Exercises / Wrist Curl

Wrist Curl

Also known as: Seated wrist curl, Forearm curl, Palms-up wrist curl

A supported wrist curl. The forearms stay on the bench while the knuckles curl up.

Primary muscles
Forearms (wrist flexors)
Equipment
Dumbbell (bench or thighs, pair of dumbbells)
Pattern
Isolation
Difficulty
Beginner
Line diagram of a Wrist Curl.
Diagram: Fytniz. License: original-placeholder (Fytniz).

Stills

Two-panel seated dumbbell wrist curls.
Exercise Wrist Curls.png by BruceBlaus, CC BY-SA 4.0. License: CC BY-SA (share-alike). Source.
Supported dumbbell wrist curl at the stretch.
Wrist curls.jpg by Hipnotic88. Public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons. License: Public domain. Source.

Cues

  1. Sit and rest the forearms on the thighs or a bench, palms up, wrists hanging off the edge.
  2. Let the dumbbells drop until the wrists extend and the flexors stretch.
  3. Curl the knuckles toward the forearms; the forearms stay glued to the support.
  4. Lower under control; do not roll the bells in the fingers as a cheat.

Common mistakes

  • Lifting the forearms off the thighs so the biceps help.
  • Using a tiny nod of the wrist instead of a full drop and curl.
  • Squeezing the bells so hard the finger flexors fail first.

Safety

  • Keep the forearms on the support. Stop if you feel sharp pain in the wrist.