How many sets and reps of the zottman curl should you do when you are new to the exercise?

Choose a dumbbell you can control through the slow pronated lowering, typically lighter than your normal curl weight, and build up to 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps there before chasing more load.

What can replace the zottman curl if you want a stricter version?

The zottman preacher curl removes momentum with a braced upper arm, or you can split the movement into a regular dumbbell curl followed by a separate reverse curl.

What is the zottman curl good for, and when should you use the preacher version instead?

It's an efficient standing way to build biceps size along with forearm and grip strength in one movement. If you haven't yet learned the wrist-rotation timing, standing adds a balance and momentum temptation that the preacher-braced version removes while you learn.

Intermediate

Zottman Curl

The Zottman curl combines two movements in one rep: you curl up in supination to load the biceps, then flip to a pronated grip and lower slowly to overload the brachioradialis and forearm extensors on the eccentric. It is an efficient way to build strong, thick arms and grip in a single exercise. Keep the loads modest because the pronated lowering is the hard part.

Equipment: Dumbbell
Body part: Biceps, Forearms
Type: Strength
Browse by muscle: Biceps Brachii Long Head, Biceps Brachii Short Head, Brachioradialis
Browse by movement: Elbow Flexion

How to do it

1
Stand with a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing forward, elbows at your sides.
2
Curl both dumbbells up to your shoulders with a supinated grip.
3
At the top, rotate your wrists so your palms face forward and down.
4
Lower the dumbbells slowly in this pronated position to full extension.
5
Rotate back to palms-up at the bottom and repeat.
6
Exhale as you curl, inhale as you lower.

Tips

Do the rotation at the very top, once the biceps are fully contracted.
Lower slowly under the pronated grip; that eccentric is what builds the forearms.
Use lighter dumbbells than your standard curl because the lowering phase is demanding.

Variations

Common mistakes

The hips and shoulders swing to help launch the weight upward, a shortcut the preacher-braced version of this same exercise doesn't even allow.
The wrist rotates to pronated before the top of the curl is fully reached, cutting the supinated part of the lift short and blending the two phases together.
The elbows drift forward away from the torso as the dumbbells get heavier, letting the shoulders share load that's supposed to stay on the biceps.
Standing upright makes it tempting to rush the pronated lowering using a bit of body sway, which undoes the exact eccentric overload this exercise is built around.
Once one arm's rotation gets a beat ahead of the other's, the two sides stop moving as a mirror image and one arm quietly gets less time under tension.

Frequently asked

How many sets and reps of the zottman curl should you do when you are new to the exercise?: Choose a dumbbell you can control through the slow pronated lowering, typically lighter than your normal curl weight, and build up to 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps there before chasing more load.
What can replace the zottman curl if you want a stricter version?: The zottman preacher curl removes momentum with a braced upper arm, or you can split the movement into a regular dumbbell curl followed by a separate reverse curl.
What is the zottman curl good for, and when should you use the preacher version instead?: It's an efficient standing way to build biceps size along with forearm and grip strength in one movement. If you haven't yet learned the wrist-rotation timing, standing adds a balance and momentum temptation that the preacher-braced version removes while you learn.

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