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Reverse Grip Biceps Curl

The reverse-grip curl turns your palms down on the bar and curls from there, shifting the emphasis from the biceps onto the brachioradialis along the top of the forearm and the deeper brachialis. It is the standard prescription for lifters whose arms stall because their forearms and grip lag behind their biceps. Coached by Maddy (NASM-CPT) — these are the exact form cues he gives on every client's first week.

Muscles worked

Forearms · brachioradialis Biceps · biceps brachii Forearm extensors

Sets & reps by goal

Goal	Sets × Reps	Rest
Strength	4 sets x 3-6 reps	2-3 min
Muscle	3-4 sets x 9-12 reps	60-90 sec
Endurance	2-3 sets x 18-27 reps	30-45 sec

Rep ranges per Helms 2014 · Schoenfeld 2016.

Level — Beginner

Beginner in technique, but expect a humbling load drop from your standard curl — that drop is the correct starting point.

Proper form — 5 cues

Grip the bar overhand at shoulder width, thumbs wrapped over the top.
Lock the wrists flat — knuckles pointing forward, no curling at the wrist joint.
Pin your elbows to your sides and curl the bar in an arc to chest height.
Squeeze the top of the forearms hard at the peak of the curl.
Lower on a three-second count until the elbows are fully straight.

Breathing: Exhale as the bar curls up, inhale during the slow lowering.

The 3 mistakes Maddy corrects most

Wrists buckle backward under the bar.. The overhand grip is mechanically weaker, and collapsing wrists shift stress into the small wrist extensors, which end up sore instead of stronger. Fix: Drop the load until you can hold a dead-flat wrist line from knuckles to elbow for the entire set.

Loading it like a normal curl.. The pronated grip removes the biceps from its strongest line of pull, so matching your supinated curl weight forces cheating from the first rep. Fix: Start at roughly two-thirds of your regular curl weight and let strict reps decide when to add.

Elbows sweep backward as the bar rises.. Drifting elbows convert the curl into a row-like shrug that flatters the number on the bar and starves the target muscles. Fix: Brush your elbows against your ribs throughout — if they leave, the set is over at that rep.

Common questions

What does the reverse grip actually change?

Turning the palms down puts the biceps at a mechanical disadvantage, so the brachioradialis — the thick muscle on the thumb side of your forearm — and the brachialis underneath the biceps take over more of the curl. The visible result over time is a fuller forearm and a thicker upper arm from below, plus a stronger grip on pulls.

Why is my reverse curl so much weaker than my normal curl?

That gap is anatomy, not weakness. With palms down, the biceps cannot pull from its best angle, leaving smaller muscles to do work they never lead in a standard curl. A reverse curl at 60 to 70 percent of your normal curl weight is typical. Treat the two as separate lifts with separate progressions rather than expecting them to match.

Straight bar or EZ bar for reverse curls?

The EZ bar's angled grip eases strain on the wrists and elbows and is the more sustainable choice for most lifters, especially at higher volumes. The straight bar demands more from the wrist extensors, which some lifters want deliberately for grip development. If your wrists ache with straight-bar reverse curls, the EZ bar loses you almost nothing.

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