I have yet to see a bodybuilder who is not serious about training biceps and
triceps. Forearms, however, are a completely different story. Many
rationalize devoting little or no attention to the forearms by thinking that
all those bicep curls and lat pulls will improve grip strength and beef up
the forearms.
Well, your grip strength may improve -- unless you're using
straps -- but you certainly won't get the vein-popping forearms of Ronnie
Coleman if you don't put some serious, specific effort into them.
Get On The Fast-Track
Fortunately, it is neither very hard nor time-consuming to put your forearms
on the fast-track to growth. First off, you have to recognize that your
forearms are muscles like any other. That means they have to be hit hard,
and then get ample time to rest and recover in order for growth to occur.
Training biceps one day, back the next, and then doing forearms on the third
day is not the best option. Instead, train forearms together with biceps and
avoid training back the day before or after the bicep/forearm workout, thus
conserving energy and/or allowing recuperation. Personally, I try to keep a
space at least 2-3 days to make sure I'm not short-changing myself.
Workout Schedule
Now that you know where the forearms belong in your workout schedule, it's
time to get down to business. Since the forearms have a number of small,
separate muscles, you have to alternate exercises to hit them all. However,
like I said earlier, this is not necessarily time-consuming.
I have found that forearms are a typical "more is less" type of muscle group, where a few
intense sets for each part can do wonders. In fact, you can make excellent
gains with only 3 exercises per workout;
One in which you curl a weight with
your knuckles pointing up (squarely hitting brachioradialis and the
dorsalflexative muscles), one with your knuckles pointing to the sides
(hitting bicep brachii and brachioradialis) and one in which you hold a
weight and flex your wrist so that the palm approaches your forearm (hitting
the palmarflexative muscles).
A good example of the first exercise is the reverse-grip bicep curl.
Execution:
1. Stand straight with feet shoulder-width apart, slightly bent knees, abs
tense and shoulders relaxed.
2. Grab a straight barbell with an overhand grip (thumbs down) with your
hands about 6-8 inches apart and let it hang.
3. From the starting position, curl up while keeping your elbows snugly
against your sides.
4. For extra intensity, pull your knuckles back as you curl up so that the
top of your forearms gets a good squeeze.
5. Hold and flex for a second at the top, then slowly return to the starting
position.
Comments: If you have a training partner, have him/her spot you but
make sure you're still pulling most of the load. In many cases it only takes
a few ounces of pressure from your partner to help you squeeze out another
rep.
Variation: For variation, you can try doing this with a Scott board
(normally used for bicep curls). Yet another option, if your gym is equipped
with one, is that always-available machine where you roll a bar that is
hooked to a small weight stack.
I have yet to see a distinct name for these
machines, but if your gym has one, you know what I'm talking about. You
simply grab the bar and flex your forearms in either direction, and that's
pretty much all there's to it.
The one caveat is that you must actually use
your forearms -- it is very easy to start a pushing/pulling motion that
originates in your shoulders, so make a conscious effort to relax the rest
of your body.
As for the second exercise, nothing beats the good old hammer curl!
Execution:
1. Sit on a bench with the back angled about 45 degrees. Keep your feet
securely planted on the ground.
2. Grab a pair of dumbbells, lean back against the pad and let your arms
hang.
3. Keeping your thumbs up, curl the dumbbells up as far you can. Keep your
shoulders relaxed.
4. Squeeze at the top for a second. For more focus on brachioradialis, you
can tilt the dumbbells a little (pinkies moving outwards.)
5. Slowly let the dumbbells sink down until you feel a good stretch and
repeat.
Comments: Many people like to alternate hands, allowing them to
squirm from side to side and cheat. Sure, you'll handle bigger weight, but
you're also robbing yourself of some of the benefit and increasing the risk
of injury. Instead, synchronize your arms so that you curl both dumbbells at
the same time.
Variation: There are many variations to this exercise. I prefer the
seated version as it gives me a fuller range of motion and a good stretch at
the bottom. However, there is nothing that prevents you from doing it
standing, but make sure you're not swaying. Stand with your back against a
wall if you tend to 'swing' the weights.
If you're standing, you can use a
cable machine with a thick rope instead. Simply attach the rope to the lower
pulley, grab the rope and curl away as you would with dumbbells. The benefit
of this is more even resistance, as is always the case with pulleys vs. free
weights. Last but not least, I've had one client who swore by the
double-handed approach.
This variation calls for a single, very heavy
dumbbell, which as the name implies is held with both hands. The range of
motion is somewhat limited since you have to start out with slightly bent
elbows, but this guy built pretty massive forearms using this method so I'm
not to say this method doesn't work.
Last but not least, time for some forearm rolls. Done right, these will kill
off whatever grip strength you may have left so these are natural finishers
before hitting the shower.
Execution:
1. Set the stops on a power-cage so that you can touch the barbell with your
fingertips as it rests against the stops.
2. Stand straight with feet shoulder-width apart, slightly bent knees, abs
tense and shoulders relaxed with your back against the power-cage.
3. Grab the barbell by bending your knees, NOT rounding your back.
4. Open your fists half-way and let the barbell roll down about an inch, but
maintain control at all times.
5. Close your fists again and curl up your palm towards the back of your
forearms as far as you can.
6. Squeeze for 2-3 seconds, then slowly return to the starting point.
Comments: Make sure to stay close to the power-cage (or better yet,
inside it) so that the stops catch the bar if you lose your grip. This is
easy to do as you get tired and might cramp up.
Gloves are a sticky issue.
While gloves, especially the neoprene kind, improve the grip, they also
limit the range of motion. A bare hand can close its grip further, but may
also lose the grip if it is sweaty.
Variation: You can do this exercise with a cable machine, but there's
really not that much difference due to the short, linear motion of the free
weight option. However, if you prefer to do this one-handed, definitely go
with the cable machine.
Thanks,
mattdanielsson@hotmail.com
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