Advice on Forearm exercises

Comic Book Guy

Hi Guys.

Could somebody recommend a couple of forearm exercises.

I work out at home, have a bench and free weights.

Have increased muscle mass on my upper body but with the routine i'm doing have noticed no real size increase in my forearms.

Any advice will be gratefully received.

crimsonfire

That's really weird. I've been hitting the gym for a few months. While my overall definition has improved a little bit my forearms have gone to relatively Popeye like proportions haha. From what I've seen theres not much in the way of forearm workouts. I'd have thought they just get bigger as a side effect of other arm exercises.

Just thinking out loud though. Maybe someone with a bit more insight could answer your question.

itsallaboutheL

What does your training look like OP?

Any of
Deadlifts
Rows
Chins
Pullups
??

dromdrom

For forearms, deadlift deadlift deadlift.

pwd

Captains of Crush are good grippers. Most grippers are a bit too weak to be of much use. These are the opposite. The trainer and/or No 1 would be the ones of interest I would think.

http://www.ironmind.com/ironmind/opencms/Main/captainsofcrush.html

edit: Not sure if a strong grip has that much effect on your forearm size though. My right hand is a lot stronger than my left, I see, but my forearms are the same size, give or take a centimetre. Probably better off with the wrist exercises for forearm size then, I suppose.

nice_guy80

dumbbell hammer curls
reverse barbell curls
chin-ups!
reverse cable push downs
reverse wrist curls *
wrist curls *

the last two really isolate the wrist flexors and extensors

deadlift - for forearms????

n1ck

nice_guy80 wrote: »

deadlift - for forearms????

You've to grip the bar, i feel it in my forearms sometimes.

pwd

n1ck wrote: »

You've to grip the bar, i feel it in my forearms sometimes.

There doesn't seem to be much of a relationship between grip strength and forearm size (see my previous post).

Hanley

nice_guy80 wrote: »

deadlift - for forearms????

I know...

n1ck wrote: »

You've to grip the bar, i feel it in my forearms sometimes.

That's like saying squeezing your hands together REALLY tightly will make your forearms bigger.

d'Oracle

n1ck wrote: »

You've to grip the bar, i feel it in my forearms sometimes.

I felt my forearms doing the overhead press today.
That doesn't mean its a good exercise for forearm size.

Lloyd Christmas

I had a similar problem problem with my forearms,my left one was weak because of a recent fracture, so I found a good exercise to strengthen them. basically you get a bar,wrap a chain around it and put some weights on it (probably a terrible description but I know what I mean :P) then you hold the bar straight in front of you and just rotate the bar using only wrist movements.

Transform

dromdrom wrote: »

For forearms, deadlift deadlift deadlift.

agreed

and i would add in pull ups also

karltimber

I got 2 sets of similar grippers off ebay and leave 1 set in the car.
so on the way to work and back - when safe to do so - just pick them up and do sets of 10 in each hand * 3 or 4.

works well for me,

k

top madra

Hanley wrote: »

I know...



That's like saying squeezing your hands together REALLY tightly will make your forearms bigger.

why is farmer walks one of the best exercise's for forearms?
its all about grip,same as deadlift..

weak forearms = weak deadlift unless you use straps

deadlift builds up your grip strength

Hanley

top madra wrote: »

why is farmer walks one of the best forearms exercise's for forearms?
its all about grip,same as deadlift..

weak forearms = weak deadlift unless you use straps

deadlift builds up your grip strength

What are you talking about?

top madra

Hanley wrote: »

What are you talking about?

what dont you understand?

stronger grip equals stronger bigger forearms..

Hanley

top madra wrote: »

what dont you understand?

stronger grip equals stronger bigger forearms..

O RLY?

So anytime you get stronger, you get bigger??

If I just hod my arm flexed, will my bicep get bigger??

Should he sacrifice his entire body for the sake of his forearms??

top madra

Hanley wrote: »

O RLY?

So anytime you get stronger, you get bigger??

* nope,strength training and bodybuilding are different (i suspect you already know this but you are just trying to be a a$$hole) but as you get stonger YOU WILL get BIGGER..

If I just hod my arm flexed, will my bicep get bigger??

* never said it would...but you dont just grip the bar in a deadlift do you?

Should he sacrifice his entire body for the sake of his forearms??

*i dont even know how to answer this,because i havent a clue what you mean (srs)
do you mean hes gonna hurt his body by doing deadlifts? if you do,well LOL at you,you fail my friend..

or are you suggesting i said only work his forearms and nothing else?
i dont remember saying that,i only said deadlifts were good for building foremans......

Hanley

top madra wrote: »

Hanley wrote: »

O RLY?

So anytime you get stronger, you get bigger??

* nope,strength training and bodybuilding are different (i suspect you already know this but you are just trying to be a a$$hole) but as you get stonger YOU WILL get BIGGER..

If I just hod my arm flexed, will my bicep get bigger??

* never said it would...but you dont just grip the bar in a deadlift do you?

Should he sacrifice his entire body for the sake of his forearms??

*i dont even know how to answer this,because i havent a clue what you mean (srs)
do you mean hes gonna hurt his body by doing deadlifts? if you do,well LOL at you,you fail my friend..

or are you suggesting i said only work his forearms and nothing else?
i dont remember saying that,i only said deadlifts were good for building foremans......

I'm saying...

If he deadlifts for his forearms, his grip will be the first to go. If his grip goes first, the other, bigger, more important muscles don't get the overload they should.

Simple solution to that is to wear straps. But then his grip's deprived.

Solution to that is to deadlift heavy with straps, and then drop back and pull whatever he can strapless. Problem there is doing this hampers his recovery because deadlift volumes increased. Next problem is his deadlift/rest of the workout suffers because he's not recovering.

Solution to that....?? Don't deadlift for your forearms. If you want to do grip work for forearms, do static holds. Do Kroc Rows. Do double overhand shrugs and strap up when grip goes.

Then there's reverse curls, barbell, preacher, dumbbell, dumbbell preacher, hmmer curls, pin wheel curls, barbell curls while flexing your wrists...

There's tons of exercises that I'd turn to before deadlifts for forearm size, when you take the entire training effect into consideration.

sfag31

Do what ever farmers do.
They have thick forearms and huge hands.
They grip and carry heavy things around.
The clue is there.

Hanley

sfag31 wrote: »

Do what ever farmers do.
They have thick forearms and huge hands.
They grip and carry heavy things around.
The clue is there.

"Train" them all day, every day?

sfag31

I guess so.
Farmers dont tend to have big chests or bicips but they do have large, forearms, wrists and hands that twice the size of a "normal" person.
They use them all day every day so on that basis I guess you could say lots of isolated stimualtion in these areas works.
Different advice than for other body parts but there is what one might consider good supporting evidence.

d'Oracle

sfag31 wrote: »

I guess so.
Farmers dont tend to have big chests or bicips but they do have large, forearms, wrists and hands that twice the size of a "normal" person.

I think you are mixing them up with Sailor men.
Toot Toot.

top madra

Hanley wrote: »

top madra wrote: »

I'm saying...

If he deadlifts for his forearms, his grip will be the first to go. If his grip goes first, the other, bigger, more important muscles don't get the overload they should.

Simple solution to that is to wear straps. But then his grip's deprived.

Solution to that is to deadlift heavy with straps, and then drop back and pull whatever he can strapless. Problem there is doing this hampers his recovery because deadlift volumes increased. Next problem is his deadlift/rest of the workout suffers because he's not recovering.

Solution to that....?? Don't deadlift for your forearms. If you want to do grip work for forearms, do static holds. Do Kroc Rows. Do double overhand shrugs and strap up when grip goes.

Then there's reverse curls, barbell, preacher, dumbbell, dumbbell preacher, hmmer curls, pin wheel curls, barbell curls while flexing your wrists...

There's tons of exercises that I'd turn to before deadlifts for forearm size, when you take the entire training effect into consideration.

you dont deadlift for your forearms you deadlift for strength and as a result of heavy gripping your forearms will get stronger...

while i dont disagree with what you posted above i do disagree with the way you knocked my previous two posts....dont be so quick to knock people in future,just because you have a higher post count than me doesnt give you a reason to be a a$$hole

(if you think what i posted is wrong prove it rather than posting bull**** i already know) rem i said farmers walk is best but so is deadlifting..

any guy that deadlifts 3xweek will have bigger forearms than somebody doing reverse curls......

brianthebard

sfag31 wrote: »

I guess so.
Farmers dont tend to have big chests or bicips but they do have large, forearms, wrists and hands that twice the size of a "normal" person.
They use them all day every day so on that basis I guess you could say lots of isolated stimualtion in these areas works.
Different advice than for other body parts but there is what one might consider good supporting evidence.

I mean this in the nicest possible way but how many farmers do you actually know?

OP would be best trying some of the curl and row variations that Hanley has outlined already, from my limited experience pin wheel curls have been good for growth of the 'upper' part of the forearm, and high rep rows and to a lesser extent reverse grip curls have worked the 'lower' part.

arybvtcw0eolkf

Comic Book Guy wrote: »

Hi Guys.

Could somebody recommend a couple of forearm exercises.

I work out at home, have a bench and free weights.

Have increased muscle mass on my upper body but with the routine i'm doing have noticed no real size increase in my forearms.

Any advice will be gratefully received.

You know what, I'm going to suggest you ignore training your forearms altogether and just let them grow with the rest of your body.

DL's, row's, curls (preacher, hammer, straight bar etc etc ) - won't matter a damn, you'll grow..

By growing/adding bodyweight I bet my life your forearms won't lag behind.

Don't waste time on forearms which would be better served by concentrating more on the above.

Keep it simple.

Tonto86

I'm confused. Do i need to become a farmer to get big forarms? Should i start deadliftin cows?

dromdrom

Why does everything here develop into a pen!s measuring competition, if you want bigger forearms do deadlifts simple answer, yes your grip strength will give up first but just keep on deadlifting until your grip strength catches up with the rest of your body end of , the constant heavy overload will develop forearms very quickly. Come to think of it bent over rows with a front grip would probably help to.

d'Oracle

Tabata fat bar Deadlifts and Pullups.
For a brief time your forearms will be feckin Immense.

nice_guy80

top madra wrote: »

Hanley wrote: »

you dont deadlift for your forearms you deadlift for strength and as a result of heavy gripping your forearms will get stronger...

while i dont disagree with what you posted above i do disagree with the way you knocked my previous two posts....dont be so quick to knock people in future,just because you have a higher post count than me doesnt give you a reason to be a a$$hole

(if you think what i posted is wrong prove it rather than posting bull**** i already know) rem i said farmers walk is best but so is deadlifting..

any guy that deadlifts 3xweek will have bigger forearms than somebody doing reverse curls......

agreed. unless he's doing deadlifts one day, and then the reverse curls another day...

Comic Book Guy

Thanksfor all the feedback and advice lads, much appreciated.
Will take it on board and see how i progress.

Ouijaboard

Same ould shiite going on here....:rolleyes:

Deadlifts wont build forearms adequately unless you've got really good forearm genetics....in the same bloody way as mountain biking wont build the calves unless you've great calf building genetics.

In the same way as barbell rows wont build the rear delts and bench press wont build the front delts unless you've got great potential for growth in the shoulders.

You want to build the forearms you have to hit them directly with isolation forearm work in addition to deads, farmers walk, shrugs, plate pinches etc.

The exercises have already been mentioned...particularly good ones are reverse barbell curls, behind the back barbell wrist curls, hammer curls and pinwheels or wrist rollers. If using wrist rollers though you need to anchor the weight or stand on a chair while doing them as holding the roller out in front is not going to allow you to add enough weight.

The static exercises mentioned above will build grip strength and some size but the forearms will need to be hit very hard to put substantial size into them. Genetics is a big factor when it comes to forearm size....ditto calf size!

Hanley

cougar1 wrote: »

Same ould shiite going on here....:rolleyes:

Deadlifts wont build forearms adequately unless you've got really good forearm genetics....in the same bloody way as mountain biking wont build the calves unless you've great calf building genetics.

In the same way as barbell rows wont build the rear delts and bench press wont build the front delts unless you've got great potential for growth in the shoulders.

You want to build the forearms you have to hit them directly with isolation forearm work in addition to deads, farmers walk, shrugs, plate pinches etc.

The exercises have already been mentioned...particularly good ones are reverse barbell curls, behind the back barbell wrist curls, hammer curls and pinwheels or wrist rollers. If using wrist rollers though you need to anchor the weight or stand on a chair while doing them as holding the roller out in front is not going to allow you to add enough weight.

The static exercises mentioned above will build grip strength and some size but the forearms will need to be hit very hard to put substantial size into them. Genetics is a big factor when it comes to forearm size....ditto calf size!

Thank you.

As a frame of reference, I think I can count the times I've trained my forearms in the last 18 months on one hand, but both my mum and dad have big fivearms, so I don't need to.

Ouijaboard

Hanley wrote: »

Thank you.

As a frame of reference, I think I can count the times I've trained my forearms in the last 18 months on one hand, but both my mum and dad have big fivearms, so I don't need to.

Holy fcuk hanley, impressive, forearms like baseball bats, bigger than baseball bats! No you definitely dont need any extra work I'd imagine with the amount of weight you are shifting that even pretty bloody stubborn forearms would have to pop!

Mine are stubborn as fck, along with my calves, yes I inherited both, I have to really hit the fckers from all angles to get them to respond. My forearms had the initial spurt from generic 'heavy lifting' for a couple years but then just stopped.

It wasn't till hit them 2/3 times a week at the end of a days lifting for about 15/20 mins to really fry em, that they have made a noticeable improvement. They still lag a bit though and I guess they always will to a certain extent.

Hanley

cougar1 wrote: »

Holy fcuk hanley, impressive, forearms like baseball bats, bigger than baseball bats! No you definitely dont need any extra work I'd imagine with the amount of weight you are shifting that even pretty bloody stubborn forearms would have to pop!

Mine are stubborn as fck, along with my calves, yes I inherited both, I have to really hit the fckers from all angles to get them to respond. My forearms had the initial spurt from generic 'heavy lifting' for a couple years but then just stopped.

It wasn't till hit them 2/3 times a week at the end of a days lifting for about 15/20 mins to really fry em, that they have made a noticeable improvement. They still lag a bit though and I guess they always will to a certain extent.

And you've proved your point!! - My forearms have always been disproportionately big, it's great because it's the one muscle group most people see every day. Nothing cooler than big forearms and big neck (the latter is something I need..), AND I don't need to ever train them to get them like that

I'd like big calves, but I really just don't care enough.

d'Oracle

I wish I had big forearms.

Hanley

d'Oracle wrote: »

I wish I had big forearms.

Obese forearms?

arybvtcw0eolkf

Hanley wrote: »

As a frame of reference, I think I can count the times I've trained my forearms in the last 18 months on one hand

I think I can count the amount of time's I've trained forearms in the last 18 years

I really think they're a muscle group which will grow with the rest of your body and don't require any extra work for the vast, very vast, majority of people.

Must airbrush that pint of Guinness out of my avatar

**Done, and the pint is gone!!**

Hanley

Tegan Mealy Surfboard wrote: »

I think I can count the amount of time's I've trained forearms in the last 18 years

I really think they're a muscle group which will grow with the rest of your body and don't require any extra work for the vast, very vast, majority of people.

Yah cos grabbing onto ppl all the time in judo won't have any effect :D

arybvtcw0eolkf

Hanley wrote: »

Yah cos grabbing onto ppl all the time in judo won't have any effect :D

Or holding onto a pint of Guinness for dear life

chadmustang

fat gripz

xgtdec

So just a quick question since the topic is up....i find that im building muscle everywhere through my workouts and i have all the squats dead's bench's etc i could wish for, but the grip and forearm is something that has not improved, as an example if im doing hammer curls, my grip will tap out long before any of my arm will, would doing some gripper sets improve this or does it just come in time?

Hanley

Hanley wrote: »

Solution to that....?? Don't deadlift for your forearms. If you want to do grip work for forearms, do static holds. Do Kroc Rows. Do double overhand shrugs and strap up when grip goes.

Then there's reverse curls, barbell, preacher, dumbbell, dumbbell preacher, hmmer curls, pin wheel curls, barbell curls while flexing your wrists...

xgtdec wrote: »

So just a quick question since the topic is up....i find that im building muscle everywhere through my workouts and i have all the squats dead's bench's etc i could wish for, but the grip and forearm is something that has not improved, as an example if im doing hammer curls, my grip will tap out long before any of my arm will, would doing some gripper sets improve this or does it just come in time?

See above.

You're having trouble with supporting strength, your ability to keep your hands closed.

Grippers train crushing strength, closing your hand against external resistance. They're different types of strength, and while the latter may carry over to the former, you'd be better just training the problem you have directly rather than training something else and hoping it works.

kevpants

Firmly on the deadlifts not adding forearm size side myself.

I deadlift a lot and my grip is rock solid. Never lost a deadlift on grip. Yet I have the forearms of a female watch model.

Deadlift grip strength is mostly neural. That's why it burns your CNS more than builds any appreciable forearm size.

Forearms are like box jumps, if you want to really make a difference you need to work on getting new parents.