I have more trouble adding mass to my forearms than any other body part. What are the best exercises for adding mass to the forearms?
I don’t have a routine, but I mostly use grippers and the wrist roller(the thing with the rope) and I havent had much success.
I like overhand, narrow ish grip ( thumbless as you progress) barbell curls, but slow and controlled with a ROM from the top, like the completed concentric of a bicep curl, to the bottom with the forearm parallel to the ground.
Not the best explanation but hopefully you get the idea!
Forearms grow best from isometric holds, if you want to train them directly. That means you need to grab a heavy weight, tighten your grips as hard as possible, and hold it until you scream.
That’s the best action I’ve found. Other options that are more conventional are
Heavy ass hammer curls
Reverse grip Curls
Zottman Curls
Personally I’ve bever given much merit to forearm curls…although the KPipe curl does look interesting and the few times I’ve done them a good pump was achieved.
CT posted a vid about barbell rolling somewhere.
Attaching a chain/strap and weight the thick park of the barbel and rolling towards you kinda like revving a motor cycle, alternate hands until the weight is at the top. So 1 twist with each hand.
Its fucking brutal.
Farmers walks,
Holding heavy shit
Pinwheel curls
Like Rock said, reverse grip curls are nasty.
Personaly i’ve never trained them directly really, mine measure around 14 , they kinda just built over time.
[quote]joshclay wrote:
I like overhand, narrow ish grip ( thumbless as you progress) barbell curls, but slow and controlled with a ROM from the top, like the completed concentric of a bicep curl, to the bottom with the forearm parallel to the ground.
Not the best explanation but hopefully you get the idea![/quote]
So would this be the same motion as behind the back forearm curls?
Dont use a false/suicide grip on anything.
Hammer curls
thick bars.
But in the end, forearms are dictated by genetics much like calves are. Im not saying dont try but dont waste too much time chasing a pipe dream.
Wrist curls and forearms curls are almost useless IMO. The wrist joint and all the little tendons around there will limit the amount, not allowing for weight to be used. Shrugging 400lbs for controlled reps is better than any wrist curl will be.
I see a lot of conflicting opinions about forearm exercises, particularly about the usefulness of forearm curls. Is there any reason not to include them in a forearm routine or should I do them anyways?
I agree with bonez.
Most bodybuilders with great forearms always say that they do very little in the way of direct forearm work, leading me to believe that if you are born to have giant forearms, they’ll grow, and if not, well, too bad.
That being said, the guys that I see with the biggest forearms tend to be powerlifters or strongman, specifically strongman. Think about what much of their training revolves around: holding heavy weight. Other than the typical curl variations that target forearms which certainly should be part of any BBers training IMO (not only for forearms, but also for brachialis/biceps), you could also include heavy barbell holds for time or farmers walks at the end of your workout.
This is largely genetic. I never train mine but people seem to notice them.
They are much like calves. My calves aren’t “small”…but on someone like me they need to be about 2" bigger to look proportionate. I train them all of the fucking time and that extra size just seems like it doesn’t want to come but in very small degrees of change.
Other than that, one reason they may stand out is that I limit the use of straps unless absolutely necessary and I curl heavy weight.
I fall into the good forearms, shitty calve genetics 
I need to get the calves a few inches bigger, nice shape, just pencils. Hopefully some extra focus on some “exotic” powerlifting exercises like hang cleans and jump squats and other things I am implementing will help out.
← Does not have huge forearms.
Just wanted to follow up on what Bones said about thick bars by mentioning a product called “Fat Gripz.” They’re pretty popular among users on this site (you can do a search to read some reviews of them).
The people I see doing wrist curls/extensions at the gym also seem to have the smallest forearms around. Not saying it’s the cause, but they certainly dont seem to be helping them at all.
[quote]Anus Bleach wrote:
The people I see doing wrist curls/extensions at the gym also seem to have the smallest forearms around. Not saying it’s the cause, but they certainly dont seem to be helping them at all.[/quote]
Bingo. I rarely see huge forearms on someone with only average biceps development. I personally think they go hand in hand. It took a lot of weight to get my biceps the size they are and that is what caused my forearms to adapt.
I doubt wrist curls with a 30lbs dumbbell would have done much.
My forearm sprouted easy. I had good forearms even when i didnt workout, but i have horrible calves (i got my dads forearms and my moms calves).
Pretty much any upperbody exercise pumps my forearms though. I still do wrist curls and palms foward bb curls for them.
Heavy Rows and Shrugs are the best.
LOL @ Wrist curls.
I was dealt a shitty genetic hand as far as forearms go, but have developed them to the point where I’ve had them noticed.
-Deadlifts
-Chin/Pull-ups with two towels (alternately you can use two tricep pulldown ropes hung over chin-up bar)
-Captain of Crush grippers
The strange thing with forearms - mine at least - is that they get stimulated by doing the most mundane tasks. I spent an afternoon assembling IKEA Furniture and had forearm DOMS for 3 days afterwards…
[quote]BONEZ217 wrote:
Dont use a false/suicide grip on anything.
Hammer curls
thick bars.
But in the end, forearms are dictated by genetics much like calves are. Im not saying dont try but dont waste too much time chasing a pipe dream.
Wrist curls and forearms curls are almost useless IMO. The wrist joint and all the little tendons around there will limit the amount, not allowing for weight to be used. Shrugging 400lbs for controlled reps is better than any wrist curl will be. [/quote]
Well put and accurate. I don’t see any reason for performing wrist curls unless you’re a bodybuilder and you need that little extra “pop” in the meat of your forearm.
I won’t even do reverse grip curls unless it is supersetted with something else, as the wrist can’t handle much weight in that position.
My forearms develop pretty well without specific training BUT I did notice that when I began incorporating Grip4orce into my biceps routine (per a recommendation by John Meadows posted here a while back) that my forearms really blew up. Your weights will go down slightly but it’s worth the bicep and forearm stimulation.
pinwheel curls give me a great pump/burn in my forearms, if that means anything
[quote]HolyMacaroni wrote:
pinwheel curls give me a great pump/burn in my forearms, if that means anything[/quote]
x2 on this.
Im pretty lucky with forearms and calves, both have always been big. Fat man calves and lucky i got my dads forearms.
I guess they just build with back back work, trap work etc, farmers walks for me leave my forearms pumped like crazy, so much so it hurts to make a fist.
Again, theses an article CT posted about the ultimate t-shirt muscle… the forearm.
Just gotta jerk off a little?
I agree with those who have said holding heavy weights will help though. Heavy deads and shrugs fry my grip the best. Pinwheel curls/hammer curls give me a good pump, but I haven’t noticed any serious improvement in forearm mass from them.