Seated Palms-Down Barbell Wrist Curl

Also called barbell reverse wrist curl and seated reverse wrist curl.

Works

Forearms

Equipment

Barbell

Level

Beginner

Type

Isolation

How to do it

Setup. Hold a barbell with both hands and your palms facing down; hands spaced about shoulder width.

1. Place your feet flat on the floor, at a distance that is slightly wider than shoulder width apart.
2. Lean forward and place your forearms on top of your upper thighs with your palms down. Tip: Make sure that the back of the wrists lay on top of your knees. This will be your starting position.
3. Lower the bar as far as possible while inhaling and keeping a tight grip.
4. Now curl bar up as high as possible while flexing the forearms and exhaling. Hold the contraction at the top for a second and Tip: Only the wrist should move.

Cues

• Forearms on the thighs, palms down.
• Wrists just past the knees.
• Raise the knuckles, pause 1 second.
• Lower slowly.

Common mistakes

• Forearms lifting off the thighs.
• Going too heavy.

Where to start

A starting point, not a law. Pick a weight you could lift two or three more times than the top of the range. Tempo is seconds down, pause, up. When every set hits the top of the range, add a little weight.

Go easy, or pick an alternative, if you have sore wrists. Pain that's sharp or gets worse set to set means stop.

Swap for