Forearms

[iaeyes]

Anybody have any suggestions on building forearm size besides using wrist curls? It's one of the body parts that Im behind on and well as my calves. Also how many times a week can I work my forearms? Thank you all.

 

[tri-terror]

Cross body hammer curls, reverse grip barbell curls, 1 arm reverse grip cable curls to name a few.

You can work them twice a week, they recover pretty fast.

 

[iaeyes]

Thank you

 

[Ironbuilt]

Tri said enuf.. Anything reverse grip . But i also love the standing wrist curls with olympic bar. Forearm workouts rock!

 

[fubaseball]

Farmers carry. I know or heard a guy(think it was BigDaveSmith) that would carry heavy DB's around the gym.

My grip gets worked every day... I'm also a plumber and it gets killed at work too

 

[striffe]

Tri said enuf.. Anything reverse grip . But i also love the standing wrist curls with olympic bar. Forearm workouts rock!

Hey did you hear that? There's another plumber in the house.

 

[ASHOP]

Cross body hammer curls, reverse grip barbell curls, 1 arm reverse grip cable curls to name a few.

You can work them twice a week, they recover pretty fast.

I like all those exercises. I usually finish mine up with a few sets of the Ivanko Hand Gripper too.

 

[iaeyes]

Thank you for your input! Very helpful. I had forgotten about the farmers carry.

 

[b12]

Chins off your door frame (I know a few rock climbers who look like Popeye) and use sponges in your hands when you do curls.

 

[Brandon91]

Farmers walks, deadlifts, heavy shrugs, fat grip Pull ups, hammer curls and dead hangs

 

[highdrum]

I have grown my forearms to 15", may be part of my gentics, but what I have found the most effective is barbell curls with say 10-20 lbs on a 45lb barbell, then laying my forarms on my quads, and keep the wrist around knee area, then performing a set until faliure, I then flip my grip over to an overhand grip, and repeat till failure. Also, isolating the arms from the wrist back is important, try setting the smith machine at chest leve, then extend your arms straight out, and rest your wrists on the smith bar, then proceed to do your forearms exercises, this isolates the forearms very well.

 

[dudcki27]

Do not use lifting straps or hooks ever! These will cause your grip strength and forearm muscles to suffer.

 

[b12]

Do not use lifting straps or hooks ever! These will cause your grip strength and forearm muscles to suffer.

:yeahthat:

If you can't hold it, don't lift it.

 

[Ed17447]

I let my grip build my forearms also

 

[fubaseball]

Do not use lifting straps or hooks ever! These will cause your grip strength and forearm muscles to suffer.

I have to disagree... I ALWAYS use straps for deads/back. My grip is not hurting and my forearms are big.

Look at the World Strongest Man competitors, they always use straps for deads, etc... But they all have huge forearms and can carry 400lb in each hand for substantial distances...

 

[b12]

I have to disagree... I ALWAYS use straps for deads/back. My grip is not hurting and my forearms are big.

Look at the World Strongest Man competitors, they always use straps for deads, etc... But they all have huge forearms and can carry 400lb in each hand for substantial distances...

Do you use them on all sets? Or just when your grip fails? Strength and size don't reflect one another. I see people use straps and hooks on EVERY set --I think that's what we're addressing.

I used to get tendonitis in my forearms until I abandoned straps. And its been years since I competed, but correct me if I'm wrong, you still can't use straps in powerlifting competitions.

Meh, you also have a job (plumber) where your forearms get a good workout, too. Far cry from someone who doesn't do a lot of work with their hands, and is looking to develop their forearms just in the gym!

 

[fubaseball]

I use them on every set... Only way I feel I can get heavy enough to overload the larger muscles.

My grip gets worked with things such as farmers carrys, tire flips, etc...

I don't powerlift, I do strongman. We are allowed to use straps

 

[thebrick]

I used something a couple weeks ago I really liked for forearms for the first time ever.

It was a piece of 2" PVC pipe with a hole drilled in the middle (maybe 18" long) with about 6 feet of nylon rope knotted and fed through the hole in the pipe. On the end on the rope was a hook which was latched to the cable on the stack machine (flyes, pushdowns, etc.) Arms extended while holding the pipe and the rope fully extended, you turned the PVC pipe with your forearms slowly raising the weight on the stack as the rope winds up the pipe. When at the top, you reverse and lower the weight. Talk about a burn in the forearms!

 

[dudcki27]

I have to disagree... I ALWAYS use straps for deads/back. My grip is not hurting and my forearms are big.

Look at the World Strongest Man competitors, they always use straps for deads, etc... But they all have huge forearms and can carry 400lb in each hand for substantial distances...

I'm sure if you did deads for a while without straps you grip would get stronger and your forearms more defined. But if you always you straps for all sets of deads how do you know your grip isn't hurting?

 

[b12]

I use them on every set... Only way I feel I can get heavy enough to overload the larger muscles.

My grip gets worked with things such as farmers carrys, tire flips, etc...

I don't powerlift, I do strongman. We are allowed to use straps

Well, the OP was talking about exercises to build the forearms, not justified reasons to use straps.

Strongman competition and training is way different that gym training. Haven't seen many gyms with tractor tires on the dumbbell racks, combat ropes, or other weird-awkward equipment in them. Oh, I'm sure there are some, but there are many more without them.