It would be so easy to build a rope set of forearms by squeezing a can of spinach and inhaling it in one mouthful for everyone not named Popeye. Unfortunately, we have to work with forearm exercises to build forearm size and strength because let’s admit it, they’re challenging to grow, and here’s why.
First, many of the muscles in your forearms are slow-twitch dominant. These endurance-based muscles are built for sustained activity and are engaged in tasks like gripping and carrying. The endurance-based focus needs a reliance on a steady blood supply, which means they’re less responsive to growth than fast-twitch muscles, making it harder to add muscle there.
Second, your genetics play a significant role. Building forearm muscle becomes more challenging if you have a longer tendon and a shorter muscle belly. On the other hand, if you’re blessed with a shorter tendon and longer muscle belly, developing those Popeye-sized arms becomes easier.
If you’re ready to go to work on your forearms, here are 10 of the best forearm exercises for them.
Why These Are The 10 Forearm Exercises
When it comes to building muscular forearms, variety, and progressive overload are the name of the game. You can’t just hit them with the same move and load over and over and expect growth.
The muscles in your forearms have different functions—some handle grip strength, others control wrist movement—so you’ve got to hit them from all angles and functions. You must train them with isolation and compound exercises because the compound moves allow you to lift more weight.
These ten forearm exercises ensure no part of your forearms is left behind.
Doing tons of wrist curls and extensions with dumbbells is ok, but these ten exercises are better because you can load up, and they train your forearms the way Popeye would want you to.
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Behind The Back Barbell Wrist Curls
The behind-the-back barbell wrist curl isolates the forearm flexor muscles in a way few other exercises can. Holding the barbell behind your back eliminates shoulder involvement and draws more muscle action to the forearms, allowing you to focus on them. This move is excellent for building mass and thickness because you can load up with this variation.
Sets & Reps: 3-4 sets of 12-15 reps. Squeeze hard at the top and lower slowly to maximize tension.
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Gripedo Wrist Roller
The Gripedo wrist roller is your best friend (or worst enemy) for building great grip endurance and forearm muscle. It’s a modern take on the old-school wrist roller that attaches to a barbell and acts like a wrist roller—using continuous tension to work the flexor and extensor muscles. Like the previous exercise, it takes the shoulders out of it so you can focus on your forearms.
Sets & Reps: 3 sets of rolling up and down once at the end of your workout.
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Reverse Dumbbell Curls
If you want to build the brachioradialis—the muscle that gives your forearms that thick, meaty appearance—reverse curls are a must. By flipping your grip and curling with palms down, you shift focus from the biceps to the forearms because your biceps lose their leverage to bend your elbow. This forces your forearm muscles to pick up the slack. It is often performed with a barbell, but doing it with dumbbells encourages improved muscular development between sides.
Sets & Reps: 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps using a weight that gets you to technical failure
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Towel Pull-Ups
Towel Pull-Ups fry your forearms because of the neutral grip and difficulty holding and pulling up on the towel. By gripping a towel instead of a bar, your forearms are forced to work overtime to hold on, and this challenge builds forearm endurance and carries over to better performance in all things grip.
Sets & Reps: 3-4 sets of 5-8 reps and do it in place of your usual chin-up or pull-up variation.
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Plate Pinch
There are three types of grip: crush, support, and pinch grip. Guess which one this trains? This exercise works the smaller muscles in the hands and forearms by forcing you to squeeze and hold two weight plates together. It’s a simple but effective exercise to build grip and forearm strength, which is crucial for all your lifts involving grip.
Sets & Reps: 3-4 holding sets for 20-30 seconds, or go for a 40-yard walk for fun.
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Bottoms-Up Kettlebell Carry
The bottoms-up kettlebell is simple but not easy to carry and requires all the forearm and grip strength you can muster. Holding a kettlebell upside down forces your entire arm to stabilize the weight, challenging your grip, forearm, wrist stability, and shoulder muscular endurance to control an unstable load.
Sets & Reps: 3-4 sets of 30-50 feet. Go light first, focusing on keeping the kettlebell locked in as you walk.
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TRX Hammer Curl
The TRX hammer curl adds instability to the traditional hammer curl, forcing your forearms to work even harder to control the curl. This hits the brachioradialis while improving grip strength, making it a great all-around forearm and bicep builder. Furthermore, you control the intensity by moving closer or further from the anchor point.
Sets & Reps: Perform 3-4 sets of 10-15 reps. Once you reach 15 reps, increase the intensity by moving closer to the anchor point.
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Zottman Curls
Zottman curls are a two-for-one exercise, combining a bicep curl on the way up with a reverse curl on the way down. You train the biceps by curling the weight with a palms-up grip (supinated), then rotate to a palms-down (pronated) position on the way down. The focus shifts to the forearm extensors and the brachioradialis. The palms-down eccentric contraction shifts muscular tension to the forearms, crucial for building Popeye’s forearms.
Sets & Reps: 3-4 sets of 8-15 reps. Focus on a controlled eccentric to maximize the forearm burn.
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Fat Grip Barbell Curl
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The premise is simple when using fat grips. The fat grips increase the barbell diameter, making them more difficult to grip, and your forearms work harder. This trains the forearms in two ways: a gripper and a flexor. This increases the challenge for your grip and forearm muscles, making it a great way to build forearm strength while increasing flex appeal.
Sets & Reps: 3-4 sets of 6-12 reps. Use a weight you can control for your desired reps but still struggle to grip it.
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3-Way Iso Chin-Up
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A three-way iso chin-up strengthens your grip in three different positions while improving your strength with regular chin-ups. The isometric holds in each position test your forearm and grip strength and give you increased time under tension for potentially bigger forearms.
Sets & Reps: Hold for ten or more seconds at the top, lower to just above the 90-degree elbow position, and hold for ten or more seconds. Then, lower to an elbow in a slightly flexed position and hold for as long as possible. Repeat one to two times instead of your usual chin-up/pull-up variation.
