The Cable Wrist Curl is a beginner-friendly cable strength exercise that targets the forearms. Here's how to do it right — and what to stop doing.
Primary musclesForearms
Secondary muscles—
EquipmentCable
LevelBeginner
TypeStrength
3D demo in the EGON app
01 Execution
How to do the Cable Wrist Curl
Attach a straight bar to a low pulley and set a light weight.
Sit on a bench facing the stack with your feet about shoulder width apart.
Grip the bar underhand at shoulder width and rest your elbows on your inner thighs.
Let the bar drop by bending only at the wrists, allowing it to roll toward your fingers.
Close your grip and curl your wrists upward, squeezing the forearms at the top.
Pause briefly, then lower under control and repeat for reps.
02 The payoff
Why it earns its spot
Isolates wrist flexion, which most pulling exercises never train directly.
Builds the forearm flexors that close the grip on bars and handles.
Cable tension stays even across a very short range of motion.
03 Don't do this
Common mistakes
Loading too heavy, which turns the rep into an elbow curl and hides the wrist range.
Lifting the elbows off the thighs, so the forearms move and the wrists stay locked.
Skipping the roll to the fingers, which leaves out the grip closing part of the movement.
Bouncing at the bottom, which loads the wrist joint rather than the flexors.
EGON Put it on record
Track it in EGON.
Log every set of the Cable Wrist Curl, get your PRs detected automatically, earn aura for the work — and climb five leagues of statues, from Stone to Ego.
