Expert Advice > Archived Articles > Filling out the Forearms 04/07/2010
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Filling out the Forearms 04/07/2010Filling out the Forearms Forearms are similar to calves in the fact that genetics play a huge part in how big and quickly they will grow. More often than not the people with the biggest forearms tend to have long and full muscle bellies with a larger than normal wrist circumference. They are lucky as their forearms usually grow with any direct work or as a side effect from gripping the bar during other exercises- some from just performing their every day job! Then there are the people who train them hard on a regular basis with resistance training with little or nothing to show for it. If you fall into the second group keep reading as the right exercises and training can make improvements to the strength and size of your lower arms. You should consider several things when selecting exercises to develop your forearms, such as: * Wrist size & muscle belly length * Do you feel the exercise in the target muscle? Why wrist size and muscle belly length? As mentioned earlier those with thick wrist joints and full muscle bellies have a lot more to start with and generally they will be able to perform and feel any forearm exercise properly and get results. However if you have small wrists, long tendons and short muscle bellies (like myself) then you need to get a little more creative than doing standard wrist curls if you want to hit(feel) the muscle effectively and get the results you want . Below is how I have made continual progress over the years. When I first started training I would complete all forearm exercises with a full range of motion and basically all I got from it was tender wrist joints. So I experimented with partial movements for my forearms and it was awesome! I actually felt all the stress in the muscle (the wrist flexors), got awesome pumps and some much sought after muscle growth. (If you have full muscle bellies you probably can complete a full range of motion and get great results) The exercises I used were: Cable standing wrist curls: Set up a low cable attachment with a normal D handle. Stand directly in front of the cable while holding the D handle in one hand. Use the other hand to hold onto something so you are stable. From this position flex the wrist towards the forearm and repeat till failure (make sure you keep elbow extended throughout). Another effective variation is DB standing wrist curls which can be done with both arms at the same time. Behind the back wrist curls: In a standing position, hold a loaded barbell behind you with palms facing backwards. Proceed to flex the wrist as high as you can then back down. Bench wrist curl: This is just like the traditional exercise where your forearm is on the bench except you do not perform the stretch position. Your forearm and palm start off in line and you flex the hand towards the elbow joint and back to the start. No going past parallel to the floor with your hand at the beginning and end of the movement. I like to keep the rep range fairly high on these exercises with constant tension, usually anywhere between 10-30+ What was I going to do for my extensors ? (Forearm muscles used when you perform a fend in rugby) I found wrist extensions aggravated my wrists. However, Hammer and reverse curls fitted the bill perfectly. Another exercise I found that hammered both my extensors and flexors was the deadlift. It requires you to grip the bar for extended periods of time with high resistance and intensity. I know that when my deadlift weight goes up my forearms grow as well. As you can see getting results from your hard work in the gym cannot be solely achieved through blindly following other people’s advice. You have to sift through the information and make it work for you. If this means performing partial or full range repetitions, low or high reps or using exercises that are a little different than the norm then so be it. I hope that if you have been struggling to make improvements in the lower arm department that you use this way of thinking to devise your own unique plan of attack to fill out your forearms! |
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