Forearms

[TheNewGuy]

I've been seriously working out for about 6 weeks now, my biceps/triceps are starting to get pretty big but my forearms aren't following suit. My workout routine is here.

I always hear people saying that small wrists are good, because your arms look real good when you have big forearms. I have small wrists, but my forearms aren't that big. Should I keep on doing what I'm doing now, or are there any specific excercises that could help me?

-cue masturbation jokes-

 

[skumface]

Not only are your forearms small but they probably wont be strong enough to support other types of excersises such as bench presses and deadlifts.
it is very imortant that your forearms are strong, otherwise your whole body will start to lag along with them.
Since you already have hammer curls ill give you only one exercise for now. Do Wrist Curls on day 2 and 3 since you work your forearms a lot on day 1. Aim for high reps like in the 12-14 range which will build up strength considerably as well as size. You can do wrist curls with either dumbells or a bar.

Good luck and keep me posted on how this turns out

 

[speedo_meme]

I used to have the same problem man......Now I work forearms twice a week. Actually I will work them more if I have the chance because forearms, like calves are accustomed to being used frequently and the more you work them, the better. Think about old farmers and construction workers that have done manual labor all their lives. Their arms didn't get that way by working once a week now did they?
On days where you work back or shoulders, work your grip, such as with grippers or static holds. I suggest HEAVY shrugs and then just hold the dumbbells as long as humanly possible. Carry them around if you want to. Also, NEVER use straps doing deadlifts or cleans. Oh yeah, incorporate some multi jointed heavy lifts into that crappy routine you have.
On days when you work arms, do exercises that flex the wrists (wrist curls, reverse grip curls etc.).

By the way I firmly believe the best way to build forearm strength is heavy lifts like deadlifts and power cleans. Do yourself a favor and start doing them.

 

[MetalFortress]

Do Farmer's Walks (which is where you walk around while holding two dumbbells). After a month or two of these heavy, your forearms won't be so small.

 

[C00L]

i just recently started using straps for heavy deads. I dont care really. Reason being, i work my forarms seperatly and when im doing deads im focusing on my back, not my forearms. Sure i may lose out on my gripping strength but i dont care. A big thick back is more improtant to me when doing deads.

 

[speedo_meme]

that's understandable. I want my grip strength to be a strength and not a weakness. I consider hand strength one of the most important aspects of lifting, my opinion. I agree, farmer's walks are good. Also using a thicker bar can trick your fore's into growing more, if only for a short time.

My forearms respond to heavy weight in a static position best (deadlift, farmer walk, power cleans). I've got naturally small wrists too. If you're going more for looks, I highly suggest reverse barbell curls. They've beefed up the top of my forearms well.

 

[stalluproar]

Get a 1" to 1 1/4" PVC Pipe around 14" long. Get a rope that will hold 50 lbs. about 4-5' long. Drill a hole in the middle of the pipe. Then tie a knot big enough so the rope will not slip out of the hole. On the other end, form the rope as a loop knot, just a little bit bigger than the PVC diameter. Now you are ready to put a 10 lb. weight on it. Loop the 10 lb. weight through the hole the loop knot end through the pipe. Hold out the pipe with the weight on it and try to roll the rope all the way up on the pipe. This is a killer forearm workout. I added about 25 yards to my golf drive from doing these.

 

[MetalFortress]

Do overhand deadlifts (instead of mixed grip). Same grip as you would use for cleans and power cleans. You'll end up doing less weight because your forearms give up faster, so don't do this in substitution for real deadlifts - but obviously they are an amazing forearm workout.

 

[RaWBLooD]

Originally posted by MetalFortress
Do Farmer's Walks (which is where you walk around while holding two dumbbells). After a month or two of these heavy, your forearms won't be so small.

i would advise to supplement those with lifting some heavy bags or stones, anything that makes you grip something wide not like the handle of most dumbbells, even the thick ones are "thin" compared to grabbing a thick bag or something ( i plannign to make something like that to train with soon, cost is less than 15 dollars for a whole set of stuff like this.)

 

[RaWBLooD]

Originally posted by MetalFortress
Do overhand deadlifts (instead of mixed grip). Same grip as you would use for cleans and power cleans. You'll end up doing less weight because your forearms give up faster, so don't do this in substitution for real deadlifts - but obviously they are an amazing forearm workout.

he can do a grip variation for about any exercise.