forearms with dumbbells
22 exercises for forearms you can do with dumbbells.
The forearms are the muscle group most people neglect – until your grip fails mid-deadlift or your elbow starts protesting after too many curls. With dumbbells, you actually have everything you need to build them properly.
It's not just about bicep curls. Forearm movement patterns cover flexion, extension, pronation, and supination – and all four need training if you want strength that holds up under real load. Skip the wrist rotations and you risk the classic overuse injuries: tennis elbow and golfer's elbow.
Here you'll find 22 exercises, from compound movements like Zottman curls and alternating hammer curls to isolated wrist work on a bench. Choose based on your goal – and expect to find weaknesses you didn't know you had.
Curls that do more than one thing
The Zottman curl is one of the smartest exercises on this list: you curl up with a supinated grip and rotate your wrists to pronation on the way down. This means both the biceps and the forearm extensors work hard in the same movement. Zottman preacher curl delivers the same effect but with your arm supported against the preacher bench, isolating the movement even further.
Alternating hammer curls and crossbody hammer curls train the brachioradialis – the muscle along the outside of the forearm that's often weaker than the biceps. Hammer curl on preacher bench is the variation for you if you want to eliminate body sway from the equation entirely. Rotational bicep curl adds a supination movement during the curl and requires more wrist control throughout the entire range of motion.
For extra isolation, there's concentration bicep curl and standing concentration bicep curl, where your arm is fixed against your thigh and you can't swing your body. Standing rotational dumbbell curl combines supination with a standing position – good when you want to increase the neuromuscular challenge.
Pronation and supination – what nobody trains
This is where most programs have a gap. Pronation and supination are wrist rotation movements – like screwing in a screw or pouring from a pitcher – and these muscles are rarely fatigued after standard curl training.
Pronation hold with dumbbells and prone dumbbell supination are straight isolations for each direction respectively. They look unassuming but quickly reveal if one side is weaker. Seated wrist rotation with weight, palms down and seated wrist sweep with weight, palms up complement with a more controlled seated execution.
For unilateral training – which physical therapists often recommend to find and correct side imbalances – there's seated single-arm pronation hold, palms down and seated single-arm supination hold, palms up. Use light weight and full range of motion; it's not a strength test but about precision.
Wrist training on the bench
Pronated wrist curl with dumbbells over bench and supinated wrist curl with dumbbells over bench are classic wrist curl variations where your forearm rests on the bench and your wrist moves freely. The pronated variation trains the flexors on the inside of the forearm; the supinated variation changes the movement angle and emphasizes different muscle fibers.
Alternating dumbbell curls on incline bench and dumbbell rows on incline bench are incline variations that change the shoulder angle and range of motion for the biceps throughout the movement – a small adjustment that makes a noticeable difference in muscle feel. Dumbbell clean is the explosive option on this list: a full-body movement where the forearms work isometrically to maintain grip during a fast pulling sequence.
How to structure your training
A practical approach is to combine two to three curl variations with one or two wrist rotation exercises per session. Perform the compound movements like Zottman curls and alternating hammer curls with moderate weight for 3–4 sets, then wrist isolation with lighter weight and focus on range of motion.
Unilateral training – the seated single-arm variations and concentration bicep curl – works well as a complement when you notice one side is lagging. Single-arm dumbbell raise is an alternative way to challenge your grip and wrist and forearm stability without focusing on curl mechanics.
Three sessions per week is enough for most people. The forearms recover quickly, but the wrists are sensitive to volume – increase gradually and prioritize form over weight, especially on pronation and supination exercises.