10 Best Cable Reverse Curl Alternatives for When Cables Are Unavailable

If you can't do the Cable Reverse Curl, use barbell reverse curls, EZ-bar reverse curls, dumbbell reverse curls, hammer curls, or Zottman curls. Keep wrists pronated, elbows pinned at your sides, and control the eccentric phase to emphasize the brachialis and brachioradialis instead of overloading the biceps brachii.

Original Exercise: Cable Reverse Curl

Cable Reverse Curl
Primary Muscle
Biceps
Equipment
Cable
Difficulty
Beginner
Type
Isolation
Secondary Muscles: Forearms
How to Perform Cable Reverse Curl
  1. Attach a straight bar to a low pulley cable machine.
  2. Stand facing the machine with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent.
  3. Grasp the bar with an underhand grip, hands shoulder-width apart.
  4. Keep your elbows close to your sides and your upper arms stationary throughout the exercise.
  5. Exhale and curl the bar up towards your shoulders, contracting your biceps.
  6. Pause for a moment at the top, squeezing your biceps.
  7. Inhale and slowly lower the bar back to the starting position, fully extending your arms.
  8. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Ranked Cable Reverse Curl Alternatives

Best Match
Cable Close Grip Curl

1. Cable Close Grip Curl

96% Match
Biceps Cable Beginner Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Attach a straight bar to a low pulley cable machine.
  2. Stand facing the machine with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent.
  3. Grasp the bar with an underhand grip, hands shoulder-width apart.
  4. Keep your elbows close to your sides and your upper arms stationary throughout the exercise.
  5. Exhale and curl the bar up towards your shoulders, contracting your biceps.
Cable Hammer Curls - Rope Attachment

2. Cable Hammer Curls - Rope Attachment

96% Match
Biceps Cable Beginner Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Attach a rope attachment to a low pulley and stand facing the machine about 12 inches away from it.
  2. Grasp the rope with a neutral (palms-in) grip and stand straight up keeping the natural arch of the back and your torso stationary.
  3. Put your elbows in by your side and keep them there stationary during the entire movement. Tip: Only the forearms should move; not your upper arms. This will be your starting position.
  4. Using your biceps, pull your arms up as you exhale until your biceps touch your forearms. Tip: Remember to keep the elbows in and your upper arms stationary.
  5. After a 1 second contraction where you squeeze your biceps, slowly start to bring the weight back to the original position.
High Cable Curls

3. High Cable Curls

96% Match
Biceps Cable Beginner Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand between a couple of high pulleys and grab a handle in each arm. Position your upper arms in a way that they are parallel to the floor with the palms of your hands facing you. This will be your starting position.
  2. Curl the handles towards you until they are next to your ears. Make sure that as you do so you flex your biceps and exhale. The upper arms should remain stationary and only the forearms should move. Hold for a second in the contracted position as you squeeze the biceps.
  3. Slowly bring back the arms to the starting position.
  4. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Overhead Cable Curl

4. Overhead Cable Curl

96% Match
Biceps Cable Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. To begin, set a weight that is comfortable on each side of the pulley machine. Note: Make sure that the amount of weight selected is the same on each side.
  2. Now adjust the height of the pulleys on each side and make sure that they are positioned at a height higher than that of your shoulders.
  3. Stand in the middle of both sides and use an underhand grip (palms facing towards the ceiling) to grab each handle. Your arms should be fully extended and parallel to the floor with your feet positioned shoulder width apart from each other. Your body should be evenly aligned the handles. This is the starting position.
  4. While exhaling, slowly squeeze the biceps on each side until your forearms and biceps touch.
  5. While inhaling, move your forearms back to the starting position. Note: Your entire body is stationary during this exercise except for the forearms.
Cable Curl

5. Cable Curl

95.4% Match
Biceps Cable Beginner Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand facing the cable machine with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  2. Grasp the cable attachment with an underhand grip, palms facing up.
  3. Keep your elbows close to your sides and your upper arms stationary.
  4. Exhale and curl the cable attachment towards your shoulders, contracting your biceps.
  5. Pause for a moment at the top of the movement, squeezing your biceps.
Cable Drag Curl

6. Cable Drag Curl

95.4% Match
Biceps Cable Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand facing a cable machine with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  2. Grasp the cable attachment with an underhand grip, palms facing up, and arms fully extended.
  3. Keeping your upper arms stationary, exhale and curl the cable attachment towards your shoulders by contracting your biceps.
  4. Pause for a moment at the top of the movement, squeezing your biceps.
  5. Inhale and slowly lower the cable attachment back to the starting position, fully extending your arms.
Standing Biceps Cable Curl

7. Standing Biceps Cable Curl

95.2% Match
Biceps Cable Beginner Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand up with your torso upright while holding a cable curl bar that is attached to a low pulley. Grab the cable bar at shoulder width and keep the elbows close to the torso. The palm of your hands should be facing up (supinated grip). This will be your starting position.
  2. While holding the upper arms stationary, curl the weights while contracting the biceps as you breathe out. Only the forearms should move. Continue the movement until your biceps are fully contracted and the bar is at shoulder level. Hold the contracted position for a second as you squeeze the muscle.
  3. Slowly begin to bring the curl bar back to starting position as your breathe in.
  4. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Cable Hammer Curl (with Rope)

8. Cable Hammer Curl (with Rope)

94.4% Match
Biceps Cable Beginner Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand upright with your feet shoulder-width apart and a slight bend in your knees.
  2. Hold the cable rope attachment with an underhand grip, palms facing each other, and your arms fully extended.
  3. Keeping your upper arms stationary, exhale and curl the weights while contracting your biceps.
  4. Continue to raise the cable rope attachment until your biceps are fully contracted and the rope is at shoulder level.
  5. Hold the contracted position for a brief pause as you squeeze your biceps.
Cable Reverse One Arm Curl

9. Cable Reverse One Arm Curl

92.2% Match
Biceps Cable Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand facing a cable machine with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  2. Grasp the cable handle with an underhand grip, palm facing down.
  3. Keep your elbow close to your side and slowly curl your forearm up towards your shoulder.
  4. Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower your forearm back down to the starting position.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Cable Reverse Preacher Curl

10. Cable Reverse Preacher Curl

91.2% Match
Biceps Cable Beginner Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Adjust the cable machine so that the preacher curl pad is at chest height.
  2. Sit on the preacher curl bench and place your upper arms on the pad, with your palms facing down and your elbows fully extended.
  3. Grab the cable handles with an underhand grip, shoulder-width apart.
  4. Keeping your upper arms stationary, exhale and curl the handles towards your shoulders, contracting your biceps.
  5. Pause for a moment at the top of the movement, squeezing your biceps.

Why You Might Need a Cable Reverse Curl Alternative

You might substitute the Cable Reverse Curl because the machine is busy, you feel wrist or elbow irritation, or you want different mechanical stress. Reverse-grip variations shift torque from the long head of the biceps to the brachialis and brachioradialis; maintain a pronated wrist and fixed elbow to preserve that activation. Some athletes choose barbell or EZ variants to load heavier, while others prefer dumbbells or Zottman curls to correct wrist mobility and reduce joint strain. If you handle a wrist complaint, favor neutral grips (hammer curls) and slow eccentrics to keep forearm loading without painful wrist extension.

How to Choose the Right Substitute

Match the substitute to your goal, equipment, and joint history. If you want max overload use a barbell or EZ-bar reverse curl and cue a tight wrist pronation and low-range-of-motion lockout to target the brachialis. If you have wrist pain, pick hammer curls or Zottman curls, holding a neutral grip and performing slow 3–4 second eccentrics. For unilateral imbalances choose single-arm dumbbell reverse curls and keep the elbow fixed against your rib cage. Track load, rep range, and tempo so you can progress tension while preserving wrist alignment.

Frequently Asked Questions

What muscles does Cable Reverse Curl work?

The Cable Reverse Curl primarily targets the brachialis and brachioradialis with secondary biceps brachii involvement. Using a pronated grip shifts moment arm away from the biceps long head, so keep wrists pronated and elbows locked to maximize forearm activation.

What is the best bodyweight alternative to Cable Reverse Curl?

A pronated inverted row (body row) with a narrow, overhand grip is the best bodyweight option to mimic reverse-curl mechanics. Pull with wrists pronated, keep elbows close to your sides, and focus on forearm-driven elbow flexion to load the brachioradialis and brachialis.

Can I build muscle without doing Cable Reverse Curl?

Yes. You can stimulate the same muscles with barbell or dumbbell reverse curls, hammer curls, and Zottman curls; use progressive overload and strict form. Prioritize pronation or neutral grips and controlled eccentrics to target the brachialis and brachioradialis effectively.

More Exercise Alternatives

Find Alternatives for Any Exercise

Use the exercise substitution finder to compare ranked alternatives for your available equipment and training preference.

Try the Exercise Substitution Finder →