Intermediate

Behind-the-Back Barbell Wrist Curl

Holding the bar behind your body puts the underside of the forearm on a longer stretch than a seated curl, which many lifters feel more intensely. It also lets you load the movement standing with heavier bars. Treat it as an advanced flavor of the wrist curl once the seated version feels easy.

Equipment
Barbell
Body part
Forearms
Type
Strength
Browse by muscle
Extensors
Browse by movement
Wrist Flexion
Muscles worked
Target
Extensors
Tertiary
Brachioradialis

How to do it

  1. 1

    Stand tall and hold a barbell behind your glutes with an underhand grip, arms straight.

  2. 2

    Let the bar roll down toward your fingertips so your knuckles point to the floor.

  3. 3

    Curl the bar upward by flexing your wrists, keeping your arms still.

  4. 4

    Squeeze at the top, keeping the bar just clear of the back of your thighs.

  5. 5

    Lower under control back into the stretch.

  6. 6

    Keep your torso upright and shoulders relaxed throughout.

Tips

  • Set up in a rack or have a partner hand you the bar so you start in a strong position.
  • Keep your elbows locked and pinned to your sides so only the wrists work.
  • Do not shrug or lean. Let the forearms carry the load.
  • Because the range is short, focus on a hard squeeze rather than heavy weight.

Variations

Common mistakes

  • Resting the bar against the back of the thighs and pushing the hips into it. The legs then carry part of the load and the flexors do far less than the plates suggest.
  • Ignoring what the shoulders are doing. A bar held behind the hips pulls them into extension, so if you feel the front of the shoulder before the forearm, narrow the grip or go back to the seated version.
  • Dipping the knees to start each rep. The bar only travels a couple of inches here, so a bounce from the legs is most of the rep.
  • Standing barefoot or with your heels in the bar's path. At the bottom the bar sits in the fingers, and a failed rep drops it straight down behind you.

Frequently asked

How many sets and reps of the behind-the-back barbell wrist curl should I do?
Three sets of 12 to 15 with a bar you can hold for the whole set without the fingers giving out first. Earn it before you program it: 15 clean reps on the seated version is a reasonable gate. Set the bar in a rack at hip height so you are not deadlifting it into position every set, and add plates only while the top squeeze is still crisp on the last rep. Once a week is enough, since the stretch behind the body leaves the forearms sore.
What can I do instead of the behind-the-back barbell wrist curl without a rack?
Two dumbbells held behind the hips give the same stretched position with no rack and no walkout, and each hand can find its own angle. A low cable taken behind the back keeps tension constant through the range if your gym has a free stack. If neither is available, the seated barbell version over the thighs trains the same muscles with a far simpler setup.
What is the point of the behind-the-back barbell wrist curl?
The bar sits behind the body, so the flexors start from a longer stretch than they get over the thighs, and most lifters feel the bottom of each rep much more. It suits someone whose seated wrist curls have stalled and who wants a different angle rather than more weight. Skip it if a bar behind the hips bothers the front of your shoulder, if you cannot get the bar into position safely on your own, or if you are new to direct forearm work. Start seated instead.

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