Standing Palms-Up Barbell Behind The Back Wrist Curl

How to do it

1. Set a light barbell in a rack at about hip height and stand with your back to it.
2. Take an overhand grip behind you, then stand up so the bar rests behind your thighs with your palms facing backward.
3. Stand tall with the arms straight and the wrists relaxed.
4. Let the bar roll down toward your fingers so the wrists extend.
5. Curl the wrists up behind you as far as they will travel, closing the hands as the bar rolls back in.
6. Lower under control back into the stretch.

Common mistakes

• Bending the elbows. The arms stay straight and only the wrists move; a bending elbow turns it into an awkward reverse curl behind the back.
• Taking the bar from the floor. Behind the body with straight arms there is no way to pick it up cleanly — setting it in a rack at hip height is part of the setup.
• Going heavy. The range is short and the position is awkward, and a bar that has to be gripped hard just to keep hold of it is not being wrist-curled.
• Expecting it to reach the extensors. The palms face backward, which is the same flexion the palms-up version trains — a behind-the-back position, not a different muscle.

Muscles worked

Primary

• Forearm Flexors

Secondary

• Forearm Extensors