Forearms/Wrists

Faltermyer

Ive always been fairly skinny, but have over the past few years bulked up a little so have gained a fair bit of strength and gained a little weight in the right places.

By no means do I want to get massive.

Im happy with my legs, chest and shoulders. Upper arms are coming along well for my size/frame.

However, my forearms are still incredibly skinny, and really look it, I refer to them as "Somalian" style wrists!

Just looking for some advice on exercises to build my wrists/forearms a little??

I have tried various ones on&off to no avail(though that may be due to the on/off nature).- Wrist curls, narrow grip reverse bicep curls(i.e. palm facing floor not roof), wrist-twists(weight on rope tied to narrow bar which you twist to raise/lower the weights)?

I normally get to the gym 2 or 3 times a week, and I eat pretty well. (i.e. i eat a fair bit more than most guys my size, and always make sure to eat a lot of meat)

dudara

Get yourself a pair of good grippers. Something like the captains of crush. and just use them whenever you can. You'll notice the difference.

leonotron

grippers are crap, forget them. There is an excercise you can do with a dumb bell, kneel down and place your fore arm on the bench so the wrist leans over, then just lift the wrist up and down slowly. Bit of a crap explanation but it's one rock climbers use to strengthen the forearm

Faltermyer

Originally posted by leonotron
There is an excercise you can do with a dumb bell, kneel down and place your fore arm on the bench so the wrist leans over, then just lift the wrist up and down slowly

Isnt that just a wrist curl?? Would you advise that with palm facing the sky or the floor - or both?? Thats one ive tried in the past. Im thinking my lack of results in the past may be down to lack of persistance with these exercises?

How often would you recommend working the wrists?
I do each major muscle group once a week normally, except for ABs which I do every session.

leonotron

palms to the floor, I work each group twice a week. i tend not to do these curls though unless my tendonitis is giving me problems

logic1

Originally posted by leonotron
grippers are crap, forget them. There is an excercise you can do with a dumb bell, kneel down and place your fore arm on the bench so the wrist leans over, then just lift the wrist up and down slowly. Bit of a crap explanation but it's one rock climbers use to strengthen the forearm

Captains of crush grippers are some of the best forearm strenghtening tools available. Please research before branding a whole product line as crap.

Captains of crush specialise in grip strength and forearm strenghtening.

.logic.

dudara

Captains of Crush

check out the captains of crush grippers here. I bought my boyfriend No 1 and and 2 for christmas, and they are far from easy to close. Don't knock it until you've tried it.

leonotron

Sorry, I've just spoken to pro's in the past, who need forarm strength for their sport, and they say these make no difference.

Faltermyer

Right.

Reckon I should start with the "Trainer" which is 100lbs resistance? (~40kgs)

Because even that sounds like a lot of weight for me.

Considering I weigh 64kgs, bench 50kgs, and bicep curl 25kgs(Thats with 4sets of 6-8controlled reps, 30-45secs between sets)- would I have any hope of even half closing it?? And if not, is it really gona build any strenght/mass if I cant even complete the movement half way??

Are there lighter ones available?

Anybody any opinions on the "Snowballs" on the above website?

Also, what did it cost you in shipping for the grippers?
Anybody ordered a single gripper & can tell me how shipping was?

Musashi

forarm strength for their sport, and they say these make no difference.

There are different types of grip strength.Grippers like the CoC work your crushing grip strength.Titans Telegraph key works your pinch grip, try a farmers walk with two 25kilo plates pinched in your fingertips to see the difference!
Rock climbers may need to pinch grip an outcropping to climb up it.A Judo player however need a full crush grip on a suit or arm to throw an opponent.
Rope roll ups etc. work through a range of motion and really burn the forearms but are more stamina work.Try doing explosive sets on a CoC Trainer or No.1 gripper to failure.More like a sprint or Squat routine for the grip
Finally, make sure you allow the muscles to heal after training them and stretch your wrists through the full range of flexion.The Snowball things seem to be more for "active rest" than actually training the grip.A tennis ball may do as well?

would I have any hope of even half closing it?? And if not, is it really gona build any strenght/mass if I cant even complete the movement half way??

Even if you can't close it you could do negative reps using both hands to close it and letting it open under control resisting with one hand.Same idea as lowering a weight under control until you are strong enough to lift it.Trying all out to squeeze it shut will also build the muscles until you can close it, like doing partials with the next weight you want to be able to curl,press, whatever.

dudara

I can't remember how much the whole thing cost with two grippers and postage. I have feeling that it might have been $40 for the grippers and $17 for P&P. But they did arrive in a matter of days, which was really cool.

Faltermyer

1 Trainer Gripper ordered.

$11 shipping/handling.

So bout €26 all in. Not too bad.

Gona make myself one of roller-bars for twisting with weights on it. Not paying $50 for something that can be made with a piece of wood and some rope!

Faltermyer

Gripper arrived this morning! Thats pretty damn good - like 4 days, though at $11 shipping for something so small, it probably should be that fast.

Im a little surprised - I thought Id barely be able to move it based on the quoted 100lb's resistance but I suppose since ive never tried one before Id no way of properly measuring what would be right for me. On a quick try, I can close it about 70-90%(depending on which way used) of the way with right hand, and 50-70% with left hand, so I think its defintely the right one to start with and will do me a while.

Cheers for the help.

dudara

have a look around on the net, there are various methods for holding and closing them, some harder than others.

enjoy!

Faltermyer

Well I definitely should not have gone for anymore than the Trainer one.

Had a proper session with it last night after Forearm/Chest/Biceps workout, and DAMN but its a lot harder to get even half closed after only 1 or two sets!

Really gona have to make sure to stretch hands even more now that Ill be training with it because I reckon if I dont ill be walking around with my hands in fists the whole time!