Barbell Reverse Wrist Curl

How to perform the Barbell Reverse Wrist Curl

1. Sit on a bench and rest both forearms on your thighs with the wrists hanging off the front of the knees.
2. Hold a barbell with a shoulder-width pronated grip, palms facing down, to train the wrist extensors.
3. Let the bar pull the wrists down into a full stretch below the forearms.
4. Raise the backs of the hands by extending both wrists upward as high as they will go.
5. Squeeze the extensors at the top, then lower the bar under control back to the stretched position.
6. Keep the load light, since the extensors are much weaker than the flexors trained by a standard wrist curl.

Suggested working range: 12–20 reps. Default progression: double progression.

Common mistakes

• •Using too much weight, so the wrists barely move and the arms take over.
• •Letting the forearms peel off the thighs during the extension.
• •Cutting the range short rather than a full stretch and full extension.
• •Heaving the bar with momentum instead of controlling each wrist extension.

Variations & alternatives

Swap in a related movement if equipment, recovery, or progression demands it.