories, right?

Benefits of Standing Hammer Curls

You can use more weight

That subtle swing that comes from the hips when standing allows you to get a bit more momentum at the start of the movement. This allows for more weight to be used.

This would be useful if your intention is to overload the eccentric portion of the movement. You can swing up a heavier weight, then slowly lower it under control.

Are Seated Hammer Curls Better Than Standing?

Standing and seated hammer curls are both fairly joint friendly variations.

If you have a lower back that’s prone to getting wound up when curling, I would favour the seated variation most of the time.

Having an incline bench is great for hammer curls because you can test multiple angles to see what works best for you.

Try them all and see what gives you the best return with the least joint trouble!

Are Seated Hammer Curls Harder Than Standing? 

The difficulty of the exercise will depend on the weight used, first and foremost.

All things being equal, as you approach fatigue the seated curl will feel harder sooner.

If you are lying on an incline bench, you can expect the difficulty of the curl to be harder than the same weight sitting upright.

With the seated curl, the hips and lower body won’t be able to contribute to jolting the dumbbells upwards. You also can’t lean back to complete the rep.

Conclusion

In summary:

• Both seated and standing hammer curls are great exercises for building biceps.
• If you want to ensure that perfect form is used throughout the exercise, then seated hammer curls are the better option.
• If you want to lift more weight, then standing hammer curls will be best for you.

That’s all for this article, but perhaps you’re interested in hammer curls vs cross body hammer curls? Or what’s the optimum hammer curls sets and reps range?

Hope this helped!

Sources

Standing Hammer Curl

Seated Hammer Curl