barbell wrist curl v. 2: technique and muscles worked

Animated demonstration of barbell wrist curl v. 2

How to do this exercise

Step:1 Sit on a bench with your feet flat on the ground and your knees bent.
Step:2 Hold a barbell with an underhand grip, palms facing up, and your hands shoulder-width apart.
Step:3 Rest your forearms on your thighs, allowing your wrists to hang off the edge.
Step:4 Slowly curl your wrists upward, bringing the barbell towards your forearms.
Step:5 Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower the barbell back down to the starting position.
Step:6 Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Equipment: Barbell
Body part: Forearms
Target muscle: Forearms
Secondary muscle: Biceps

Hypertrophy grade

Average6 / 10

Nemeo’s take

This exercise intensely targets the forearms with good isolation, because the arm is stabilized on the thigh, limiting the intervention of other muscle groups. Tension is high in the stretched position, but the load is often limited by the grip and the small size of the muscles involved. Compared to standing or dumbbell variations, we benefit from better stability but the progressive overload is quickly capped. Very useful for endurance and local hypertrophy, but less optimal for heavy long-term progression.

This catalog score reflects Nemeo’s assessment of the exercise’s muscle-building potential. It is not a standardized scientific rating or a personalized recommendation.

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barbell wrist curl v. 2

How to do this exercise

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