My forearms are really skinny. I have friends with upper arms 2-3in. smaller than mine who’s forearms are the same or more muscular than mine. I’ve heard they need a lot of volume?
Whats worked best to add size to your forearms?
Just about every lift works your forearm in some fashion. You could try DB wrist curls, or Behind-the-Back BB wrist curls.
I’ve actually read that wrist curls pretty much suck for forearm growth which suprised me and that high volume static holds, CoC grippers, etc… was best.
Never tried it but my forearms were biggest last summer when doing a very high volume with static holds supersetted with wrist curls and reverse ez bar curls (also what i read was recommended). i was also heaviest back then though
ill tell you the same thing i tell everyone who makes one of these threads: DIRECT FOREARM TRAINING SUCKS
if youre going to train your forearms you do it indirectly through…deadlifts,rack pulls, BBshrugs, RDLs, anything at all where you need to hold a heavy weight for a long time.
you know what worked for my forearms the best? back when i had no like no equipment and would do things like fill up a backpack with weights and do dips, i could only do front squats because i had a shitty ass bench and a shitty ass barbell.
id have to take the barbell with the weight on it…like 130lbs and try to jerk it up into position. so just get a decent amount of weight, like 145 or something and get it up to your shoulders using your forearms and a bit of momentum.
Grippers have worked best for me honestly, second is barbell wrist curls.
deads + close grip chinups
There have been a number of articles lately that deal with this issue. Poliquin’s August article has something I believe. Thibs latest “tips and tricks” type article had one, and I think there was even one all about training forearms.
You gotta find what works best for you. My forearms are a weakpoint of mine right now, although they do seem to be responding to the “program” I’m doing, which is 2x a week using a variety of super sets like"
1a - Reverse curls
1b - Behind the back wrist curls
2a - wrist curls
2b - supported reverse wrist curls
3 - DB holds for time
And then I bought a grip trainer that I keep in the car and just squeeze out reps on the way to places.
[quote]LiveFromThe781 wrote:
ill tell you the same thing i tell everyone who makes one of these threads: DIRECT FOREARM TRAINING SUCKS
if youre going to train your forearms you do it indirectly through…deadlifts,rack pulls, BBshrugs, RDLs, anything at all where you need to hold a heavy weight for a long time.
you know what worked for my forearms the best? back when i had no like no equipment and would do things like fill up a backpack with weights and do dips, i could only do front squats because i had a shitty ass bench and a shitty ass barbell.
id have to take the barbell with the weight on it…like 130lbs and try to jerk it up into position. so just get a decent amount of weight, like 145 or something and get it up to your shoulders using your forearms and a bit of momentum. [/quote]
well i think its different for certain people. Like i said the guy who was talking about it mentioned when he Deadlifted 500lb. he still had small forearms and his only get significant growth when doing high volume with TUT of at least 40-50sec. (and he’s generally not a big volume guy)
i noticed my forearms got significantly bigger doing what the guy above said…basically supersetting and static holds. i thought maybe that was just sarcoplasmic hypertrophy but maybe not.
[quote]LiveFromThe781 wrote:
ill tell you the same thing i tell everyone who makes one of these threads: DIRECT FOREARM TRAINING SUCKS
if youre going to train your forearms you do it indirectly through…deadlifts,rack pulls, BBshrugs, RDLs, anything at all where you need to hold a heavy weight for a long time.
you know what worked for my forearms the best? back when i had no like no equipment and would do things like fill up a backpack with weights and do dips, i could only do front squats because i had a shitty ass bench and a shitty ass barbell.
id have to take the barbell with the weight on it…like 130lbs and try to jerk it up into position. so just get a decent amount of weight, like 145 or something and get it up to your shoulders using your forearms and a bit of momentum. [/quote]
totally agree. add some reverse curls and you’re totally set!
Get rid of your wrist wraps. If there is one thing I can credit for my forearms standing out, it is that I don’t use wraps (aside from genetics). I used to and they came in very handy when hitting my top weight on some movements, but once I got a solid strength base, I ditched them completely.
deadlift… and just hold the bar for aslong as possible after your last rep of your last set.
grab 2x25kg plates
hold them in either hand and stand for aslong as possible…
deadhangs… literally hang of a bar for as long as possible 30 sec rest then repeat untill u cant hold for longer than 10 secs.
farmers walks
grippers.
so it seems like in general you all feel that high volume grip work and some reverse curls is best for hypertrophy? maybe soon i will start doing that then
when would be best to do it, on off days or on days i do deadlift or something? If its off days i figure i can do sets with a gripper i have while on the treadmill but if its on workout days i could do some static holds and reverse curls after back.
Heavy chins.
They respond best with - volume, frequency, and can recover really fast.
I cannot say much since I am lucky at that part that my forearm grew like a weed but I had some problems with biceps
Try doing fat bar curls. These hit my forearms and biceps better than anything.
Also, if you decide to go the high volume/freq route, you may want to look up Waterbury’s Perfect 10 program. Its a program you run along side you main program for 1 or 2 smaller body parts, training them 2 times a day for 5 days a week for a few weeks in a row with different rep/set scheme each time.
I think the forearms are sufficiently small as to do this type of program and not really hinder your other training.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Get rid of your wrist wraps. If there is one thing I can credit for my forearms standing out, it is that I don’t use wraps (aside from genetics). I used to and they came in very handy when hitting my top weight on some movements, but once I got a solid strength base, I ditched them completely.[/quote]
Does wraps really hinder forearm development or you meant straps Prof?
This has worked for me (doesn’t mean for everyone):
-Doubling the reps to compensate the decreased time under tension caused by the shorter range of motion on direct forearm exercises.
-Using the fat bar.
-Working the inner and the outer portion.
I think PX meant straps and if he did I totally concur. Having said that, a stronger grip does not necessarily mean bigger forearms.
Work it to failiure don’t count your reps
3 sets and 2 excercises once a week (armday)
This has worked fine for me