# Forearms



## iaeyes (Dec 10, 2012)

Anybody have any suggestions on building forearm size besides using wrist curls?  It's one of the body parts that Im behind on and well as my calves. Also how many times a week can I work my forearms? Thank you all.


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## tri-terror (Dec 10, 2012)

Cross body hammer curls, reverse grip barbell curls, 1 arm reverse grip cable curls to name a few.

You can work them twice a week, they recover pretty fast.


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## iaeyes (Dec 10, 2012)

Thank you


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## Ironbuilt (Dec 10, 2012)

Tri said enuf.. Anything reverse grip . But i also love the standing wrist curls with olympic bar.  Forearm workouts rock!


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## fubaseball (Dec 10, 2012)

Farmers carry. I know or heard a guy(think it was BigDaveSmith) that would carry heavy DB's around the gym. 

My grip gets worked every day... I'm also a plumber and it gets killed at work too


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## striffe (Dec 11, 2012)

Ironbuilt said:


> Tri said enuf.. Anything reverse grip . But i also love the standing wrist curls with olympic bar.  Forearm workouts rock!



Hey did you hear that? There's another plumber in the house.


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## ASHOP (Dec 11, 2012)

tri-terror said:


> Cross body hammer curls, reverse grip barbell curls, 1 arm reverse grip cable curls to name a few.
> 
> You can work them twice a week, they recover pretty fast.



I like all those exercises. I usually finish mine up with a few sets of the Ivanko Hand Gripper too.


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## iaeyes (Dec 11, 2012)

Thank you for your input! Very helpful. I had forgotten about the farmers carry.


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## b12 (Dec 14, 2012)

Chins off your door frame (I know a few rock climbers who look like Popeye) and use sponges in your hands when you do curls.


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## Brandon91 (Dec 14, 2012)

Farmers walks, deadlifts, heavy shrugs, fat grip Pull ups, hammer curls and dead hangs


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## highdrum (Dec 14, 2012)

I have grown my forearms to 15", may be part of my gentics, but what I have found the most effective is barbell curls with say 10-20 lbs on a 45lb barbell, then laying my forarms on my quads, and keep the wrist around knee area, then performing a set until faliure, I then flip my grip over to an overhand grip, and repeat till failure.  Also, isolating the arms from the wrist back is important, try setting the smith machine at chest leve, then extend your arms straight out, and rest your wrists on the smith bar, then proceed to do your forearms exercises, this isolates the forearms very well.


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## dudcki27 (Dec 14, 2012)

Do not use lifting straps or hooks ever! These will cause your grip strength and forearm muscles to suffer.


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## b12 (Dec 15, 2012)

dudcki27 said:


> Do not use lifting straps or hooks ever! These will cause your grip strength and forearm muscles to suffer.



:yeahthat:

If you can't hold it, don't lift it.


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## Ed17447 (Dec 15, 2012)

I let my grip build my forearms also


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## fubaseball (Dec 15, 2012)

dudcki27 said:


> Do not use lifting straps or hooks ever! These will cause your grip strength and forearm muscles to suffer.



I have to disagree... I ALWAYS use straps for deads/back. My grip is not hurting and my forearms are big. 

Look at the World Strongest Man competitors, they always use straps for deads, etc... But they all have huge forearms and can carry 400lb in each hand for substantial distances...


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## b12 (Dec 15, 2012)

fubaseball said:


> I have to disagree... I ALWAYS use straps for deads/back. My grip is not hurting and my forearms are big.
> 
> Look at the World Strongest Man competitors, they always use straps for deads, etc... But they all have huge forearms and can carry 400lb in each hand for substantial distances...



Do you use them on all sets? Or just when your grip fails? Strength and size don't reflect one another.  I see people use straps and hooks on EVERY set --I think that's what we're addressing.

I used to get tendonitis in my forearms until I abandoned straps. And its been years since I competed, but correct me if I'm wrong, you still can't use straps in powerlifting competitions.

Meh, you also have a job (plumber) where your forearms get a good workout, too. Far cry from someone who doesn't do a lot of work with their hands, and is looking to develop their forearms just in the gym!


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## fubaseball (Dec 15, 2012)

I use them on every set... Only way I feel I can get heavy enough to overload the larger muscles. 

My grip gets worked with things such as farmers carrys, tire flips, etc...

I don't powerlift, I do strongman. We are allowed to use straps


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## thebrick (Dec 15, 2012)

I used something a couple weeks ago I really liked for forearms for the first time ever. 

It was a piece of 2" PVC pipe with a hole drilled in the middle (maybe 18" long) with about 6 feet of nylon rope knotted and fed through the hole in the pipe. On the end on the rope was a hook which was latched to the cable on the stack machine (flyes, pushdowns, etc.) Arms extended while holding the pipe and the rope fully extended, you turned the PVC pipe with your forearms slowly raising the weight on the stack as the rope winds up the pipe. When at the top, you reverse and lower the weight. Talk about a burn in the forearms!


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## dudcki27 (Dec 15, 2012)

fubaseball said:


> I have to disagree... I ALWAYS use straps for deads/back. My grip is not hurting and my forearms are big.
> 
> Look at the World Strongest Man competitors, they always use straps for deads, etc... But they all have huge forearms and can carry 400lb in each hand for substantial distances...



I'm sure if you did deads for a while without straps you grip would get stronger and your forearms more defined. But if you always you straps for all sets of deads how do you know your grip isn't hurting?


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## b12 (Dec 15, 2012)

fubaseball said:


> I use them on every set... Only way I feel I can get heavy enough to overload the larger muscles.
> 
> My grip gets worked with things such as farmers carrys, tire flips, etc...
> 
> I don't powerlift, I do strongman. We are allowed to use straps



Well, the OP was talking about exercises to build the forearms, not justified reasons to use straps.

Strongman competition and training is way different that gym training. Haven't seen many gyms with tractor tires on the dumbbell racks, combat ropes, or other weird-awkward equipment in them. Oh, I'm sure there are some, but there are many more without them.


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## omegachewy (Dec 15, 2012)

i tend to use mine every set. not necc bc i need them sometimes its just bc im wearing them. other times its psychosomatic. i see the strap on the bar so i think im holding less weight, when really the strap isnt even tight on the bar and im holding all of it.


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## Ironbuilt (Dec 16, 2012)

fubaseball said:


> I use them on every set... Only way I feel I can get heavy enough to overload the larger muscles.
> 
> My grip gets worked with things such as farmers carrys, tire flips, etc...
> 
> I don't powerlift, I do strongman. We are allowed to use straps



Just tell everyone you're a plumber and plumbers hold something every minute of the day at work and for an extra burn grab some 4inch sch40 PVC with one hand and use a PVC cutter and keeping the pipe from spinning in your hand cut the pipe.. Add rain to make slippery for a widowmaker grip set .. My cousin owns a plumbing shop  ..his forearms belong to popeye..


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## fubaseball (Dec 16, 2012)

Ironbuilt said:


> Just tell everyone you're a plumber and plumbers hold something every minute of the day at work and for an extra burn grab some 4inch sch40 PVC with one hand and use a PVC cutter and keeping the pipe from spinning in your hand cut the pipe.. Add rain to make slippery for a widowmaker grip set .. My cousin owns a plumbing shop  ..his forearms belong to popeye..



So true... My forearms get so pumped sometimes that I can't grip channel locks hardly lol


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