Some people are blessed with great forearms – the kind that grow and pop with no direct work, whatsoever. Then there are the rest of us who have to, you know, train hard and stuff. And for the legions of dutiful forearm trainers out there that may want to move beyond the typical 3-4 sets of wrist curls at the end of arm day, there is hope. The versatility of your forearm musculature allows you train them through several angles and with multiplanar movement that will dig into undertrained fibers and provide you the boulder swole you’re looking for.This forearm day, which will begin with a few sets of wrist curls, will have you using a short-bar attachment or a light clubbell for resistance. The whole of your forearm muscle mass will come into play at some point during this workout, with your deeper supinator and pronator muscles getting called into action first. The remaining three exercises have varying emphases due to their wide ranges of motion, forcing you to work all of your forearm muscles through several angles dynamically.The result is an unbelievably visible pump and a set of forearms that are the picture of form and function. As an added bonus, the resultant strength from this program will translate well into other movements such as deadlifts, pull-ups and rows. After all, who needs straps when you’ve got a vise-like grip and forearms like a silverback?
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Weighted Supination/Pronation
Pick up a short, straight bar attachment or light clubbell and stand holding it at one end, arm bent at a 90-degree angle, your elbow pinned to your side. Starting with the attachment perpendicular to the ceiling and without moving your elbow, slowly rotate your wrist in toward your body (pronation) until the bar is parallel to the ground. Pause for a count and rotate your wrist back the other direction (supination) until the bar is again parallel to the ground. This constitutes one full repetition. Complete the prescribed number of reps before switching arms.
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Weighted Wrist Abduction
Stand holding a short, straight bar attachment or light clubbell at your side, elbow pinned to your ribs, the heavy end of the bar pointed down and nearly perpendicular to the floor in front of you. Bending only at your wrist and keeping the weight in line with your forearm, raise the bar up to a point at or just above parallel to the floor. Pause for a peak contraction and lower it back to the starting position before repeating for reps.
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Weighted Wrist Adduction
Stand holding a short, straight bar attachment or clubbell at your side, elbow pinned to your ribs, the heavy end of the bar pointed down and nearly perpendicular to the floor behind you. Bending only at your wrist and keeping the weight in line with your forearm, raise the bar up to a point at or just above parallel to the floor. Pause for a peak contraction and lower it back to the starting position before repeating for reps.
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Cable Wrist Curl to Hold
Stand midway between two weight stacks holding two low-pulley D-handles out to your sides, palms down. Roll the handle as far out into your hands as possible before using your wrists to curl the weight back toward your forearms. Aim for a weight that causes positive muscle failure in the prescribed rep range. After completing the final rep, simply hold the weight in a neutral position for an additional 30-60 seconds to round out the set.
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Around The Clock
Stand holding a short, straight bar attachment or clubbell at your side, elbow pinned to your ribs, the heavy end of the bar pointed down and nearly perpendicular to the floor in front of you. Bending only at your wrist, slowly raise the bar as high as you can, in line with your arm. Making that point 12 o’clock, slowly rotate the weight clockwise as wide as you can on an imaginary clock in front of you. Returning to 12 o’clock constitutes one full rep. Completing all reps in each direction makes up one full set.
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Forearm Training Tips
>>To lighten the resistance on straight-bar attachment exercises, simply slide your hand toward the middle of the attachment. To add resistance, move your hand closer to the end of the attachment.>>To add to your forearm strength and size, avoid using straps on heavy pull days.>>Always use a full range of motion, taking the muscle to full stretch before completing the concentric (positive) portion of the movement.>>To reduce muscle soreness and to facilitate muscle recovery, stretch your forearms thoroughly after each dedicated workout and pull day. This will also reduce your risk of injury.>>If your forearms are lagging behind other bodyparts, try doing your forearm work first. Avoid training forearms first on pull days, however.
Some people are blessed with great forearms – the kind that grow and pop with no direct work, whatsoever. Then there are the rest of us who have to, you know, train hard and stuff. And for the legions of dutiful forearm trainers out there that may want to move beyond the typical 3-4 sets of wrist curls at the end of arm day, there is hope. The versatility of your forearm musculature allows you train them through several angles and with multiplanar movement that will dig into undertrained fibers and provide you the boulder swole you’re looking for.
This forearm day, which will begin with a few sets of wrist curls, will have you using a short-bar attachment or a light clubbell for resistance. The whole of your forearm muscle mass will come into play at some point during this workout, with your deeper supinator and pronator muscles getting called into action first. The remaining three exercises have varying emphases due to their wide ranges of motion, forcing you to work all of your forearm muscles through several angles dynamically.
The result is an unbelievably visible pump and a set of forearms that are the picture of form and function. As an added bonus, the resultant strength from this program will translate well into other movements such as deadlifts, pull-ups and rows. After all, who needs straps when you’ve got a vise-like grip and forearms like a silverback?
Weighted Supination/Pronation
Pick up a short, straight bar attachment or light clubbell and stand holding it at one end, arm bent at a 90-degree angle, your elbow pinned to your side. Starting with the attachment perpendicular to the ceiling and without moving your elbow, slowly rotate your wrist in toward your body (pronation) until the bar is parallel to the ground. Pause for a count and rotate your wrist back the other direction (supination) until the bar is again parallel to the ground. This constitutes one full repetition. Complete the prescribed number of reps before switching arms.
Weighted Wrist Abduction
Stand holding a short, straight bar attachment or light clubbell at your side, elbow pinned to your ribs, the heavy end of the bar pointed down and nearly perpendicular to the floor in front of you. Bending only at your wrist and keeping the weight in line with your forearm, raise the bar up to a point at or just above parallel to the floor. Pause for a peak contraction and lower it back to the starting position before repeating for reps.
Weighted Wrist Adduction
Stand holding a short, straight bar attachment or clubbell at your side, elbow pinned to your ribs, the heavy end of the bar pointed down and nearly perpendicular to the floor behind you. Bending only at your wrist and keeping the weight in line with your forearm, raise the bar up to a point at or just above parallel to the floor. Pause for a peak contraction and lower it back to the starting position before repeating for reps.
Cable Wrist Curl to Hold
Stand midway between two weight stacks holding two low-pulley D-handles out to your sides, palms down. Roll the handle as far out into your hands as possible before using your wrists to curl the weight back toward your forearms. Aim for a weight that causes positive muscle failure in the prescribed rep range. After completing the final rep, simply hold the weight in a neutral position for an additional 30-60 seconds to round out the set.
Around The Clock
Stand holding a short, straight bar attachment or clubbell at your side, elbow pinned to your ribs, the heavy end of the bar pointed down and nearly perpendicular to the floor in front of you. Bending only at your wrist, slowly raise the bar as high as you can, in line with your arm. Making that point 12 o’clock, slowly rotate the weight clockwise as wide as you can on an imaginary clock in front of you. Returning to 12 o’clock constitutes one full rep. Completing all reps in each direction makes up one full set.
Forearm Training Tips
>>To lighten the resistance on straight-bar attachment exercises, simply slide your hand toward the middle of the attachment. To add resistance, move your hand closer to the end of the attachment.
>>To add to your forearm strength and size, avoid using straps on heavy pull days.
>>Always use a full range of motion, taking the muscle to full stretch before completing the concentric (positive) portion of the movement.
>>To reduce muscle soreness and to facilitate muscle recovery, stretch your forearms thoroughly after each dedicated workout and pull day. This will also reduce your risk of injury.
>>If your forearms are lagging behind other bodyparts, try doing your forearm work first. Avoid training forearms first on pull days, however.
