Wrist Roller
Trains the Forearm Flexors and Forearm Extensors.
- Equipment
- A wrist roller and either a dumbbell, a kettlebell or a weight plate
- Mechanic
- Isolation
- Force
- Pull
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Attach a light weight to the rope of a wrist roller and hold the bar with both hands, palms down.
- Raise your arms straight out in front of you at roughly shoulder height.
- Roll the bar away from you with alternating wrist movements, winding the rope up until the weight reaches the bar.
- Then reverse the direction and lower the weight slowly back down under control.
- Keep the arms extended throughout — letting them drop turns the exercise into a hold.
Common mistakes
- Letting the arms fall as the shoulders fatigue. The shoulders will usually complain before the forearms do; lowering the arms is fine, but the forearm work stops being the limiting factor.
- Only winding in one direction. Rolling one way trains the extensors and the other trains the flexors — both directions, every set.
- Dropping the weight on the way down rather than unwinding it under control. The lowering half is where much of the work is.
- Loading it heavily. A wrist roller works at very light weights because the lever is the width of the bar.