Exercises for the Pronator Teres

Running along your forearm are a collection of muscles that control movement at your wrist and hand. The pronator teres is amongst them and the muscle is responsible for pronating your wrist, which means it rotates your wrist from a palms-up to a palm-down position. In addition, it assists the biceps with elbow flexion, or bending your elbow. By training consistently with dumbbells, you can increase the strength in your pronator teres.

To perform the seated dumbbell wrist pronation exercise, sit perpendicular to a surface level with the height of your shoulder. The dumbbell should be top weighted so that there’s more weight on the end closest to your thumb. Hold a dumbbell in one hand and set your forearm onto the surface with your forearm parallel to the ground. Your wrist should hang off the edge and your thumb pointed upward. Rotate your wrist forward so that your palm faces the floor, and then rotate it back to starting position.

Lie sideways on a flat bench or on the floor with a dumbbell held in the hand on your top arm. Hold your elbow against your torso with your elbow bent to 90 degrees. The dumbbell should be weighted so that it’s heavier on the end closest to your pinky. Start with your thumb facing upward and then rotate your wrists until your thumb is pointed down. Rotate your wrist to starting position.

When you’re performing lying pronation with your arm on the bottom, you hold the dumbbell with the arm underneath your body instead of on top. Your elbow should be bent to 90 degrees and the dumbbell should be weighted so that more of it’s located at the end closest to your thumb. Start with your wrist rotated so that your thumb is pointed down. Rotate your dumbbell so that the thumb ends facing upward.

The curl and press involves wrist pronation and elbow flexion. Stand and hold a pair of dumbbells down by your sides with your palms facing forward. Keep your elbows in to the side of your torso as you bend your elbow and perform a biceps curl. With the weights are at your shoulders, prontate your wrists so that your palms finish facing each other. Push the dumbbells over your head until your arms are extended. Lower the dumbbell down to your shoulders and then rotate your wrists back and lower the weights down in front of your torso.