Seated Wrist Curl
Sitting with your forearms on your thighs and palms up, you curl the weight by bending your wrists, training the flexors on the palm side of your forearm.
Equipment
- Primary muscles
- Forearm flexors
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Weight × reps
- Primary muscles
- Forearm flexors
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Weight × reps
- Primary muscles
- Forearm flexors
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Weight × reps
Why do it
Wrist curls are the most direct way to train the forearm flexors, the muscles that bend your wrist and help close your hand. They suit anyone wanting bigger forearms or a stronger grip for pulling work. The barbell is the classic, loading both arms at once; dumbbells let each wrist move on its own path, and the cable keeps tension on near the top, where free weights get light. Letting the bar roll to your fingertips at the bottom adds grip work to the curl.
How to do it (Cable)
Attach a straight bar to the low pulley and sit on a bench facing the machine.
Grip the bar underhand at about shoulder width and rest your forearms on your thighs with your wrists just past your knees.
Curl your wrists up toward your forearms as far as they go.
Let them extend back down slowly for a full stretch. Only your hands move; your forearms stay on your thighs.
Sit on a bench and rest your forearm on your thigh with your wrist just past your knee, palm facing up, a dumbbell in your hand.
Let the dumbbell roll down toward your fingertips to stretch the forearm.
Curl your wrist up as far as it goes and squeeze.
Lower slowly and repeat, then switch arms. Keep the forearm pinned to your thigh so only the wrist moves.
Sit on a bench with your feet flat and hold a barbell underhand at about shoulder width.
Rest your forearms on your thighs with your wrists just past your knees, palms facing up.
Curl the bar up by flexing your wrists as far as they go.
Lower it slowly and let your wrists extend fully for a stretch. Let the bar roll to your fingertips at the bottom if you want to work the grip as well.
Common mistakes
Resting your wrists on your thighs
If your wrists sit on your legs, your thighs block the range. Slide forward until your wrists hang just past your knees.
Letting your forearms lift off your thighs
Once the forearms rise, your biceps start helping to curl the weight. Pin them to your thighs so only your hands move.
Skipping the stretch at the bottom
Short reps around the top leave out the part where the flexors are stretched. Let your wrists extend fully and slowly before curling back up.
Bouncing out of the bottom
Dropping into the stretch and bouncing out lets momentum take over. Lower slowly, pause for a moment, then curl.
Sets, reps and progression
How many sets you do and how close to failure you take them depend on your goal and your week, not on the exercise. These guides cover it:
Alternatives that train the same thing
Same movement, a different angle or piece of equipment.
