Dumbbell Rotation Curls
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and a dumbbell in each hand, arms by your sides and palms facing in. Slowly curl both dumbbells up together, turning your palms up as you go, until they reach chin height with your palms facing your shoulders. Pause briefly at the top, then lower slowly and turn your hands back.
This exercise combines the two jobs of the biceps: bending the elbow and turning the palm up. Because your hands rotate as you curl, the biceps does both jobs the whole way up. The brachialis, which lies beneath the biceps, and the brachioradialis in your forearm help bend the elbow too, so all the main elbow flexors are involved.
All you need is two dumbbells. It is quick to learn and easy to do well, which makes it a good way into arm training, at home or in the gym.
From the studio: For beginners, this is, for me, the most important and simplest curl there is. If someone only does one curl, it should be this one. That is what I see in the studio.
Starting position
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and a dumbbell in each hand. Let your arms hang by your sides with your palms facing your body. Keep your stomach and lower back lightly braced so you stand steady.
Now slowly curl both arms together. As soon as your hands clear your thighs, start turning them: rotate your palms up so that by the top they face your shoulders. That way the rotation runs through the whole curl. Near the top, your upper arms move slightly forward.
Pause briefly at chin height. Then lower slowly, turning your hands back as you go, until your arms hang straight by your sides again.
The three cues
- Stand steady, stomach and back lightly braced
- Curl slowly and turn your hands — up to chin height
- Pause at the top, lower slowly
Common faults
| Fault | How to fix it |
|---|---|
| You swing the dumbbells up and lean back | Use a lighter weight and move slowly. Keep your stomach and back lightly braced so only your arms move. |
| Your hands only turn at the top | Start turning as soon as your hands clear your thighs, and keep turning all the way up. |
| The dumbbells drop on the way down | Take your time lowering and turn your hands back slowly as you go. |
| You only curl partway | Curl up to chin height, pause briefly, and straighten your arms fully at the bottom. |
Variations
| Variation | When to use it |
|---|---|
| Light dumbbells, slow | Curl slowly, pause at the top, lower slowly — this is how you learn to turn your hands the whole way. Move on when every rep looks the same, with no swing. |
| Full range with rotation | From straight arms up to chin height, turning your hands the whole way up and slowly back on the way down. |
| Heavier dumbbells | Once 15 clean reps feel too easy, add weight in small steps. |
Reps and load
Aim for 10 to 15 reps with a weight that lets every rep stay slow and controlled, without swinging. When 15 reps become too easy, go up to heavier dumbbells.
The exercise fits well at the end of an upper-body session, for example after the One Arm Dumbbell Row.
Which muscles do the work
| Muscle | Role | What it does here |
|---|---|---|
| Biceps, long head M. biceps brachii, caput longum | Prime mover | Bends the elbow and turns the palm up |
| Biceps, short head M. biceps brachii, caput breve | Prime mover | Bends the elbow and turns the palm up |
| Brachialis M. brachialis | Prime mover | Lies beneath the biceps and bends the elbow whatever the hand position |
| Brachioradialis M. brachioradialis | Synergist | Helps bend the elbow |
| Front delts M. deltoideus, pars clavicularis | Synergist | Steady the shoulder and lift the upper arm slightly forward at the top |
| Forearms Mm. antebrachii | Stabiliser | Grip the dumbbells and keep the wrists straight |
| Core M. rectus abdominis, M. erector spinae | Stabiliser | Keeps your upper body upright and still |
Both heads of the biceps bend your elbow and turn your palm up, and turning your hands as you curl makes them do both at once. The brachialis bends your elbow whatever your hand position, and the brachioradialis helps. Your front delts lift the upper arm slightly forward at the top, while your forearms and trunk keep your wrists and upper body steady.
Explained in full
Andreas shows the starting position and the slow curl with rotation from the side and from behind, explains why you work without swinging, and shows which muscles bend the elbow. · 2:41
Seeing it done right is not the same as doing it right
Video, cues and variations take you a long way. What they cannot give you is an outside eye at the moment the movement isn't quite there yet. That is what training with me is for — in the studio or in a workshop.
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Sources
Coratella G, Tornatore G, Longo S, Toninelli N, Padovan R, Esposito F, Cè E. (2023). Biceps brachii and brachioradialis excitation in biceps curl exercise: different handgrips, different synergy. Sports (Basel) 11(3):64. DOI: 10.3390/sports11030064 — Measures muscle activity in 10 competitive bodybuilders during two-arm biceps curls (8-RM load, 6 reps) with a supinated, neutral and pronated grip. On the way up, biceps activity was higher with the supinated grip than with the neutral (+12%) and pronated (+19%) grips; the brachioradialis was also slightly higher supinated, while the front delts were higher with neutral and pronated grips. The basis for saying that turning the palm up asks more of the biceps and that the brachioradialis works in every position. The grip was fixed, so rotation during the movement was not measured. A very small, highly trained sample; there is no measurement specific to the Academy's target group (aged 40 to 60, training two to four hours a week). (Evidence type: EMG)
Pérot C, André L, Dupont L, Vanhoutte C. (1996). Relative contributions of the long and short heads of the biceps brachii during single or dual isometric tasks. J Electromyogr Kinesiol 6(1):3–11. DOI: 10.1016/1050-6411(95)00016-x — Compares long- and short-head biceps activity during isometric elbow flexion, supination, and both at once. Both heads were more active during supination than during flexion alone, and most active when flexion and supination were combined, with an even distribution in every participant. The basis for listing both heads as prime movers and for saying that the rotation asks the biceps to do both jobs. It shows no preference for the short head. Isometric, no dumbbells, sample size not given in the abstract. (Evidence type: EMG)
Jamison JC, Caldwell GE. (1993). Muscle synergies and isometric torque production: influence of supination and pronation level on elbow flexion. J Neurophysiol 70(3):947–960. DOI: 10.1152/jn.1993.70.3.947 — Measures the biceps (short and long heads) and brachioradialis in 20 healthy people during maximal isometric elbow flexion while they also produced a supination or pronation effort. Flexion plus supination increased biceps activity, flexion plus pronation reduced it; the brachioradialis showed the opposite. The basis for the biceps' double job in the muscle table. Isometric, no dumbbells. (Evidence type: EMG)
Boland MR, Spigelman T, Uhl TL. (2008). The function of brachioradialis. J Hand Surg Am 33(10):1853–1859. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhsa.2008.07.019 — Uses fine-wire electrodes in 10 people (9 men, 1 woman, aged 34 ± 10) to measure the brachioradialis during elbow flexion in three forearm positions with loads of 0 to 67 N. Activity did not differ between positions (23 ± 5% of maximum when bending, 11 ± 5% when lowering); the authors describe it as an elbow stabiliser regardless of forearm position. The basis for listing the brachioradialis as a synergist not tied to the hammer grip. A small sample, and the closest in age to the target group. (Evidence type: EMG)
Mannarino P, Matta T, Lima J, Simão R, Freitas de Salles B. (2021). Single-joint exercise results in higher hypertrophy of elbow flexors than multijoint exercise. J Strength Cond Res 35(10):2677–2681. DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000003234 — An 8-week study in 10 untrained men: one arm trained single-arm dumbbell curls, the other single-arm dumbbell rows (4–6 sets of 8–12 reps, twice a week). Elbow flexor thickness rose by 11.06% with curls and 5.16% with rows. The basis for presenting the exercise as direct training for the elbow flexors. A very small, young sample; it compared curls instead of rows, not curls on top of rows — in other studies (Gentil 2013, de França 2015), adding curls to multi-joint exercises brought no measurable extra gain. (Evidence type: Intervention study)
Weisgarber KD, Candow DG, Farthing JP. (2015). Whey protein and high-volume resistance training in postmenopausal women. J Nutr Health Aging 19(5):511–517. DOI: 10.1007/s12603-015-0454-7 — A 10-week study in 12 postmenopausal women (aged 57 ± 4.7) including biceps curls, 3 sets at 30% of maximal strength to fatigue, twice a week. Biceps curl strength and elbow flexor thickness increased significantly (P = .006 and P = .022). The basis for saying that elbow flexor training works at the age of the target group. A very small, female-only sample, implement not stated in the abstract, no rotation. (Evidence type: Intervention study)
Augustin F, Piñero A, Enes A, et al. (2025). Do cheaters prosper? Effect of externally supplied momentum during resistance training on measures of upper body muscle hypertrophy. Int J Exerc Sci 18(3):329–342. DOI: 10.70252/GDBL2230 — An 8-week study in 30 young adults: one arm did biceps curls and triceps extensions strictly, the other with momentum (4 sets of 8–12 reps to failure, twice a week). Muscle thickness and arm circumference increased similarly in both. So the page justifies working without swing by control over the movement and the weight, not by more muscle growth. There is no study on injury risk from swinging, which Andreas mentions in the explainer video. (Evidence type: Intervention study)
Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn DI, Krieger JW. (2015). Effect of repetition duration during resistance training on muscle hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Med 45(4):577–585. DOI: 10.1007/s40279-015-0304-0 — A meta-analysis of 8 studies: muscle growth was similar with repetition durations from 0.5 to 8 seconds, and very slow reps over 10 seconds are probably less effective. The basis for treating the slow tempo on the page as a technique and control cue, not a promise of more growth. No exercise-specific analysis. (Evidence type: Meta-analysis)
Iversen VM, Norum M, Schoenfeld BJ, Fimland MS. (2021). No time to lift? Designing time-efficient training programs for strength and hypertrophy: a narrative review. Sports Med 51(10):2079–2095. DOI: 10.1007/s40279-021-01490-1 — A narrative review of time-efficient strength training: prioritise multi-joint exercises, do at least 4 weekly sets per muscle group in the 6 to 15 repetition-maximum range, and weekly volume matters more than frequency. The basis for the guideline of roughly 10 to 15 reps and for placing the exercise at the end of an upper-body session. Directly relevant to busy people with little training time; no measurements of its own. (Evidence type: Narrative review)
A note on context: EMG studies show which muscles an exercise recruits — that is a good reason to pick it, but it does not replace adjusting things to the person in front of you. See a doctor for persistent or severe pain.