Summary
Building stronger, more aesthetic forearms requires dedicated focus on both major and minor muscle groups. By isolating the forearms in workouts, you can achieve better results, whether for strength or aesthetics. Remember to manage your weights, vary exercises, and stay consistent for optimal gains.
This allows you to do your daily tasks or engage in sports activities effortlessly. All in all, stronger forearms enhance your functional strength.
Combine forearm exercises with these top 10 bicep exercises for bigger and stronger arms!
Cable Forearm Workouts
Thanks to the consistent tension provided by cable resistance, you’re able to grow your muscles and build endurance when doing cable workouts.
This is backed by a study, revealing that cable resistance increases muscle engagement, ensures a maximum range of motion and provides joint stability, giving you not just gains, but also a risk-free workout.
Here are the 3 cable forearm exercises you can do:
1. Cable Wrist Curls
Muscles Worked: Forearm flexors.
How To Do Cable Wrist Curls?
- Use a double pulley or bar.
- With your palms towards the ceiling, grab the attachment.
- You can do this while sitting or standing.
- Keep your forearms on a bench or thighs, moving your wrists only.
- Curl up and towards yourself, squeezing your wrists.
- Hold the squeeze then return to the starting position.
Add this exercise to your pull day workout routine!
2. Cable Reverse Wrist Curls
Muscles Worked: Forearm extensors.
How To Do Cable Reverse Wrist Curls?
- Hook an EZ bar or low pulley to the cable.
- With your palms facing the ground in a downward position, grab the attachment.
- Place your forearms on a bench or your thighs for support.
- Only moving your wrists, lift the weights.
- Control your contractions and eccentrics to keep the load on your forearm muscles.
Ladies, trying to sculpt your arms? Try these top 10 arm exercises for women!
3. Cable Forearm Pull
Muscles Worked: Overall forearm musculature, with emphasis on grip strength.
How To Do Cable Forearm Pull?
- Lock the rope attachment at the top height.
- Hold the rope’s ends from both hands with your palms in.
- Keep your elbows steady and stable by your sides.
- Pull the rope into your body, squeezing your forearms.
- Extend your arms again in a controlled movement to complete one rep.
Looking for cable triceps exercises? Try cable triceps pushdowns!
Dumbbell Forearm Workouts
Several studies reveal that dumbbells or free weight exercises lead to immense muscle growth. This is because not only are they isotonic exercises that build functional strength, they also give you a full range of motion, activating all the right muscle fibers.
This means with dumbbell exercises such as twist curls or incline curls, you gain more strength and of course, better gains! Here are the 3 dumbbell forearm exercises you can do:
1. Dumbbell Wrist Curls
Muscles Worked: Forearm flexors.
How To Do Dumbbell Wrist Curls?
- Grab a dumbbell in both hands.
- Your palms should be facing upwards.
- Lean your torso forward, resting your forearms on your knees.
- Make sure your wrists are hanging at the edge.
- Curl the dumbbells into your body, squeezing as you contract.
- Controlling the eccentric, lower the dumbbell to complete one rep.
Learn more about how to do wrist curls for stronger forearms.
2. Dumbbell Reverse Wrist Curl
Muscles Worked: Forearm extensors.
How To Do Dumbbell Reverse Wrist Curls?
- This movement is similar to wrist curls – except, your palms should face the ground.
- Isolate your extensors by focusing the movement on your wrists only.
- Contract as you lift by squeezing your forearms before gently releasing them.
Amp up your grip strength and arm structure by learning how to do reverse curls correctly!
3. Hammer Curl
Muscles Worked: Brachioradialis, biceps brachii.
How To Do Hammer Curls?
- With your arms by your sides and palms facing one another, grab dumbbells and stand.
- Pull the weight up to your shoulders, palms still facing inwards.
- In a controlled motion, lower the weights to complete one rep.
Need another forearm and bicep exercise with the same movement? Try preacher curls!
Barbell Forearm Workouts
Barbells allow for heavier loads, which makes it a great variation for hypertrophy and strength gains.
A study reveals that barbell variation in strength or muscle training boosts engagement since you’re able to load the bar up, giving you a heavy-weight workout. This challenges your muscles, allowing you to achieve hypertrophy.
Here are the 3 barbell forearm exercises you can do:
1. Barbell Wrist Curl
Muscles Worked: Forearm flexors.
How To Do Barbell Wrist Curls?
- Grab a barbell with an overhand grip while sitting on a bench.
- Lean your torso forward, resting your forearms on your thighs or on a bench.
- Make sure your wrists are kind of hanging past your knees.
- Curl the bar into your body, returning to the start position in a controlled movement, completing one rep.
Try these 5 types of bicep curls to get bigger and stronger arms!
2. Barbell Reverse Curl
Muscles Worked: Forearm extensors, brachioradialis.
How To Do Barbell Reverse Curls?
- With an overhand grip on the barbell, stand straight with a neutral back.
- Tuck your elbows into your torso and lift the bar, curling it into your chest.
- Lower the barbell again, slowly and steadily.
Fond of bar exercises? Try these 4 EZ bar curls to get those dreamy, superman gains!
3. Barbell Behind-the-Back Wrist Curl
Muscles Worked: Forearm flexors.
How To Do Barbell Behind-the-Back Wrist Curls?
- With your palms facing away from you, stand with the barbell behind you.
- Roll the barbell into your fingers, letting your wrists flex with every lift.
- Release your wrists slowly to complete one rep.
Prefer free weights? Try this complete dumbbell forearm workout!
Forearm Bodyweight Exercises
According to the Harvard Medical School, bodyweight exercises boost your muscle growth while improving your grip strength and endurance. When done for your arms, they can help you get the athletic look you want.
So even if you don’t have equipment, you can incorporate bodyweight forearm exercises to get those guns! Here are the 3 bodyweight forearm exercises you can do:
1. Towel Grip Pull-Ups
Muscles Worked: Primarily, targets the brachioradialis and flexor muscles of the forearms. Secondarily, engages the lats, biceps, and shoulders.
How To Do Towel Grip Pull-Ups?
- Put a towel on top of a pull-up bar and hold it from each side.
- Start with a dead hang, letting your arms extend fully.
- Pull up until your chin crosses the bar, squeezing the towel as much as you can.
- Go back into the starting position, controlling your eccentric to complete one rep.
Trying to tone your arms at home? Try these 4 chair exercises!
2. Forearm Plank
Muscles Worked: Targets your forearm flexors, extensors and core muscles.
How To Do Forearm Plank?
- Get into the plank position, supporting yourself on your toes and forearms.
- Your elbows should be under your shoulders and body should form a neutral line.
- Brace your core to activate it, with your forearms resting against the floor.
- Maintain this position until failure.
Struggling to do this exercise? Switch it up with plate curls instead!
3. Crab Walk
Muscles Worked: Works your delts, core, triceps and forearms.
How To Do Crab Walks?
- With your hands behind you and your feet flat, sit on the floor.
- Make sure your fingers are pointing to your feet when taking stance.
- Push your hips off the ground to take the crab stance.
- Now, walk forward, moving your left hand and right foot at the same time.
- Take the next step with your right hand and left foot to complete one rep.
Combine your forearm exercises with this complete triceps workout for bigger and powerful arms!
What To Know Before An Intense Forearm Workout?
Incorporating forearm exercises into your routine is essential for building strength and achieving an aesthetic physique. While some opt to mix a few forearm exercises into their upper body workouts, isolating your forearms significantly enhances your wrist and forearm strength.
Studies suggest that isolating your forearms during upper body or bicep workouts provides greater gains, helping you achieve the physique you desire. While forearm exercises aren’t that difficult, you do have to manage the load or weights you put them through.
Loading up too much weight leads to strains on your muscles, which means you need a longer time to recover from the exercise. Here are a few tips for effective forearm training:
- Start with lighter weights and focus on form to avoid strain.
- Incorporate a variety of exercises such as forearm pulls and wrist curls to target different muscles.
- For growth, go for lower reps with heavier weights whereas for toning increase the reps with lighter weights.
- Limit your sets to 2-3 per exercise, adjusting based on whether they're part of a broader workout or a dedicated session.
- Patience is key – it might not give you an immediate burn but you’ll get results with consistent effort.
- Always have the right gym wear on such as a gym t-shirt or stringer so you can work your forearms without any distractions.
Key Takeaways
Strong forearms help with grip and functional strength. Not only do they add strength, toned forearms are a symbol of peak fitness. You can incorporate these movements into any workout like triceps or back or have a dedicated forearm workout.
FAQs
Is it recommended to train your forearms everyday?
No, it is not recommended to train your forearms everyday because it can lead to muscle exhaustion, overexertion or injuries. This is because your muscles need time (and protein) to recover from any intense exercise. To help generate regrowth, you need to add rest and recovery days so your muscles aren't overstrained. This leads to muscle growth and development.
How can I effectively train my forearms?
To train your forearms effectively, add a variety of forearm exercises with cables, dumbbells and barbells.
Are forearm muscles difficult to grow?
Yes, for some people, forearm muscles can be extremely challenging to grow. This could be for several reasons such as poor nutrition, genetics, lack of intensity in training, lack of isolated movements, etc. For bigger forearms, you need consistent training and a variety of resistance tempos for significant growth.
What is the best forearm exercise?
While many would consider wrist curls to be the best forearm exercise, it is actually a variety of training methods, exercises and resistance styles such as cables, free weights or barbells, that make up an amazing forearm workout routine. You can start off with hammer curls, forearm pulls and reverse workouts for a beginner-friendly forearm workout routine.
