ForearmsBarbellBeginner

How to Do Reverse Curls

By Bryan Alger, Co-Founder of Gravitus

· Updated Nov 11, 2026

A reverse curl is a barbell curl with your palms facing down. Hold the bar overhand at shoulder width, keep your elbows at your sides and curl it toward your shoulders. It trains the elbow flexors (the brachialis, the brachioradialis and the biceps) while the muscles on the back of your forearm hold your wrists straight. It is your weakest curl grip, so expect to use much less weight than in a regular curl. Most lifters do 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps.

Sets x reps 3 x 10-15

Median 10-rep weight 5022.5 lbkg men 3014 lbkg women

Muscles Brachialis, brachioradialis, biceps

Grip Palms down, shoulder-width

Technique

How to do a reverse curl

Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart. Hold the bar with an overhand grip, palms facing down, hands about shoulder-width apart and thumbs wrapped around the bar.
Let the bar hang against your thighs with your arms straight. Pin your elbows to your sides.
Keep your wrists straight, with your knuckles in line with your forearms, and curl the bar up by bending only at the elbows.
Stop when your forearms are close to vertical, before your elbows start to move forward. Your knuckles should still point up and forward, not down.
Lower over 2 to 3 seconds until your arms are fully straight.

Setup

Straight bar, EZ bar, cable or dumbbells

The standardStraight barPalms fully turned down. The hardest version for your wrists to hold straight.

Easier on wristsEZ barHold the angled grips so your palms tilt slightly in. A common swap when a straight bar bothers your wrists.

Small jumpsCable reverse curlA straight bar on a low pulley. The cable keeps tension on the top of the rep, and the stack moves in small steps.

One arm at a timeDumbbell reverse curlEach hand finds its own angle. Good for evening out a weaker arm.

No study has compared these versions. All of them keep your palms down, which is what makes it a reverse curl, so pick the one your wrists and elbows tolerate.

Gravitus data

How much weight should you reverse curl?

On Gravitus, the median man lifts 50 lb (22.5 kg) for 10 reps on the reverse curl, and the median woman 30 lb (14 kg).

Men, typical 50 lb for 10 reps

Most lift: 40 to 60 lb
Top 10% lift: 70 lb or more
Starting out: under 40 lb

Women, typical 30 lb for 10 reps

Most lift: 22.5 to 32.5 lb
Top 10% lift: 45 lb or more
Starting out: under 22.5 lb

Men, typical 22.5 kg for 10 reps

Most lift: 18 to 27.5 kg
Top 10% lift: 32.5 kg or more
Starting out: under 18 kg

Women, typical 14 kg for 10 reps

Most lift: 10 to 15 kg
Top 10% lift: 20 kg or more
Starting out: under 10 kg

One-rep max / 10-rep weight, rounded to 5 lb (2.5 under 40). From 3,635 men and 235 women who log the reverse curl on Gravitus, computed Nov 8, 2026 (Brzycki). Methodology
Percentile	Men	Women
25th	55 / 40 lb	30 / 22.5 lb
Median	65 / 50 lb	40 / 30 lb
75th	80 / 60 lb	45 / 32.5 lb
90th	95 / 70 lb	60 / 45 lb

One-rep max / 10-rep weight, rounded to 2.5 kg (1 under 20). From 3,635 men and 235 women who log the reverse curl on Gravitus, computed Nov 8, 2026 (Brzycki). Methodology
Percentile	Men	Women
25th	25 / 18 kg	13 / 10 kg
Median	30 / 22.5 kg	18 / 14 kg
75th	37.5 / 27.5 kg	20 / 15 kg
90th	42.5 / 32.5 kg	27.5 / 20 kg

These are total weights, bar included. This page pools everyone who logged the Reverse Barbell Curl, and some may use a lighter EZ or fixed-weight bar instead of a 45 lb (20 kg) Olympic bar, so compare yourself to your own log with the same bar.

Research

Reverse curl vs regular curl: what the research says

Palms down is the weakest way to curl. In 11 men, maximal elbow flexion force palms down was about half of palms up or palms in (Kohn 2018). Turning your palm down wraps the biceps tendon around the forearm bone and costs it leverage, so the other elbow flexors have to carry more of the load.

At the same effort, the biceps still works. Competitive bodybuilders curled their own 8-rep max with each grip: palms up drew 19% more biceps activity than palms down, and 5% more brachioradialis activity. The front delts worked 6% harder palms down, holding the upper arm in place (Coratella 2023).

Two common claims the research does not back:

Reverse curls work the brachioradialis harder than regular curls. At the same effort it was slightly more active palms up (Coratella 2023). In slow curls without added weight, the brachioradialis took a bigger share of the work palms down, because the biceps was at a disadvantage (Kleiber 2015). It takes a bigger share of a smaller load.
Reverse curls target the brachialis. The brachialis works in every curl. It attaches to the ulna, the forearm bone that does not rotate, so turning your palm down does not change its leverage. No study we found has measured it in a reverse curl.

Anatomy

Muscles worked

BrachialisBends the elbow in every grip. Turning your palm down does not change its leverage, so it carries more of the work when the biceps loses leverage.

Primary

BrachioradialisThe forearm muscle on the thumb side, near the elbow. It takes a bigger share of the work palms down (Kleiber 2015).

Primary

BicepsStill helps bend the elbow, with 19% less activity than palms up at the same effort (Coratella 2023).

Secondary

Wrist extensorsThe muscles on the back of your forearm hold your wrists straight against the bar. No study has measured how hard they work in a reverse curl.

Stabilizer

Front deltsHold your upper arms still. They worked 6% harder palms down than palms up (Coratella 2023).

Stabilizer

Compare

Reverse curl vs hammer curl vs barbell curl

Attribute	Reverse curl	Hammer curl	Barbell curl
Palms	Facing down	Facing in	Facing up
Strength	About half	Strongest	Close to palms in
Biceps activity	19% below palms up	12% below palms up	Highest
Brachioradialis activity	5% below palms up	6% below palms up	Highest
Best for	Wrist extensors, variety	Most weight, sore wrists	Most biceps work

Verdict

Reverse curl vs hammer curl: brachioradialis activity was about the same in both, and you are about twice as strong palms in (Kohn 2018, Coratella 2023). Use the hammer curl to load your elbow flexors heavier, and the reverse curl when you also want your wrist extensors working. In the activity study, the palms-in curl used a rope, not dumbbells.

Programming

Sets, reps and progression

3Sets

10-15Reps

1-2Reps left

Do reverse curls at the end of an arm or pull session. Stop each set 1 to 2 reps short of failure, or sooner if your wrists start to bend. Sets taken close to failure build muscle across a wide range of reps (Schoenfeld 2021), so pick a weight you can curl with straight wrists.

Add reps first. When every set reaches 15 clean reps, add 5 lb (2.5 kg) to the bar and drop back to 10.

Form

Common mistakes

Wrists bending downIf your knuckles drop as you curl, the weight is too heavy for your wrist extensors. Go lighter or switch to an EZ bar.
Swinging the torsoYour hips and back lift the bar instead of your arms. Stand still and go lighter.
Elbows drifting forwardYour front delts take over. Keep your elbows at your sides and stop when your forearms reach vertical.
A thumbless gripThe bar can roll out of your hands palms down. Wrap your thumbs around it.
Stopping short at the bottomStraighten your arms fully on every rep, then curl again.

Variations

Reverse curl variations

EZ-bar reverse curlThe angled grips tilt your palms slightly in. Easier on the wrists.

Cable reverse curlA straight bar on a low pulley, with small weight jumps and tension at the top.

Dumbbell reverse curlPalms down with a dumbbell in each hand. Each wrist finds its own angle.

Hammer CurlPalms in. Your strongest curl grip.

Zottman CurlCurl palms up, turn your palms down at the top and lower slowly in the reverse grip.

Reverse wrist curlPalms down, moving only at the wrist. Trains the wrist extensors directly.

Barbell CurlPalms up. The most biceps work per set.

FAQ

Questions people ask

What muscles do reverse curls work?

The brachialis, the brachioradialis and the biceps, which all bend the elbow. The wrist extensors on the back of your forearm hold your wrists straight, and your front delts hold your upper arms still.

What are the benefits of reverse curls?

They train all three elbow flexors in the grip where the biceps has the least leverage, so the brachialis and brachioradialis carry a bigger share. They make your wrist extensors work to hold the bar, which regular curls do not. And they add a different grip, which the authors of the main grip study recommend for variety (Coratella 2023).

Are reverse curls good for forearms?

Yes, for the brachioradialis and the wrist extensors on the top of the forearm. For the palm side of the forearm, add wrist curls.

Reverse curl vs hammer curl, which is better?

Neither, they do different jobs. Brachioradialis activity was about the same in both (Coratella 2023), but you are about twice as strong palms in (Kohn 2018), so hammer curls load the elbow flexors heavier. Reverse curls also work your wrist extensors.

Why are reverse curls so hard?

Palms down is the weakest curl grip. Elbow flexion force palms down was about half of palms up or palms in, partly because the biceps loses leverage when the forearm turns (Kohn 2018).

Are reverse curls bad for your wrists?

No study has linked them to wrist injury. Holding your wrists straight palms down is hard, so start light. If a straight bar bothers your wrists, use an EZ bar or dumbbells.

How much weight should I reverse curl?

For 10 reps, the median on Gravitus is 50 lb (22.5 kg) for men and 30 lb (14 kg) for women. The strongest quarter lifts 60 lb (27.5 kg) and 32.5 lb (15 kg) or more.

Gravitus See where your reverse curl ranks

Log every set and see your percentile on every lift, reverse curl included.

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References