Standing Palms-Up Barbell Behind The Back Wrist Curl

Also called behind the back wrist curl and behind back barbell wrist curl.

Works

Forearms

Equipment

Barbell

Level

Beginner

Type

Isolation

How to do it

Setup. Start by standing straight and holding a barbell behind your glutes at arm's length while using a pronated grip (palms will be facing back away from the glutes) and having your hands shoulder width apart from each other.

1. You should be looking straight forward while your feet are shoulder width apart from each other. This is the starting position.
2. While exhaling, slowly elevate the barbell up by curling your wrist in a semi-circular motion towards the ceiling. Note: Your wrist should be the only body part moving for this exercise.
3. Hold the contraction for a second and lower the barbell back down to the starting position while inhaling.
4. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
5. When finished, lower the barbell down to the squat rack or the floor by bending the knees. Tip: It is easiest to either pick it up from a squat rack or have a partner hand it to you.

Cues

• Bar behind the glutes, arms long.
• Let the bar roll to the fingers.
• Curl the wrists up.
• Squeeze 1 second at the top.

Common mistakes

• Bending the elbows.
• Rushing the reps.

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.

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