Wrist Roller

A beginner isolation strength exercise that works the forearms.

Wrist Roller — Starting position Starting position
Wrist Roller — End position End position
Difficulty Beginner
Type Strength
Equipment Not specified
Primary Muscle Forearms
AI Rep Counting Log manually

How to Do Wrist Roller

  1. To begin, stand straight up grabbing a wrist roller using a pronated grip (palms facing down). Your feet should be shoulder width apart.
  2. Slowly lift both arms until they are fully extended and parallel to the floor in front of you. Note: Make sure the rope is not wrapped around the roller. Your entire body should be stationary except for the forearms. This is the starting position.
  3. Rotate one wrist at a time in an upward motion to bring the weight up to the bar by rolling the rope around the roller.
  4. Once the weight has reached the bar, slowly begin to lower the weight back down by rotating the wrist in a downward motion until the weight reaches the starting position.
  5. Repeat for the prescribed amount of repetitions in your program.

Muscles Worked

Front
Back

Primary

Where Wrist Roller does most of its work.

Secondary

Assisting and stabilising muscles.

Alternatives to Wrist Roller

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 Cable Wrist Curl

    Cable Wrist Curl

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

    beginner Cable Machine
  2. 2 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
  3. 3 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
  4. 4 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
  5. 5 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
  6. 6 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
  7. 7 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
  8. 8 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
  9. 9 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
  10. 10 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

Frequently Asked Questions

What muscles do wrist roller work?

Wrist Roller primarily works the forearms. The shoulders assist as secondary muscles.

What equipment do I need for wrist roller?

The source dataset does not record equipment for wrist roller. Check the instructions above before you set up.

Wrist Roller: is it suitable for beginners?

Yes. Wrist Roller 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 wrist roller?

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

Can Fitnit count my wrist roller reps automatically?

Not automatically yet. Fitnit's AI rep counting covers push-ups, squats, dumbbell curls, crunches and pull-ups today; wrist roller 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 Wrist Roller 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.