Back to Basics: Forearms
Well fellas, Thanksgiving is over and it is now the Christmas season. Pretty soon it will be New Years and before you know it the 2019 WB Fitness season will be upon us. With the new season coming up it is important that we go back over some of the basics. Today we will take a look at one of the most ignored spots of the body, the forearms.
Know your anatomy. Target your lifts. Put in the work. Despite what the weak and the lazy think, we aren’t just picking things up and putting them down. This is a science.
Forearms, like calves, are very hard to build. The muscle tissue is incredibly dense in the forearm and because of this, just training it as a secondary muscle group or even targeting them only once a week simply will not break down the fiber and allow for regrowth.
Because of the difficulty involved in adding strength, size and definition to the forearms I suggest some amount of high rep targeted forearm work every other day. Not only will this help you fill out your arms for that great t shirt look, but it will help you build the strength that is required for large back pulling lifts like deadlift and back row allowing for heavier lifts for more reps.
So here are X different things you can do to increase the size, strength and definition of your forearms
- Farmers Walks
Farmers walks are excellent for both forearm work and grip strength. This simple lift if done by holding a dumbbell in each hand and taking about 20 steps. The dumbbell
should be heavy enough so that the 20th step will be at the verge of failure (9.5 RPE). Doing this at the end of a workout a few times will be a good way to build that area up. A modification you can make that will really blast you is to hold dumbbells while climbing on the stairmaster. - Very High Reps
There is a reason that mechanics, plumbers or other tradesmen that frequently work with wrenches have huge forearms and that is the constant repetition of use. Those muscles are far too dense to get by with moderate or even large volume rep sets You will need to look in the 25-30 rep range for multiple sets of lifts to really make a difference. - Fat Gripz
Getting a set of Fat Gripz and using them on a few of your lifts like curls will help you blow up your forearms - Roll It Up.
Either get a forearm blaster or build one with a stick, rope and dowel at home. Whenever you have a little off time twist and roll adding weight when the current weight becomes too easy. - Ditch You Wrist Wraps
Different people have different opinions on wrist wraps for lifting. Personally, I tend not to use them. With the exception of last summer when I had a broken hand, I almost never use wrist wraps. I would much rather lower the weight than wrap the wrists. This isn’t because I feel that wrist wraps are in any way cheating. Your grip strength and endurance is the weak link in the chain when it comes to big lifts like the deadlift and patching that link will allow you to lift heavier. To my thinking, however, this is more
Check out Vince Gironda’s forearms on this wrapless deadlift.
about hitting PRs than it is about strength training or bodybuilding. I am looking for symmetrical growth. If you use wraps too often to support your forearm or grip strength you will wind up building the natural strength in those areas much slower. One of the reasons my forearms get so large and defined is because I am doing massive volume to failure without wraps. Sure, I could probably add 20% to my lifts which would tax the muscles harder, but I don’t think the benefit here outweighs the cost of not building up those areas on their own.
- Hold Exercises.
One good way to improve grip strength and to work on the forearms is to do barbell holds. With the safety bars on a low rack in the power rack place a barbell with about 75% of your 1RM for deadlift. Lift it off the rack and just stand in the top of deadlift position for 90 seconds before returning the weight to the rack. Do this about a dozen times at the end of your workout. - Reverse Curls
By reversing your grip position in a barbell curl you really smash your forearms. - Hammer Curls
Dumbbell hammer curls are one of the age old, tried and true lifts to build forearms. After I do 3 or 4 volume sets of hammers my forearms usually have an insane pump. - Palms up and Down Wrist Curls Over Bench
In Arnold’s blueprint to mass he includes massive volume wrist curls over the bench at
If it is so important to Arnold that he puts it in every workout then you are a fool to ignore it. Plus, the man knows how to rock a beater.
the end of nearly every workout. You can do this with a barbell or with dumbbells, but I feel the barbell is superior.
- Towel Pull Up Hang
Wrap a towel around a pull up bar and pull yourself off the floor. Hold there until your grip finally gives out. Do this a few times at the end of your workout.
Using these ten tips you will see increased size and strength in your forearms and grip strength. Not only will this look great when the spring comes, it will help with many of your lifts making them have a bigger impact on the muscles they target.
84 Days.
Grind On!
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