Training guide
A reverse curl is a biceps curl with your palms facing down: an overhand, or reverse, grip. Holding a bar or dumbbells at your thighs, elbows by your sides and wrists straight, curl the weight up with your knuckles leading and lower it all the way. Palms down, your elbow is about half as strong, so start at about half your usual curl weight.
It works the brachialis, the biceps and the brachioradialis in your forearm, as every curl does, with less help from the biceps and more work for the muscles that hold your wrist straight. Whether it works the forearm more than a hammer curl depends on the study, and no trial has compared them for growth. (Looking for the ab exercise? See our reverse crunch guide.)
This guide shows the barbell, dumbbell, cable and preacher versions on the 3D figure, what reverse curls work, reverse vs hammer curls, how heavy and how many, and your wrists and elbows.
Stand tall holding a bar or dumbbells with your palms facing down, hands about shoulder-width, elbows by your sides. Keeping your wrists straight, curl the weight up with your knuckles leading, then lower it all the way. Palms down, your elbow is about half as strong as palms up (113.6 against 213.6 newtons in 11 men), so start at about half the weight you curl palms up.
All three elbow benders work in every grip: the brachialis under your biceps, the biceps, and the brachioradialis along the thumb side of your forearm. Palms down, the biceps does less: 19% less than palms up at an 8-rep maximum in one study.
Without a weight or holding 1 kg, the brachioradialis worked harder palms down; at each grip's 8-rep maximum it worked the same palms down and thumbs up, and slightly harder palms up. No trial has compared the grips for growth, as our hammer curl guide says.
Holding a bar palms down makes the wrist extensors on the back of your forearm work to keep the wrist straight: their activity was always higher palms down when gripping. No study has measured them in a reverse curl.
We found no study of reverse curls causing tennis elbow, but at work a palms-down forearm with forceful gripping predicted it, and in people with tennis elbow, pain-free grip was strongest thumbs up. With pain on the outside of your elbow, swap to hammer curls and bring reverse curls back last, and light, as our elbow guides say.
2 sets of 10 to 15, light, stopping 1 or 2 reps short, with 60 to 90 seconds' rest, once or twice a week (our forearm workout and hammer curl guide; editorial). Count them with your other curls towards about 10 hard sets a week for the elbow muscles.
A curl with your palms facing down (an overhand, pronated or reverse grip) the whole way up and down. Our move page curls the bar up "with the knuckles leading, the elbows at the sides", then lowers it all the way, and cues "Use much less weight than for an underhand curl" and "Keep the wrists straight". Barbell, dumbbell, cable, preacher and plate versions have 3D demos; the EZ-bar version uses the barbell demo.
"Reverse curl" also gets used for the reverse crunch (an ab exercise), the reverse Nordic curl, the reverse leg curl and the reverse wrist curl. This page is the overhand biceps curl; our reverse crunch, reverse Nordic curl, leg curl and wrist curl guides cover the others.
Three muscles bend the elbow in every grip. The brachialis, deep under the biceps, is "the workhorse of the elbow joint", as a classic study that recorded muscle activity through fine needles put it, and gave 47% of the elbow-bending force in an MRI model of 4 men; the biceps gave 34% and the brachioradialis 19%. The brachioradialis has a long lever but the smallest cross-section of the three.
Palms down, the biceps works least, so the brachialis and brachioradialis take a larger share of a lighter weight (our reading). The wrist extensors on the back of your forearm work to hold your wrist straight against the overhand grip.
Turning your palm down reduces the biceps's leverage, which changes with forearm rotation more than any other elbow muscle's, and it also reduces the drive to the elbow benders: in 11 men, voluntary activation was 70.9% palms down against 93.0% palms up and 96.1% thumbs up.
A controlled standing curl (the move page's prerequisite), and wrists and elbows that are comfortable palms down. If the outside of your elbow complains, the reverse curl comes last.
Palms-down strength varies a lot between people, and women and men alike are weakest palms down. Some people's forearms angle out more at the elbow, so a straight bar bends their wrists: an EZ bar or dumbbells let the wrists sit straighter (coaching practice; no study has tested it).
Source 3
From our reverse barbell curl page, with our editorial wording. The dumbbell version is the same with a dumbbell in each hand, which lets each wrist find its own angle.
Loading the 3D figure…
The movement on the figure: Reverse barbell curl
In a 1957 study that recorded muscle activity through fine needles in 20 adults, the brachialis worked in every forearm position, the brachioradialis joined in when weight was lifted slowly, especially palms down or thumbs up, and the biceps played little or no part palms down with a 2-pound weight. Later studies found all three busy in every position: no difference in brachioradialis activity across positions in 10 adults, all three very active at maximal effort in 15 men, and no difference palms up and palms down in preacher curls in 10 trained men.
Maximal elbow-bending force in 11 men was 243.6 newtons thumbs up, 213.6 palms up and 113.6 palms down: palms down is about half (our arithmetic). In 85 students, palms down was 39% weaker than thumbs up, and in 8 men and 8 women it was the weakest and least steady position.
At each grip's 8-rep maximum on a cable, 10 bodybuilders' biceps worked 19% harder palms up than palms down and 12% harder than thumbs up; while lowering, grip made no difference to either muscle. Holding 1 kg, biceps activity in 36 young men was lowest palms down at every elbow angle.
Without a weight, 16 adults' brachioradialis was consistently more active palms down. Holding 1 kg, it was more active palms down than thumbs up or palms up at 90 and 120 degrees in 36 men, though the authors warn the wrist extensors may have leaked into the reading. But lifting each grip's 8-rep maximum, it worked about the same palms down and thumbs up, and 5 to 6% harder palms up, and three other studies found little or no difference.
So "reverse curls work the brachioradialis more than hammer curls" holds without a load and isn't shown under a real working weight.
In an MRI model of 4 men, the brachialis gave 47% of the elbow-bending force, the biceps 34% and the brachioradialis 19% (the abstract doesn't say which forearm position). In cadavers, the brachioradialis has a long lever (a peak of about 7.7 cm) but the smallest cross-section, and the biceps's leverage changes most as the forearm turns.
In 10 adults gripping a dynamometer, wrist extensor activity was always greater with the forearm palms down. During elbow movements, the wrist muscle that switched on changed to an extensor when the forearm was palms down, and a short wrist extensor worked hard in maximal forearm-twisting efforts in 24 men. No study has measured them in a reverse curl.
We found no training study of reverse curls, and no trial comparing palms-down, thumbs-up and palms-up curls for forearm size or grip. Ordinary incline and preacher dumbbell curls grew the brachioradialis 13.5% and 17.6% in 12 weeks in 21 untrained adults.
Source 9
In a palms-up curl, 12 trained men's EZ-bar curl drew the same muscle activity as a straight bar and slightly more than alternating dumbbells, and the authors call the choice a matter of comfort (their opinion; comfort wasn't measured). The EZ bar sets your forearms part way to thumbs up. Cable and barbell preacher curls built similar biceps thickness over 10 weeks, and across 137 reviews equipment type didn't consistently change results. We found no study of the cable reverse curl itself.
Reverse-grip barbell curls (3 sets of 12) were part of a forearm block, with wrist curls, reverse wrist curls and farmer's walks, that raised grip 12 to 14% and pull-ups most in 8 weeks in 30 inactive men. Their own share can't be separated.
Source 25
Neither has been shown to build more forearm. The studies disagree on which grip works the brachioradialis most, and under a working weight it was about the same palms down and thumbs up. Hammer curls are about twice as strong, so they let you lift more; reverse curls add the wrist extensors' work of holding the wrist straight. Use both if forearm size is your goal. Our hammer curl guide says the same.
Palms-up curls work the biceps hardest: 19% more than palms down. Use them for your biceps, and reverse curls as forearm and brachialis work (our reading; no growth trial). Our bicep curl guide covers the palms-up curl.
Source 6
A reverse curl stays palms down both ways, so the weaker grip limits the lift too. A Zottman curls up palms up, turns, and lowers palms down, so it can use a heavier weight on the way down. Our Zottman guide covers it, and has you learn the reverse curl first.
The preacher pad stops the swing, which suits a lift you'll want to cheat. Our move page cues about half the weight of a palms-up curl, and our preacher curl guide covers the pad.
Palms down, your elbow was about half as strong as palms up in one study and 39% weaker than thumbs up in another, and women and men were both weakest palms down. Start at about half the weight you curl palms up: our reverse preacher curl page's cue, and our editorial starting point for the standing versions.
Turning the palm down takes away much of the biceps's leverage, and the nervous system drives the elbow muscles less in that position. It's not that your forearms are weak; the grip is.
Choose a weight you can curl 10 to 15 times with straight wrists and no swing. In your first two weeks, leave 3 or 4 reps to spare, as our plans say: people misjudge their reps left by about one.
Source 26
All have 3D demos. The EZ-bar reverse curl has no demo of its own: use the barbell demo, with the angled grip putting your wrists part way to thumbs up. Doses: 2 sets of 10 to 15, light, for the barbell, dumbbell and cable versions (our forearm workout; editorial); 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15 at about half your palms-up weight for the reverse preacher curl (our preacher curl guide's editorial starting point); 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12, stopping with 2 or 3 reps in reserve, for the plate version (the move page's dose).
2 sets of 10 to 15, light, stopping 1 or 2 reps short, with 60 to 90 seconds' rest (our forearm workout's "2 sets of 10 to 15", lighter than your hammer curls, and our hammer curl guide; editorial). Up to 3 sets if forearm size is your goal (editorial). Training to failure isn't needed for growth, and the overhand grip is the weak link, so keep a rep or two in hand.
Source 27
Once or twice a week, counted with your other curls towards about 10 or more hard sets a week for the elbow muscles, counting indirect sets as half. No study gives a reverse curl dose, and the American College of Sports Medicine's overview didn't compare muscle groups.
When every set reaches 15, take the smallest weight step you have (our curl guides' double progression). The ACSM suggests adding 2 to 10% when you beat your target by 1 or 2 reps; adding reps and adding weight both work, and lighter weights build muscle as well as heavier ones when the sets are hard.
A minute of the wrist and forearm flow, then a light set of palms-up curls and one of reverse curls (our forearm workout; editorial).
60 to 90 seconds between sets, as our plans use for small isolation moves, or alternate with another exercise. Rest of more than about a minute gave a small growth advantage, with no clear gain past about 90 seconds.
Source 32
Start at about half: palms down, you're about half as strong.
Go lighter and grip the bar firmly, or try an EZ bar or dumbbells.
Go lighter; the preacher version stops the swing.
We found no study of the thumbless (false) grip; keep your thumbs wrapped round for a secure grip (editorial).
Straighten your arms each rep, as our curl guides say.
Swap to hammer curls, and bring reverse curls back last, and light.
In a working population, a palms-down forearm for at least 40% of the time combined with forceful gripping predicted tennis elbow (2.8 times the rate), though neither did on its own. The NHS says tennis elbow follows activities that involve gripping and repeatedly twisting the wrist and forearm. We found no study of reverse curls causing it.
In 21 people with tennis elbow, pain-free grip was strongest thumbs up with the elbow bent. In cadaver arms, pressure at the extensor tendon origin rose with the elbow straight and the forearm palms down. So with pain on the outside of your elbow, swap to hammer curls, and bring reverse curls back last, and light.
We found no study of wrist pain or injury from reverse curls, or of wrist comfort on an EZ bar against a straight bar. Keep your wrists straight, go light, and use the bar your wrists prefer. With pain on the thumb side of the wrist (de Quervain's), palms down is often the comfortable grip, as our Zottman guide says, but stop any position that hurts.
Source 22
Discomfort up to about 3 to 4 out of 10 is fine if it settles within an hour and your elbow is no worse the next morning; otherwise go lighter, not to nothing, as our elbow guides say.
Source 35
Stop the set if your ring and little fingers tingle during curls: at the top of a curl the elbow bends most, which stretches the ulnar nerve. Shorten the top of the range, and see our ulnar nerve guide if it keeps coming back.
Hammer curls, 2 or 3 sets of 10 to 15 (our hammer curl guide); Zottman curls, 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12, stopping 2 or 3 reps short (the move page's dose), once reverse curls are comfortable; wrist curls, 2 rounds of 12 to 15 slow reps, and reverse wrist curls, 12 slow reps, light (our forearm and grip strength workouts); forearm rotations, 10 each way; farmer's carries, 2 walks of 30 m; and the wrist extensor stretch, 3 holds of 30 seconds after strengthening (the move page's dose).
3D demoHammer curlBeginner · A dumbbell
3D demoZottman curlIntermediate · A dumbbell
3D demoWrist curlsBeginner · A dumbbell
3D demoReverse wrist curlBeginner · A dumbbell + A bench or box
3D demoDumbbell forearm rotationBeginner · A dumbbell + A bench or box
3D demoFarmer's carryIntermediate · A dumbbell + A kettlebell
3D demoWrist & forearm flowBeginner · No equipment
3D demoWrist extensor stretch (tennis elbow stretch)Beginner · No equipmentOur forearm workout is the follow-along with a reverse curl: hammer curls, dumbbell reverse curls lighter than your hammer curls, then Zottman curls paired with wrist curls, and a carry. A reverse curl can join or replace a curl in the arm and bicep workouts (our suggestion).
A 25-minute forearm size workout with dumbbells: hammer, reverse and Zottman curls for the big muscle on the thumb side, then wrist curls and a carry.
25 minBeginner7 movesA dumbbell, A kettlebellBiceps, triceps and forearms: curls, hammer curls, skull crushers, pushdowns, concentration curls and dips.
35 minBeginner7 movesA dumbbell, A bench or boxA 30-minute biceps session: an EZ-bar curl, an incline curl, a preacher curl and hammer curls, about 10 hard sets, in the gym or with dumbbells.
30 minIntermediate6 movesA dumbbell, EZ curl barA 20-minute grip session: warm up the wrists and fingers, train the hand and forearm muscles, then carry and hang to load your grip the way everyday life does.
20 minBeginner10 movesOther / check instructions, A bandWrist mobility and forearm strength for desk work, climbing, push-ups and handstands.
10 minBeginner7 movesA wall, A dumbbellIf you get chest pain or pressure, feel faint or dizzy, are unusually breathless, or your heart races or beats irregularly during exercise, as our plans advise. The American Heart Association says these need immediate medical evaluation.
Source 36
For chest pain that comes on suddenly and doesn't go away, feels tight or like squeezing, spreads to your arms, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, feeling sick, light-headedness or breathlessness; arm pain that comes on suddenly with pressure, heaviness or squeezing across your chest; severe difficulty breathing, or a chest that feels tight or heavy; someone who faints while exercising; palpitations that don't go away, or come with chest pain, shortness of breath or feeling faint; or a headache that starts suddenly and is extremely painful, especially while lifting or straining. The NHS says a bleed on the brain may be more likely when lifting something heavy. Don't drive yourself to A&E.
Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 for a headache that's triggered or made worse by coughing, sneezing, bending down or exercising.
Source 43
A pop or snap with sudden pain at the front of the elbow, especially with bruising, a gap at the front of the elbow or a bulge in the upper arm, can be a torn biceps tendon. Go to an urgent treatment centre or A&E (in the US, urgent care) the same day, and don't wait for it to settle, as our biceps guides say.
Also for severe arm pain that makes it hard to move your arm, a snap with your arm changing shape, or an arm that tingles or feels numb after an injury.
Source 39
If your arm hurts when you exercise but the pain goes away when you rest, if you think you've torn a tendon, or for severe wrist pain, a snap, grinding or popping, or lost feeling in your hand. In the US, your doctor or urgent care.
If elbow or arm pain hasn't gone after a few weeks, or tennis elbow hasn't improved after 2 weeks of rest and self-care.
Very sore, swollen, tight muscles and dark urine after an unusually hard or high-rep session need medical help the same day: it could be rhabdomyolysis, as our elbow pain from pull-ups guide explains. Normal soreness peaks a day or two after a new exercise and fades.
See a GP if you think you have a hernia, a bulge or lump that may get bigger when you strain and smaller when you lie down. Get help from NHS 111 if you have a hernia and pain in or around it, a bloated tummy, you feel or are sick, you're vomiting blood or your vomit looks like coffee grounds, you're constipated, you have a high temperature or feel hot, cold or shivery, or you've suddenly become confused. Call 999 or go to A&E for a femoral hernia (a small lump at the top of your thigh, in your groin) with very bad tummy pain, sickness, being unable to fart or poo, a high temperature or sudden confusion.
The NHS lists lifting heavy weights among the causes of a femoral hernia. After an inguinal hernia repair, avoid heavy lifting or strenuous activity for at least 4 to 6 weeks.
Speak to your GP first if you haven't exercised for some time or have medical conditions or concerns, as the NHS advises. Get advice before hard or straining work if your blood pressure is uncontrolled (140/90 or higher at a clinic, or 135/85 at home), or you have heart disease or chest pain when you're active, a pacemaker or defibrillator, diabetic eye disease, glaucoma, a hernia, recent eye or tummy surgery, or you're pregnant, as our breathing guide lists.
With controlled high blood pressure, the American Heart Association considers low- to moderate-intensity strength training with proper breathing safe. Breathe out as you lift, as our breathing guide advises.
With a pacemaker or defibrillator, the American Heart Association asks you to check with your doctor before upper-body strength training, because repeated arm movements can damage or dislodge the leads.
After a recent shoulder dislocation, or shoulder or elbow surgery, follow your surgical team's limits first.
True without a weight or at 1 kg; under each grip's 8-rep maximum the brachioradialis worked the same palms down and thumbs up, and a little more palms up, and other studies found little difference. No trial has compared the grips for growth.
We found no study either way. The wrist extensors work hard to hold a palms-down grip, so sore wrists or outer elbows may object: keep your wrists straight, go light, and try an EZ bar or dumbbells.
Source 10
Popular guides promise it without a source, and we found no study. Palms-down gripping with force predicted tennis elbow at work, and our elbow guides bring reverse curls back last.
Source 12
We found no study linking them. Tennis elbow follows gripping and twisting, and at work a palms-down grip with forceful gripping (both together) predicted it. Light, controlled curls aren't the same thing.
Palms down, you're about half as strong. Start at about half your palms-up curl.
The biceps worked 19% less palms down than palms up. Use palms-up curls for the biceps, and reverse curls as forearm and brachialis work (our reading; no growth trial).
Source 6
We found no study of it. Keep your thumbs wrapped round for a secure grip (editorial).
Hold a bar or dumbbells with your palms facing down, hands about shoulder-width, elbows by your sides. Keeping your wrists straight, curl the weight up with your knuckles leading, then lower it all the way. Use much less weight than your normal curl.
The three elbow benders: the brachialis under your biceps, the biceps, and the brachioradialis in your forearm. Palms down, the biceps works less than in a normal curl, and the muscles on the back of your forearm work to hold your wrist straight.
Neither has been shown to build more. Without a weight the brachioradialis worked harder palms down, but under a real working weight it worked the same palms down and thumbs up. Hammer curls are about twice as strong, so you can load them more; use both if forearm size is your goal.
About half your normal curl: palms down, the elbow was about half as strong as palms up in one study and 39% weaker than thumbs up in another. Pick a weight you can curl 10 to 15 times with straight wrists and no swing.
2 sets of 10 to 15, stopping 1 or 2 reps short, with 60 to 90 seconds' rest, once or twice a week. That's our editorial starting point, as in our forearm workout. Count them with your other curls towards about 10 hard sets a week for the elbow muscles.
Turning your palms down takes away much of the biceps's help and leverage, and your nervous system drives the elbow muscles less in that position. That's why the weight is so much lighter.
We found no study showing harm. Your wrist extensors work hard to hold a palms-down grip, so keep your wrists straight, go light, and try an EZ bar or dumbbells if a straight bar bothers them.
They aren't a treatment, and palms-down gripping loads the tendons at the outer elbow. With tennis elbow, use hammer curls instead and bring reverse curls back last and light, as our elbow guides say. See a GP if it hasn't improved after 2 weeks of rest and self-care.
All train the same muscles. In a palms-up curl, EZ-bar and straight-bar curls gave similar muscle activity, and the choice is about comfort; dumbbells let each wrist find its angle, and a cable lets you add weight in small steps.
A reverse curl stays palms down both ways; a Zottman curls up palms up and lowers palms down, so it can use a heavier weight. Our Zottman guide covers it.
No. A reverse curl bends your elbow with your palms down; a reverse wrist curl lifts the back of your hand with your forearm resting, as our wrist curl guide shows; and a reverse crunch is an ab exercise.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. Check with a GP before starting hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness when active, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
