You’ll never hear this about a guy’s arms: “That dude has some humongous brachialis muscles!” But that doesn’t mean you should be neglecting this critical arm muscle. The brachialis muscle is located deep beneath the biceps. Adding size to this deeper arm muscle will push your biceps out that much further. Plus, when developed properly, the brachialis adds a nice mountain of muscle between the biceps and triceps, making the arms look much more impressive. One of the best exercises for blasting your brachs is the dumbbell hammer curl. 

Biceps crosshairs

 DIG-DEEP BICEPS WORKOUT 

Barbell Curls: 3 sets, 6-10 reps

Incline Dumbbell Curls: 3 sets, 8-12 reps

Dumbbell Concentration Curls: 3 sets, 8-12 reps

Dumbbell Hammer Curls*: 3 set, 10-15 reps

*Hammer Curl Alternatives: 

  • Rope Cable Hammer Curl
  • Strengthband Hammer Curl

Biceps hammer curls2

 WHEN TO GO DEEP 

Because the brachialis is such a strong flexor of the elbow, you should do hammer curls at the end of your biceps workouts. Doing them earlier could limit your biceps growth; if you fatigue the brachialis, you will fail on biceps exercises when the brachialis reaches failure and not when the biceps reach failure.

 FORM AND FUNCTION 

The brachialis is located on the front and outside of the arm, beneath the biceps. It attaches to the lower part of the humerus (upper-arm bone) and crosses the elbow joint to attach to the ulna (forearm bone). The brachialis flexes the arm, such as during hammer curls and standard curls. – FLEX