forearms/I've had enough.

[jdchaffin]

So I concider my forearms to be perhaps my weakest body part. (visually) I've tried almost everything there is, from wrist curls, to spring grippers, even those little bars with a rope and weight that you role up. Not having much luck with any of it. My newest adventure is using towels wrapped around every bar I pick up to increase the size of the gripping area. This is the first thing I've found that has left my forearms sore for a few days.
But with this I'm trying to figure out if I should be doing this every time I lift or if perhaps I should use an every other day protocol. Just wondering if anyone else has tried this and what your experiences with it were.

 

[Muay Thai]

mine grow like crazy i got pop eyes

i do 3 sets till failure on bench bar twists. wrist motion is like riding a dirtbike!

 

[g40graham]

I don't work forearms any in the offseason and contrary to what you might think they grow pretty nicely...perhaps you are overtraining them? (they are hit in a LOT of other exercises secondarily...)

 

[jdchaffin]

I don't work forearms any in the offseason and contrary to what you might think they grow pretty nicely...perhaps you are overtraining them? (they are hit in a LOT of other exercises secondarily...)

I've wondered about this as well. I'm thinking that by dropping the direct movements for them and increasing the bar diameter with a towel that I will reduce the volume and increase the intensity and see how that plays out.

 

[bigguns078]

if your looking for mass on the top of your forearm try pinwheel curls every 10 days.. Take 30 lb dumbells and do an all out set to failure.. slowly work your way upto a failure set of 10 - 12 reps.. Hopefully you will be doing 80lb or more dumbell curls.. It might takes months to get there.. But in the end.. with good nutrition to grow.. I guarentee you will have bigger forearms..

 

[joos23]

use as cable such as on cross overs... take the cable to the ground grap the handle and do standing one arm wrist curls squeeze at the top..... u can also do reverse as well... i think there best for forearms!!!! hope it helps

 

[jdchaffin]

if your looking for mass on the top of your forearm try pinwheel curls every 10 days.. Take 30 lb dumbells and do an all out set to failure.. slowly work your way upto a failure set of 10 - 12 reps.. Hopefully you will be doing 80lb or more dumbell curls.. It might takes months to get there.. But in the end.. with good nutrition to grow.. I guarentee you will have bigger forearms..

Actually I have recently added this to my routine and it has made a noticeable difference on the top of the forearm. I'm kinda looking for the underbelly to fill out.

 

[mule]

Actually I have recently added this to my routine and it has made a noticeable difference on the top of the forearm. I'm kinda looking for the underbelly to fill out.

then try if you can to start actually using a thick bar instead of just a towel. they will get bigger

 

[Metal]

if your looking for mass on the top of your forearm try pinwheel curls every 10 days.. Take 30 lb dumbells and do an all out set to failure.. slowly work your way upto a failure set of 10 - 12 reps.. Hopefully you will be doing 80lb or more dumbell curls.. It might takes months to get there.. But in the end.. with good nutrition to grow.. I guarentee you will have bigger forearms..

Exactly, Do these until your forearms are pumped, burning and about to explode! This is my fave forearm xercise

 

[big E]

Bro, try doing reverse curls/reverse wrist curls. All one motion. As you begin the reverse curl, hold the bar with your wrists cocked back and as you begin to curl it up, also curl your wrist in the same direction. Start with light weight for a few sets just to get use to the movement but then bump up the weight so your getting like 8 reps. Also, don't neccesarily do a complete reverse curl, stop about 3/4 of the way up so the tension remains in your forearm flexors and your wrist. Anothe exercise I find very effective is to grab the top of a cable crossover machine and use a single handle, and do a motion that is similar to arm wrestling, but again make sure you curl the wrist down towards the ground as you do basically the top part of the arm wrestling motion. Definitely don't stop training your forearms cause they are similar to calves so overtraining them is a difficult thing to do. I train them directly 2x a week and do heavy deadlifts, which works more of the gripping muscles as opose to the forearms. Also try doing tricep pushdowns with a rotating straight bar and as you start the pushdown also do a wrist curl!

 

[Lenny]

i don't train mine and they are "popeye-esque" for my body size anyway. my calves are very big for my size too. i think the two are inter-related for me. i don't really train either and they seem to grow on their own.

i don't train forearms and i don't train my neck and i rarely train my calves and they have all grown 6+ inches over the last 6 years.

i think its a "you got em or you don't" muscle group. so be it. genetics...... -STEELE

I concur...I have not trained my forearms or neck, but do train my calves. They seem to get taxed indirectly with almost any upper body movement!

 

[skulbone]

Train my posterior forearms but only 2sets of 10 2x/wk. The fronts get work w/ heavy compounds.

 

[tatteredxangelx]

do hammer curls with the kettlebell.

 

[gainingweight]

Besides the already mentioned exercises I would simply prioritize them before any other muscle groups thereby pre-exhausting them, forcing them to recruit more/all muscle fibers as your workout progresses.

 

[Pericles]

Besides the already mentioned exercises I would simply prioritize them before any other muscle groups thereby pre-exhausting them, forcing them to recruit more/all muscle fibers as your workout progresses.

why would you do that? It would hinder your strength on all other movements.

 

[gainingweight]

he said it was his forearms that were lagging, not his other muscle groups...

 

[EAPFAN]

I sympathize bro. My forearms are also my worst body part. Although, not my weakest by far. Heck I do full wrist curls with 155 lbs. for 6-8 reps. I do reverse wrist curls, hammer curls, you name it, they just won't grow! They do PUMP up nicely, but once the pump fades, goodbye shapely size! I'm 6'3" and weigh 240lbs., but I think that height may hurt me in my arm development. My arms are long, 37" shirt sleeve, so this I believe plays into it. If your arms are real long its hard to put any type of size on in the forearms for some of us. Its just the way the muscle cells are genetically placed I guess. Too much area to fill in. Although I get frustrated also, I just do forearm exercises every workout and try to maintain SOME size. If I don't train them, then they REALLY lag behind and look even worse. Others may not see it this way, but as we all know we are always very critical of ourselves. Just keep training em bro and don't EVER give up!

 

[crazy_j]

My forearms are pretty good size, they arent huge but they are big. All I do is wrist curls with palms up for 3 sets or 20 and then with palms dowms for the same 3 sets of 20. I also dont use any kind of gloves or any kind of straps for any exercise, it is all strength in my hands and forearms to pick up any weight, and if I cant lift it with bare hands then I dont do it and go lighter till I can lift it with no assistance.

 

[abolish the weak]

genetics

it's genetics. You can always work and improve a bodypart, but in the end its only going to get so big. It's no different than calves. Some of the best calves I've seen are on guys who dont even bodybuild. Meanwhile somebody is busting his ass trying to get bigger calves, but no matter what they'll never look like the desk jockey's calves who has never touched a weight. Thats the reality of it all, same with forearms. Of course they can always be brought up, but dont spend too much time spinning ur wheels over it

 

[Thewhite9t]

i don't train mine and they are "popeye-esque" for my body size anyway. my calves are very big for my size too. i think the two are inter-related for me. i don't really train either and they seem to grow on their own.

i don't train forearms and i don't train my neck and i rarely train my calves and they have all grown 6+ inches over the last 6 years.

i think its a "you got em or you don't" muscle group. so be it. genetics...... -STEELE

This is definately true to an extent, but with hard work you can somewhat overcome this problem. Also a naturally small forearm usually = a small wrist so it will make your upper forearm look bigger in comparison.

My brother naturally has HUGE forearms and he never works them. I naturally have pretty small ones, but with a ton of work on my end I've managed to get them to be pretty big for my size. When on cycle I really beat them up, for instance when I shrug, I let the dumbbells down to my fingers and roll them back up on each rep. I also do a lot of behind the back wirst curls, and try to focus on them when I curl, especially on the reverse like someone else mentioned. My upper arm used to dwarf my forearms, but with lots of work they match up just fine now.

I think the most key thing to getting them big is to buy yourself a set of grippers. There are captains of crush and heavygrips. Both are equally as good, I have a set of heavy grips 100#-400# pressure. I gave away the 100-200# ones though, they were too easy.

Anyway best of luck and train hard. Try to beat them up as much as possible, but give them enough rest too. It's a delicate balance but you'll find it I'm sure!