Cable Wrist Curl

A beginner isolation strength exercise that works the forearms, using a cable machine.

Cable Wrist Curl — Starting position Starting position
Cable Wrist Curl — End position End position
Difficulty Beginner
Type Strength
Equipment Cable Machine
Primary Muscle Forearms
AI Rep Counting Log manually

How to Do Cable Wrist Curl

  1. Start out by placing a flat bench in front of a low pulley cable that has a straight bar attachment.
  2. Use your arms to grab the cable bar with a narrow to shoulder width supinated grip (palms up) and bring them up so that your forearms are resting against the top of your thighs. Your wrists should be hanging just beyond your knees.
  3. Start out by curling your wrist upwards and exhaling. Keep the contraction for a second.
  4. Slowly lower your wrists back down to the starting position while inhaling.
  5. Your forearms should be stationary as your wrist is the only movement needed to perform this exercise.
  6. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

Muscles Worked

Front
Back

Primary

Where Cable Wrist Curl does most of its work.

Alternatives to Cable Wrist Curl

10 movements that train the same primary muscle, closest substitutes first — same kind of training, then variations of the movement itself, then a similar difficulty.

  1. 1 Palms-Down Dumbbell Wrist Curl Over A Bench

    Palms-Down Dumbbell Wrist Curl Over A Bench

    A beginner isolation strength exercise that works the forearms, using dumbbells.

    beginner Dumbbells
  2. 2 Palms-Down Wrist Curl Over A Bench

    Palms-Down Wrist Curl Over A Bench

    A beginner isolation strength exercise that works the forearms, using a barbell.

    beginner Barbell
  3. 3 Palms-Up Barbell Wrist Curl Over A Bench

    Palms-Up Barbell Wrist Curl Over A Bench

    A beginner isolation strength exercise that works the forearms, using a barbell.

    beginner Barbell
  4. 4 Palms-Up Dumbbell Wrist Curl Over A Bench

    Palms-Up Dumbbell Wrist Curl Over A Bench

    A beginner isolation strength exercise that works the forearms, using dumbbells.

    beginner Dumbbells
  5. 5 Seated Dumbbell Palms-Down Wrist Curl

    Seated Dumbbell Palms-Down Wrist Curl

    A beginner isolation strength exercise that works the forearms, using dumbbells.

    beginner Dumbbells
  6. 6 Seated Dumbbell Palms-Up Wrist Curl

    Seated Dumbbell Palms-Up Wrist Curl

    A beginner isolation strength exercise that works the forearms, using dumbbells.

    beginner Dumbbells
  7. 7 Seated One-Arm Dumbbell Palms-Up Wrist Curl

    Seated One-Arm Dumbbell Palms-Up Wrist Curl

    A beginner isolation strength exercise that works the forearms, using dumbbells.

    beginner Dumbbells
  8. 8 Seated Palm-Up Barbell Wrist Curl

    Seated Palm-Up Barbell Wrist Curl

    A beginner isolation strength exercise that works the forearms, using a barbell.

    beginner Barbell
  9. 9 Seated Palms-Down Barbell Wrist Curl

    Seated Palms-Down Barbell Wrist Curl

    A beginner isolation strength exercise that works the forearms, using a barbell.

    beginner Barbell
  10. 10 Standing Palms-Up Barbell Behind The Back Wrist Curl

    Standing Palms-Up Barbell Behind The Back Wrist Curl

    A beginner isolation strength exercise that works the forearms, using a barbell.

    beginner Barbell

Frequently Asked Questions

What muscles do cable wrist curl work?

Cable Wrist Curl primarily works the forearms.

What equipment do I need for cable wrist curl?

Cable Wrist Curl uses cable machine.

Cable Wrist Curl: is it suitable for beginners?

Yes. Cable Wrist Curl is rated beginner. Movements you can learn in a session, with a low skill floor and a forgiving failure mode.

What can I do instead of cable wrist curl?

Palms-Down Dumbbell Wrist Curl Over A Bench, Palms-Down Wrist Curl Over A Bench, Palms-Up Barbell Wrist Curl Over A Bench train the same primary muscles and are listed with 7 more alternatives above.

Can Fitnit count my cable wrist curl reps automatically?

Not automatically yet. Fitnit's AI rep counting covers push-ups, squats, dumbbell curls, crunches and pull-ups today; cable wrist curl can be logged manually in the app, and tracked movements are added over time.

Photographs and step-by-step instructions from free-exercise-db, a public-domain exercise dataset. Muscle mapping and alternatives by Fitnit.

Track Your Cable Wrist Curl with AI

Fitnit automatically tracks push-ups, crunches, squats, pull-ups, and curls with advanced body tracking technology — and you can manually input any other workout too. Start free — Pro is $8.99/month.