Arms · Barbell
Barbell Wrist Curl
How to do the barbell wrist curl, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
Arms
- Equipment
- Barbell
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Curl
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Sit and rest your forearms on your thighs or a bench with your wrists just past your knees, palms up, holding a barbell. Let the bar roll toward your fingertips, then curl it back up by flexing only your wrists, squeezing at the top.
- 1Feel your forearm flexors contract as you curl the bar up
- 2Let the bar roll into your fingers at the bottom for a full stretch
- 3Move only at the wrist and keep your forearms pinned down
Common mistakes
- Don't lift your forearms off your thighs
- Avoid dropping the bar quickly on the way down
- Don't use your biceps or shoulders to move the weight
Muscles worked
The barbell wrist curl mainly works the forearms.
- ForearmsPrimary
Kovo programs the barbell wrist curl for you and tracks it every session.
The AI builds your whole program, drops the right lifts into each workout, and adjusts your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More forearms exercises
See all forearms exercises →Last reviewed June 2026.