Barbell Wrist Curls

Barbell Wrist Curls Basics

Primary muscles worked: Forearms

Synergist Muscles: N/a

Mechanics: Isolation

Equipment: Barbell and Bench

How To Perform Barbell Wrist Curls

• To perform barbell wrist curls, first grab a barbell with an underhand grip, and kneel beside a bench.
• Lay your forearms across the bench so that they lays flat, and your wrists hand over the edge of the bench.
• Relax your wrists toward the floor.
• Begin the lift by trying to flex your wrists up towards your body.
• Stop bending at the wrists once the your hands are higher than your forearms.
• After this position is reached, you will relax your wrists back to the starting position.

Barbell Wrist Curls Tips

• A great way to finish off this lift is by rolling the weight down to your fingertips by slowly opening up your hand. Then, when its close to the end of your fingertips, roll the hands back up in to a fist. You can utilize this technique after completion of the desired number of repetitions of the standard barbell wrist curl.
• The barbell may be too heavy a resistance for novice lifters or those who have recently had an arm injury; therefore, switch to the dumbbell wrist curl if this variation proves too difficult.

Barbell Wrist Curls and Sports Application

Wrist strength is integral to success in many sports. Any sport that requires gripping on a piece of equipment can benefit from barbell wrist curls. For instance, gripping a bat, hockey stick, grabbing rings in gymnastics, grabbing oars in rowing are just a few instances where improved grip strength can improve sport performance.