Extensor pollicis brevis and extensor pollicis longus

These two muscles are responsible for the extension of the wrist joint, extension and abduction of the fingers, and the extension of the thumb. In Latin, extensor pollicis translates as “extender of the thumb”. Brevis means “short”, and longus means “long”.

If a gym-goers wishes to the directly train the wrist extenders they can do so with the reverse wrist curl, which can be performed with a barbell or a dumbbell.

Exercises

• Reverse wrist curl

Other names

• Forearm
• Wrist extender