Wrist Rotations with Straight Bar

Also called barbell wrist rolls, bar wrist rotations and newspaper roll.

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. This will be your starting position.

1. Alternating between each of your hands, perform the movement by extending the wrist as though you were rolling up a newspaper. Continue alternating back and forth until failure.
2. Reverse the motion by flexing the wrist, rolling the opposite direction. Continue the alternating motion until failure.

Cues

• Palms down, hands shoulder width.
• Roll the bar one hand at a time.
• Go until the forearms burn.
• Then reverse direction.

Common mistakes

• Moving the elbows.
• 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. 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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