Too many men treat the forearm muscle as an afterthought when doing their upper body split. It’s true that the muscle benefits from traditional arm exercises like biceps curls because it requires a strong grip, but it’s uncommon to see someone incorporate exercises like the reverse curl into a plan for forearm training.
If you desire a balanced physique in addition to functional strength that is not the greatest course of action. It’s not necessary to train your forearms with the same intensity as your biceps and triceps; a little commitment goes a long way. The reverse curl can help with it.
How to Do the Reverse Curl
- Place your feet shoulder-width apart and grip the weights with your hands pronated, or overhand. To build tension, squeeze your abs, glutes, and shoulder blades.
- Raise the weight while just bending at the elbows.Refrain from extending your arms forward, keeping them “pinned” to your body.
- At the peak of the movement, pause momentarily. Maintaining tension in your forearms and managing your weight as you descend back to the beginning.
When you use the reverse curl into your exercises, bear in mind these additional remedies from Samuel:
Plant and Squeeze
Don’t ‘Flip’ Your Wrists
When performing reverse curls, proper wrist alignment is crucial. Focus on maintaining wrist tension to maintain a firm, straight posture before simply moving at the elbow joint, as opposed to raising your wrists to initiate the movement.
Just Curl Up
You should perform the reverse curl by concentrating just on moving at the elbow joint, just like you would with any other curl variant. Raise, pause briefly at the top, and then carefully descend back to the beginning.
Don’t Swing the Weight
The guidelines are the same as for bicep curls. When your forearms start to get tired, resist the impulse to swing the weight. Keep your body tight, curl, pause, then lower yourself with each repetition.
Keep Your Elbows Back
Your elbow joint is the foundation of the whole reverse curl. But you want to be careful not to cheat by moving your elbows forward.
The Benefits of Adding Reverse Curls to Your Workout
The primary distinction between the reverse curl and the standard biceps curl is how you position your hands to grip the object you’re trying to lift. To utilize a pronated (palms down) grip, flip your palm positions. The reverse curl has two key advantages :
The Reverse Curl Improves Grip Strength
You will soon discover that the reverse curl puts a lot more strain on your grasp than a typical biceps curl; you must maintain a tight squeeze in order to maintain your pronated grip on the bar. Even while the position might seem a little awkward at first it will help you increase your endurance by a few repetitions in other grip-intensive exercises like pullups and deadlifts.
“I can cradle with my grasp to some extent when performing a conventional bicep curl or even a hammer curl. It’s not necessary for me to deliberately squeeze the bar as hard as I can. “However, if I let go of the bar while performing a reverse curl—whether it’s a dumbbell, barbell, or anything else—it will just fall to the ground.” This implies that maintaining a firmer hold during the curling process will put my grip strength to the test and need consistent tension.
The Reverse Curl Attacks Your Brachioradialis Muscles
Reverse curls target your brachioradialis, the muscle on the front of your forearm, as opposed to typical curls, which place most of the strain on your biceps. Reverse grips put more emphasis on the brachioradialis and less strain on the biceps.
Who Should Use the Reverse Curl
While most lifters would benefit from developing their own set of Popeye forearms, if you’re deadlifting twelve plates or engaging in other intense exercise, your forearms are working hard and might not require as much additional training. However it makes perfect sense to incorporate reverse curls into your exercise regimen for those of us who may not be doing as much heavy lifting. This is the move to do if you want the front of your forearm to be well-developed.
Which Muscles Do Reverse Curls Train?
Brachialis
Biceps
Brachioradialis
The Equipment Required for the Reverse Curl
Barbell EZ
Curl Bar
Dumbbells
All these tools are functional, but two have drawbacks. Using a barbell could get too tight, and using dumbbells could make you start twisting your palms unintentionally.
On the other hand, you can find a more comfortable angle with the EZ-bar so that your palms stay facing the ground the entire time you perform the exercise.
How to Workout with the Reverse Curl
You don’t have to use a lot of force when doing the reverse curl. Half the weight you would typically use for biceps curls might be a good place to start. That’s three sets of eight to twelve repetitions.
But keep in mind that on arms day, you shouldn’t use the reverse curl as your primary exercise. It is most effective when performed as one of your final exercises because you are utilizing less weight.
As a seasoned content writer specialized in the fitness and health niche, Arun Bhagat has always wanted to promote wellness. After gaining proper certification as a gym trainer with in-depth knowledge of virtually all the information related to it, he exercised his flair for writing interesting, informative content to advise readers on their healthier lifestyle. His topics range from workout routines, nutrition, and mental health to strategies on how to be more fit in general. His writing is informative but inspiring for people to achieve their wellness goals as well. Arun is committed to equipping those he reaches with the insights and knowledge gained through fitness.