Barbell reverse curl is a great weight lifting exercise for multiple muscle groups including back, neck and biceps. For this reason it is important to concentrate on your forearms as the main area of exertion. variation of a specific exercise is intended to work different subgroups of muscles, or work the same muscles in slightly different ways. There are many exercise variations to this strength exercise. Some of the variations use for reverse curl: 1  Dumbbell Reverse Curl.