Most strength athletes will agree that it’s important to pick key assistance exercises that are performed after your compound (main) lifts, to supplement your training. Question: What are some of your staple upper body assistance exercises that you like to program after your heavy bench day?
I incorporate several upper body assistance exercises, but I will focus on a couple that work multiple muscle groups simultaneously. This may sound contradictory as assistance lifts are typically thought of as single-joint exercises that isolate a particular muscle group like leg extensions, hamstring curls, biceps curls, and triceps extensions. However, sometimes assistance work can include multi-joint exercises.
The two that I frequently train are the hammer curl press and dumbbell circus clean and press. Training the hammer curl press or dumbbell circus press after my heavy bench press training session is an efficient way to get some assistance work in and cut down on time spent in the gym. I train with a lighter weight and a higher volume of repetitions on these exercises. This allows me to use these exercises to support my heavy bench press training but not replace my heavier pressing movements. My heavier pressing movements like the log press, military press, and seated press are programmed on a different day.
Hammer Curl Press
This exercise combines a hammer curl (wrist in neutral position) with an overhead dumbbell press. Research indicates that it is important to train biceps curls with different grip positions. The supinated bicep curl is a little more effective in targeting the biceps than the hammer curl, but the hammer curl is more effective in training the anterior deltoid.1 The hammer curl still does a pretty good job on biceps development. It is an exercise that is used by Jay Cutler, four-time Mr. Olympia bodybuilding winner to build his 22 inch arms.2
Combining the hammer curl with a shoulder press is a time-efficient movement that is easy to include in circuit training or as an assistance lift.
Targeted muscles include:
- Biceps
- Forearms
- Shoulders
I program 3-5 sets of 10 repetitions with increasing weight. I use this exercise for a variety of different athletes including: general fitness, powerlifting, track and field, volleyball, football, basketball and wrestling.
The movement is performed by standing with feet shoulder width apart. The dumbbells are picked up and held at the sides with a neutral grip. The dumbbells are curled to the top of the shoulders. After a brief pause the weights are then pressed overhead and returned back to the shoulders. The arms are extended downward, under control, to the original starting position before the next repetition is started. Pro Tip: think about squeezing/bracing your gut, glutes, and quads to avoid using your lower body momentum to lift the dumbells.
Dumbbell Circus Press
The dumbbell circus press is a standard dumbbell variation of the larger oversized Circus Dumbbell Press which is popular in strongman events. The Circus Dumbbell Press has its roots back to the late 1800’s. Famous Canadian Strongman Louis Cyr performed incredible record setting feats of strength during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. His name is forever attached to his 1892 record setting 273 lb. Cyr Dumbbell Press.3 A 274 lb. replica of this dumbbell was made by Rogue Fitness and was first used at the 2014 Arnold Classic Strongman. Various heavy dumbbell implements are used in Strongman contests including the Thomas Inch Dumbbell, the Cyr Dumbbell and the thick handled oversized Circus Dumbbell.
Karl Gillingham Pressing the Circus Dumbbell and Thomas Inch Dumbbell
The standard dumbbell circus press can be a great multi-joint addition to your upper body workout. I use it to replace the hammer curl press at times in various assistance circuits. It allows you to use more weight by incorporating the upper back, legs, and hips during the cleaning phase, and it taxes upper body, torso, shoulder, and arm stability during the pressing phase. It can be a great training tool in an assistance circuit. Kyle Snyder Olympic Gold Medalist wrestler has his own version called the Snyder press. This is performed by bringing the dumbbell back down below the waist with two hands before starting the next repetition. I like to perform this lift as an alternating single arm clean and press.
The movement is performed by standing with feet shoulder width apart. The dumbbell is positioned on the floor between the legs. It is picked up with both hands and brought to the top of the shoulder. After a brief pause the opposite arm is taken off the dumbbell and the weight is then pressed overhead. After full extension, the weight is returned back to the top of the shoulder with both hands and returned back to a position below the waist. The next repetition is then started by lifting the dumbbell to the top of the opposite shoulder before one arm pressing the weight above the head. This cycle is repeated for 6-10 repetitions.
Variation in Upper Body Assistance Exercises
It is always good to change your assistance exercises at times. Try adding the hammer curl press and dumbbell circus press into your training. Assistance exercises are used to support your core lifts. It is important to work supporting muscles from different angles. This not only helps your body to adapt to different training stress but also allows for variation in your workouts.
Stay Strong!
Brad Gillingham
CSCS
MSC Southern Utah University
References:
- Coratella G, Tornatore G, Longo S, et al. Biceps brachii and brachioradialis excitation in biceps curl exercise: Different handgrips, different synergy. Sports. 2023;11(3):64. doi:10.3390/sports11030064. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36976950/
- Kryger K. Why Jay Cutler swears by this unpopular exercise for building bicep width – Men’s Fitness. February 26, 2025. Accessed February 19, 2026. https://www.mensfitness.com/news/jay-cutler-hammer-curls-are-his-go-to-exercise-for-bicep-width
- Louis Cyr. Wikipedia. February 9, 2026. Accessed February 12, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Cyr
