7 Best Brachioradialis Exercises For Thicker Forearms

The three best brachioradialis exercises are the reverse EZ bar curl, the dumbbell hammer curl, and the cable reverse curl.

You can run them with a barbell, dumbbells, a cable stack, or nothing but a resistance band.

If your biceps have grown for two years while your forearms stayed exactly the same, you did not pick the wrong curl.

Your biceps have been quietly stealing the work on every set.

The seven brachioradialis exercises below are built to stop that, and the reason they work is not what most lifters think.

Key Takeaways

• Reverse curls and hammer curls are the two that matter. Everything else on this list supports them.
• Grip barely changes how hard your brachioradialis works. It changes how much your biceps take over.
• Wrist curls do nothing for this muscle, because it does not cross the wrist.
• Two to three sets of 8 to 15 reps, twice a week, is the starting dose.
• Wrist pain from reverse curls almost always traces back to a bent wrist.

Why Your Forearms Do Not Grow From Regular Curls

The grip does not switch this muscle on. It switches your biceps off.

What This Muscle Actually Does

The brachioradialis runs up the thumb side of your forearm and crosses the elbow, not the wrist. It has one job there: elbow flexion, which is just bending your arm.

It does that job right alongside your biceps on every curl you have ever done.

That last part is what most lifters get wrong. This muscle never sits out. Its quieter neighbor, the brachialis, does the same hidden work underneath your biceps.

What Changing Your Grip Really Changes

Palms up, the grip everyone blames for skinny forearms, actually works the brachioradialis hardest.

That comes from a 2023 study of competitive bodybuilders doing cable curls. On the way up, palms up worked both the biceps and the brachioradialis harder than palms down.

The biceps gained about 19%. The brachioradialis gained about 5%.

That gap is the whole point. Grip choice barely changes how hard your brachioradialis works, and it massively changes how much your biceps dominate the lift.

Older evidence agrees on the first half. A study found no meaningful difference in how hard the brachioradialis worked across palms up, palms down, and neutral.

So hammer and reverse curls win by subtraction. Your biceps are weaker in those grips, so the same weight leaves a bigger share of the work for the brachioradialis.

Think of it as sidelining the biceps rather than targeting the forearm. That is the mechanism behind every one of the brachioradialis exercises below, and it settles the hammer curls versus bicep curls debate too.

Curl	Grip	How Much The Biceps Help	Wrist Comfort	Best Use
Hammer Curl	Palms facing each other	Moderate	Easiest on the wrist	Your default forearm builder and heaviest loads
Reverse Curl	Palms down	Lowest	Hardest on the wrist	Biggest forearm bias, best with an EZ bar or cable
Zottman Curl	Palms up going up, palms down coming down	High on the way up, low on the way down	Moderate	Two muscles in one movement when time is short

1. Reverse EZ Bar Curl

Palms down is where your biceps have the worst leverage of any curl, which makes this the most forearm biased movement on the list.

The EZ bar is not optional. Its angled grip keeps the wrist out of the extreme position a straight bar forces, and that is the difference between loading this heavy for years and quitting after three sore weeks.

Do not baby the weight either. This overhand curl is one of the few forearm exercises you can genuinely get strong on, so treat it like a real lift and push the weight up over time.

• Grip the EZ bar overhand at shoulder width, hands on the inner angles
• Pin your elbows to your sides and lock your wrists flat, never bent back
• Curl until your forearms are roughly parallel with the floor, no swinging
• Lower under control over 2 to 3 seconds

3 sets of 8 to 12 reps.

Best for: the biggest forearm bias available, as long as your wrists tolerate palms down loading.

2. Dumbbell Hammer Curl

The reverse curl wins on paper. So why does almost everyone who trains forearms seriously do more hammer curls?

Because they can keep doing them. The neutral grip, palms facing each other, trades a little forearm bias for a wrist position you can load hard for years.

Lifters who cut reverse curl volume when their joints started complaining almost always keep hammer curls in the program.

On a cable with a rope, let your elbows drift out and back like a row instead of pinning them at your sides. That path pulls the biceps even further out of the lift.

• Hold dumbbells with palms facing each other, thumbs on top
• Keep the wrist straight and the elbow tucked, no shrugging at the top
• Curl to about chest height and pause for a beat
• Lower slowly and stop before the arm starts swinging

3 sets of 10 to 15 reps.

The verdict: not the highest forearm bias here, but the one you will still be doing in five years.

3. Cable Reverse Curl

If the barbell version leaves your wrists sore for two days, this is the swap.

Wrist and elbow irritation is the most common reason people abandon reverse curls, and a cable usually fixes it without giving up the grip that makes the exercise work.

A cable reverse curl is the same palms down curl run off a low pulley. The cable pulls in a straight line, so your wrist is not fighting to hold a loaded bar level.

Swap the bar for a rope and you get a neutral grip version of the same constant tension curl. Both fit easily into the same session.

• Set the pulley at the lowest position and take an overhand grip
• Stand a step back so the cable is under tension before you start
• Curl with your wrists locked flat and your elbows still
• Resist on the way down until your arms are straight

3 sets of 10 to 15 reps.

Quick comparison: same grip as the EZ bar version, less joint stress, less absolute load.

4. Zottman Curl

A 19th century strongman named George Zottman built this curl, and it survives because one rep covers two muscles.

Curl up with palms up, rotate at the top until palms face down, then lower that way. The palms up lift lets you use more weight, and the palms down lowering makes your forearm handle a load it could not have lifted on its own.

It is not a novelty. The technique even has its own peer reviewed breakdown in a strength and conditioning journal.

One honest caveat: in the bodybuilder study above, grip choice made no measurable difference during the lowering phase. So treat the Zottman as a smart time saver, not a secret weapon.

• Start with dumbbells at your sides, palms forward
• Curl up with palms up
• Rotate your wrists at the top until the palms face the floor
• Lower over 3 seconds in that palms down position
• Rotate back to palms up at the bottom

2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps, lighter than your usual curl weight.

Do this one when arm time is short and you want both.

5. Incline Dumbbell Hammer Curl

Some lifters curl for years and never feel anything below the elbow. Arm position fixes that faster than grip does.

This is a hammer curl with your upper arm supported on an incline bench or a preacher pad. Your shoulder cannot help and the arm stays locked in place.

That position puts the biceps at a disadvantage through most of the range, leaving the brachioradialis to carry more of the work. Same lever trick as changing grip, applied with body position.

You will use noticeably less weight here. That is the point.

• Set a bench to 45 to 60 degrees and sit back with your arms hanging down
• Hold the dumbbells palms facing each other and let the arms stretch fully
• Curl without letting the upper arm drift forward
• Lower to a straight arm before the next rep

2 to 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps.

Best for: anyone who has never felt a curl below the elbow. The preacher bench version does the same job.

6. Neutral Grip Pull Up

You are already training this muscle on back day. If the outside of your elbow ever aches after pull day, that is probably why.

A neutral grip pull up uses parallel handles with your palms facing each other. Same grip as a hammer curl, loaded with your whole bodyweight, plus free grip work.

Most rows and pulldowns use a similar grip, so part of your forearm work already happens on back day.

Heavy and weighted pulling is the most common way lifters overload this muscle. It shows up as pain on the outside of the elbow that feels exactly like tennis elbow, so skip the added weight if that sounds familiar.

• Grip parallel handles with your palms facing each other
• Start from a full hang with your shoulders set down
• Pull until your chin clears the handles, wrists straight
• Lower under control instead of dropping

3 sets, stopping 2 reps short of failure. Use a band if you cannot hit 6 clean reps.

The verdict: free forearm work you are already getting, so treat it as a bonus.

7. Resistance Band Reverse Curl

No gym, no bar, no wrist strain. This is the easiest place to start.

Stand on a band, take a palms down grip, curl. Same grip logic as items 1 and 3 with zero hardware.

Band resistance climbs as you curl, so the hardest part of the rep lands near the top where your forearm has good leverage. That means less wrist strain than a loaded bar at the same effort.

Progress without plates by stepping wider on the band, doubling it up, or slowing the lowering to 4 seconds. Reps in the high teens are fine here.

• Stand on the middle of the band, feet hip width
• Take an overhand grip on the band or handles, wrists flat
• Curl with your elbows pinned and the band tight throughout
• Lower slowly and never let the band snap your arm down

2 to 3 sets of 12 to 20 reps.

Start here if you train at home, or if palms down work has bothered your wrists before.

Common Mistakes And How To Fix Wrist And Elbow Pain

Most people who quit reverse curls blame the exercise. In nearly every case, it was wrist position.

Letting The Wrist Bend Back At The Top

This is the number one trigger for reverse curl wrist pain. Keep the wrist flat through the whole rep and think about driving your knuckles up rather than curling your hand. If wrist size and strength is your weak link, train that separately.

Using A Straight Bar When An EZ Bar Is Right There

The angled grip shifts the wrist enough to make reverse curls loadable for people who could not tolerate them before. If both bars hurt, move to a cable.

Telling Yourself To Squeeze The Biceps

This works against the whole setup. These grips build forearms because the biceps get pulled out of the movement, so cueing a biceps contraction invites them straight back in.

Adding Weight To Pull Ups While Your Outside Elbow Aches

Overload from heavy rows and weighted pull ups often causes pain on the outside of the elbow that gets mistaken for tennis elbow. Back the load off, keep the reps, and give it a few weeks. If it does not settle, get it looked at.

FAQs

Do Wrist Curls Work The Brachioradialis?

No. The brachioradialis crosses your elbow and stops before the wrist, so bending your wrist does not train it directly. Wrist curls build the flexors and extensors in your forearm, which is worth doing, just not for this muscle.

What Is The Best Brachioradialis Exercise?

The reverse EZ bar curl, because a palms down grip leaves the biceps at their worst leverage and forces the brachioradialis to carry more of the load. The dumbbell hammer curl is a close second and the better pick if your wrists complain.

Why Do Reverse Curls Hurt My Wrists?

Usually because the wrist bends backward at the top of the rep. Keep it locked flat through the whole set, swap a straight bar for an EZ bar, and move to a cable if it still bothers you afterward.

How Often Should I Train My Brachioradialis?

Twice a week is the right starting point, with 2 to 3 sets per exercise and 8 to 15 reps per set. Add a third day only if your wrists and elbows feel fine, since joint tolerance runs out before the muscle does.

Hammer Curls Or Reverse Curls For Brachioradialis?

Reverse curls bias the forearm more, because the palms down grip pulls the biceps further out of the movement. Hammer curls let you load heavier with a happier wrist, which is why most lifters end up doing more of them. Run both.

Bottom Line

Start Monday with two exercises. Reverse EZ bar curl and dumbbell hammer curl, 2 to 3 sets each of 8 to 15 reps, twice a week. Move the reverse curl to a cable if your wrists complain.

The brachioradialis works in every curl you already do. Grip barely changes how hard it works, but it changes how much your biceps take over, and that is the whole reason these movements build forearms.

Keep your wrists flat, add reps before weight, and run the same two exercises for a couple of months instead of chasing a new one every week. Forearms are slow. Consistency beats novelty.