The forearms might not be a primary vanity muscle, but their function can’t be overlooked. Forearms are responsible for your grip, which is essential in every exercise you do that involves holding weights. While you don’t necessarily need to program forearm-specific workout days into your split, adding a few top forearm exercises to the end of every workout will help you grow your grip strength for daily activities and heavy lifting in the gym.
The Functions of the Forearm
The forearm is primarily responsible for flexing and extending the wrist and rotating the forearm from the elbow. It also holds the muscles that allow you to flex and extend your fingers, which is vital for a good grip. While your primary muscle groups work hard, your forearm muscles quietly work behind the scenes, helping stabilize your arms during lifting movements. Outside the gym, your forearm muscles support your grip for daily activities and even help control fine motor movements, like typing or writing.
The Importance of Forearm Training
Forearm training might not be one of your top gym priorities, but perhaps it should be. When trained properly, strong forearms can enhance grip strength for all compound lifts. It also comes in handy during sports that require a firm grip, like rock climbing or martial arts.
Additionally, it’s of functional importance. Strengthening your forearms helps you with daily tasks while reducing the risk of common wrist or elbow injuries. It also balances your muscle development overall and creates a more aesthetically balanced arm.
You’ll notice you can lift more with a strong grip, especially in compound movements like deadlifts, rows, and pull-ups. If lifting heavy and getting strong is your primary driver, targeting your forearms will improve your endurance and overall strength.
What Happens if You Neglect to Train Forearms?
If you don’t train your forearms, you may notice trouble holding onto weights in certain lifts, such as bicep and chest exercises. It’s not that you can’t lift the weight; it’s that you can’t grip it. It also puts you at a greater risk of developing tennis or golfer’s elbow if you enjoy either of those sports.
Wrist stability matters, especially when pressing heavy. Strong wrists are needed for push movements, and forearm exercises can target that specifically.
Your arm flexors and extensors need to be balanced, and forearm exercises are a great way to ensure that, while strengthening your kinetic chain of arm muscles for pull exercises.
The 10 Most Effective Forearm Exercises
How do you start incorporating your forearms into your workouts? Add these 10 moves to the end of your sessions throughout the week to see more forearm and grip strength.
Wrist Curls
Wrist curls should be one of the first forearm exercises you include and should stay with you throughout your strength training journey. They’re the most direct way to target your wrist flexors on the underside of your forearm. Wrist curls will help you balance your grip strength development.
Stand in front of your cable machine holding both handles with an underhand grip, palms facing up. Relax your wrist to extend it fully, dropping your knuckles toward the floor.
Then, squeeze and curl your wrist as high up as possible so your hand is perpendicular to the floor.
Control the negative movement back down over 2-3 seconds. Repeat for 15-20 reps.
Hammer curls
Next, add hammer curls to build the size of your brachioradialis muscle, which flexes the elbow joint. Hammer curls are an excellent functional movement to practice in the gym because you do them often in daily life. It’s also helpful to bridge your bicep and forearm training. For this one, you can use dumbbells or a cable machine like the Speediance Gym Monster 2.
Kneel down, and. the weights or rope using a neutral grip, palms facing in. Pin your elbows in place and curl your weights up toward your shoulder without rotating your wrists. You can also perform a single-arm variation; just ensure you keep balance by using the same reps and weights on both sides.
When you reach the top, squeeze for a second or two, then lower with control.
Farmer’s Carry
Often touted as one of the most functional upper body movements, a farmer’s carry also sneakily recruits your forearm muscles to grip the weight to build real-world carrying strength. You’ll get improved grip endurance under load, which is helpful in actions like carrying groceries or moving heavy furniture.
Find heavy dumbbells or kettlebells and grab one in each hand, keeping a neutral grip with weights at your sides. Stand tall, press your shoulders back and down, and brace your core.
Begin walking forward slowly, taking slow and controlled steps. Don’t let the weights at your sides swing, and maintain your posture as you walk.
Start by taking 30-50 steps and progress your distance as your grip gets stronger. Take a few minutes to rest between sets.
Zottman Curls
Another curl variation, Zottman curls, addresses common imbalances in the flexor-extensor muscles of the forearm. This exercise combines multiple grip patterns within the movement, making it an especially effective addition to any workout.
Start with dumbbells in an underhand grip like you would for a typical bicep curl. Curl up normally and contract the bicep.
Once you reach the top position, rotate your hands to an overhand grip and slowly lower the weights. At the bottom, rotate back to the underhand grip and repeat.
Emphasize the slow lowering phase of the movement to test your grip. Ensure you’re using a weight lower than your typical bicep curl to focus on your forearms.
Wrist Roller
Wrist rollers require special equipment, or you can tie a weight to a short bar using a long rope or string. It’s an excellent move to build forearm endurance when you’re short on time but want something efficient.
Start by holding the handle or bar up in front of you, arms extended. Begin to roll the weight up, using one hand at a time and flexing motions to slowly rotate the bar and move the weight.
Once the weight reaches the top, you can reverse the movement to lower the weight. Avoid resting the weight on the floor between movements.
Plate Pinches
The pinch grip doesn’t get as much attention as a regular grip, so this move takes a little time to focus on it. If you rock climb or practice martial arts, this comes in handy. Add them to your home arm workouts for a great final burnout.
Place two smooth plates together and pinch them together using your thumb and fingers. Hold the weights vertically and press hard to hold them together. Aim for about 15-30 seconds at a time.
Don’t let the plates slip, slide down, or tilt.
Dead Hangs
If you’re ready for the ultimate grip strength test, try a dead hang. It works your grip muscles and forearms, is incredible for shoulder mobility and health, and has real-world value.
Grab a pull-up bar several feet taller than you. You may need to take a step to get up. Hang from the bar with your arms extended and shoulders still slightly engaged.
Engage your core and keep a neutral spine. Breathe normally.
The hardest part about this move is the inaction. To start, try hanging for 15-30 seconds. Once you progress to 60 seconds, you can add weight.
Reverse Wrist Curls
Reverse wrist curls are similar to the first exercise we listed; they just take the opposite grip to work the other side of the forearm. They’re also great for golfers or tennis players.
Take a seated position with dumbbells or a barbell, but hold the weight with an overhand grip, and choose a lighter weight. Relax the wrists so the palms face out and the knuckles angle toward the floor.
Extend and curl the wrists upward as high as possible, then lower with control back to the start. Focus on achieving a full range of motion.
Cable Pronation and Supination
This cable move builds rotational strength, which is crucial if you play sports or want improved wrist stability during pressing movements.
Set the cable to elbow height and attach a single handle. Stand sideways to the machine and place the handle in your outside hand. Lock your elbow at 90º and pin it against your side.
Rotate your forearm so your palm faces up (supination). Then, return it to neutral. Follow up by rotating the palm down (pronation). Go back to neutral. Repeat, keeping the upper arm completely still.
This move is less about weight and more about your full range of motion.
Finger Curls
Zero in on your finger strength, which connects to the forearm, and build strong finger flexors, which lead to a stronger grip.
You’ll need very light weights, maybe just half a pound to two pounds. Lay your arm flat on a bench and place the dumbbell over the end of your fingertips with palms open.
Support the weight with your fingertips and curl your fingers to roll the weight back toward your palm. Squeeze tightly at the top and lower the fingertips back to the starting position with control.
Remember: It’s about finger strength, not wrist movement.
Tips To Maximize Your Forearm Training
Get the most out of your forearm training by avoiding common mistakes and learning tricks from the forearm pros, such as rock climbers and martial artists.
Using Grip-Intensive Movements
Choose exercises that will challenge and improve your grip. Grip strength is one of the primary markers of human health; a strong grip correlates with a strong musculoskeletal system. Beyond forearm-specific exercises, you can add thicker bar attachments or just focus on your grip more in other compound movements, giving a bit of forearm flair to any upper or lower body move.
Ensure Proper Recovery
Your forearms recover faster than most muscles, so you only need 24-48 hours of recovery between sessions (as long as you get quality sleep). Stretch your forearms lightly with wrist flexing, extending, and rolling, and power them with proper nutrition to support growth.
Train Frequently but Moderately With High Reps
Training 3-4 times per week is ideal, and you don’t need heavy weights. Start light and work your way up as you get stronger. Keep your rep range high, close to 20 reps per exercise, to burn out the muscles.
Train Forearms at the End of Workouts
Your grip is used in nearly every exercise you perform with weights, so don’t make things harder on yourself by burning out your forearms before starting heavy compound lifts. Instead, train them at the end of your workouts so grip fatigue doesn’t impact your progressive overload of other lifts. You can safely train to failure while still getting the most out of your primary movements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Forearms Hard to Grow?
Forearms are stubborn and challenging muscles that are difficult for many people to grow. They can’t handle much weight or intensity but respond well to high-frequency training. Stay patient and persistent, remembering that size only follows strength gains.
How Do I Grow the Size of My Forearms?
To increase the size of your forearms, add a few forearm exercises to the end of every workout, or at least 3-4 times per week. Practice with lower weights and higher rep ranges of at least 15-25 per exercise. Include a variety of grip positions and flexor/extensor training. Patience is key, as forearms grow slowly.
Do Pull-Ups Build Forearms?
Pull-ups help develop grip strength and grow your forearms; however, a better option would be dead hangs, which more specifically target the forearms. Add weight to your pull-ups or deadhangs for increased demand on the forearms and combine these moves with other direct forearm exercises for best results.
Forearm Strength Enhances Grip and Elevates Performance
Arm development requires attention to all areas, including the forearms. These tricky muscles aren’t quick to grow and can’t handle heavy weights the way your biceps or triceps can, but they respond well to high frequency and consistency over time. Forearm strength improves your grip and builds forearm size, but it also enhances your lifting overall, giving you more stability during press movements.
If you work out at the gym, a pull-up bar and light weights are ideal for your forearm work. If you work out at home, a comprehensive workout system like the Speediance Gym Monster 2 can help you perform the same exercises with cable system hacks.
