Cable reverse wrist curl
Exercise details
- Target muscles: Wrist Extensors
- Synergists: None
- Mechanics: Isolation
- Force: Pull
Starting position
- Attach a straight bar to a low cable pulley.
- Place a bench next to the pulley and sit facing it.
- Grasp the straight bar using a shoulder-width pronated grip (palms facing downward).
- Place your forearms flat on your thighs, with your wrists extending off the end. The cable should be pulled taut.
Execution
- Exhale as you raise the straight bar by extending your wrists.
- Hold for a count of two.
- Inhale as you slowly lower the straight bar to the starting position by flexing your wrists.
- Repeat for the prescribed number of repetitions.
Comments and tips
- The cable should be pulled taut throughout the movement. If it is not, place your forearms on an elevated surface instead of on your thighs. See the first video demonstration.
- Keep your spine and neck neutral.
- You can use the cable reverse wrist curl to build forearm mass. However, do not go very heavy with this and other wrist-curling exercises because your wrists are not designed to curl very heavy weights. Exercises for building your forearms that are safer on your wrists include the EZ bar reverse curl, the trap bar farmer’s walk, and the one-arm dead hang (where you just hang from a bar).
- See also the seated barbell wrist curl and the wrist roller.
Cable reverse wrist curl videos
Below is a video demonstration of how not to do the cable reverse wrist curl. Notice that there is no resistance at the bottom of the movement. To fix this problem, place your forearms on an elevated surface, as in the video demonstration above.
