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Today we are talking about a muscle many don’t think about – the forearms! Even if massive forearms aren’t your goal — it’s still important to strengthen these muscles!
Strong forearms increase your grip strength – a strong grip will help you have more upper body strength – more upper body strength means better lifts – better lifts means bigger gains!!
See the domino effect? If you lack forearm strength, your ability to build strength in other parts of your body will undoubtedly suffer!
So yeah….
Your forearms may be more important than you ever realized!
If you have a solid full-body training program, your forearms probably get hit a decent amount.
But if you are looking to grow this muscle or need better grip strength, you probably need to throw in a little extra accessory work!
Today we are giving you The 5 Best Exercises For Bigger Forearms, plus three bonus exercises that are great for grip strength!
Before we dive in, we want to make sure you understand there is no need to have a dedicated day you work your forearms. Put emphasis on doing plenty of compound exercises. Then pick and choose a few of these exercises and throw them in at the end of an upper-body or accessory day!
You have to always keep your overall training plan in mind, which should be based on your goals and body type. If you need some help with that, we have a Free Body Type Quiz that will tell you what you need to do in the gym and kitchen based on your goals and genetics. Check it out! It’s only six questions, and you get your results within minutes!
No matter your quiz results, these are some great exercises to throw into ANY plan if you want to have better grip strength and build your forearms!
We will start off with five of our favorite forearm exercises, then at the end, we will give you three bonus exercises that focus more on grip strength.
Because remember what we said earlier … one of the best ways to build your forearms is to make them stronger and one proven way to do that is to develop your grip strength.
If you aren’t sure how to execute any of these exercises, we filmed a video that walks you through each one! We suggest watching it to ensure you are using proper form!
Exercise One: Forearm Curls
First up, we will hit the big meaty part of your forearm! The best way to do that is with some wrist flexion!
You will probably be able to go a little heavier for these. Try somewhere in the 20-40 pound range.
- Sit with your feet on the floor.
- Grab a heavy dumbbell and grip it really tight.
- Place your elbow and topside of your forearm (palm up) on your thigh, allowing your wrist to hang off your knee.
- Allow your wrist to very slowly drop down all the way to get as much of a stretch as possible!
- Don’t ease up on your grip! Keep it tight! Then slowly drive your palm up towards your elbow as far as you can and squeeze your forearm.
- Repeat for the desired number of reps and sets.
Tips
- Focus on time under tension! Go really slow! Do not just pump out reps!
- Do not loosely hold the weight! Squeeze tight!!
Exercise Two: Wrist Extensions
This exercise targets more of the top side of your forearm. People tend to focus on the under meaty side, but don’t forget to isolate the top! It plays a significant role in how big your forearms look!
You will need to grab a much lighter weight for this one, probably around 50% less than what you used for the forearm curls. This is because your forearms fatigue much faster with wrist extension than flexion.
- Sit with your feet on the floor.
- Grab a light dumbbell and grip it really tight.
- Place the bottom side of your forearm (palm down) on your thigh, allowing your wrist to hang off your knee as far as you can. You want to get a good stretch in the top of your forearm.
- Drive the weight up slowly as high as you can and squeeze.
- Don’t ease up on your grip! Keep it tight! Slowly lower the weight.
- Repeat for the desired number of reps and sets.
Tips
- Focus on time under tension! Go slow!
- Do not loosely hold the weight! Squeeze tight!!
- Don’t go too heavy!! Use a weight where you can control both the eccentric and concentric portion of the lift!
Exercise Three: Overhand Curls
The first two exercises are great staples for wrist flexion and wrist extension. These last three work a muscle most don’t associate with being part of the forearm: the brachioradialis.
The brachioradialis is the muscle that flexes the forearm at the elbow. To give you a visual, it’s the muscle you see pop out when you “flex” your forearm.
Most people think of the bicep with any type of curl, but that isn’t always true. Your grip can change a lot! With overhand curls, of course, the bicep will get hit, but because your palms are facing down, your forearms get a lot of isolation!
- Grab an EZ Curl Bar
- Hold at shoulder-width apart with palms down.
- Grip tightly and keep your elbows tucked in.
- Curl the bar up and squeeze your forearms at the top.
- Slowly lower.
- Repeat for desired number of sets and reps.
Tips
- You will feel this in your biceps; that’s fine! But if done correctly, it does a great job at isolating the brachioradialis.
- Focus on time under tension! Slow down!
- Do not loosely hold the weight! Squeeze tight!!
Exercise Four: Hammer Curls
This is another exercise that people only associate with biceps, but when done correctly, it will also do a great job at hitting the brachioradialis.
- Grab some dumbbells that are heavy but light enough that you remain controlled and do not use momentum.
- Get into a nice strong position (elbows slightly forward.)
- Grip the dumbbells really HARD with your arms by your side and palms facing each other.
- Curl the weight up (remaining in this neutral position the entire time) and squeeze your forearms at the top.
- Slowly lower, but do not lock out your elbows.
- Repeat for the desired number of reps and sets.
Tips
- It’s okay if you feel it in your biceps! Just focus on squeezing your forearm at the top and going slow!
- Make sure your grip remains neutral from beginning to end.
- Don’t flare out your elbows! Keep them tucked in by your sides.
- Don’t lock your elbows out at the bottom.
Exercise Five: Zottman Curls
We are ending with a unique exercise you may have never done before! It’s another curl that hits the brachioradialis and forces you to use time under tension!
It is a hybrid style curl where you start with one hand position and switch to another hand position on the way down. So pay attention to the details!
- Grab some dumbbells that are heavy but light enough that you remain controlled and do not use momentum.
- Get into a nice strong position (elbows slightly forward.)
- Grip the weight really HARD with your palms facing up (wrists supinated.)
- Curl the weight up, and at the top, rotate your wrists to a palms-down position (wrists pronated.)
- Lower the weight slowly in this pronated position.
- Switch hand position back to palms up and repeat this process for the desired number of sets of reps!
Tips
- Make sure you are lowering slowly! It’s on the way down that you are hitting the forearm!
- Don’t pause or lock your elbows out at the bottom.
- Don’t flare out your elbows! Keep them tucked in by your sides.
3 BONUS EXERCISES (for grip strength)
Developing grip strength really just comes down to holding something HEAVY for an extended period!
Here are our three favorite ways to develop grip strength.
1: Dumbbell Hold – It can’t get any more simple than this. Just grab some REALLY HEAVY dumbbells. Hold them down by your sides until you give out. Rest and repeat for a few rounds!
2: Farmer’s Carry – Grab two heavy weights … and we mean heavy .. really heavy! Safely pick them up from the ground and bring them to your sides with your palms facing your hips. Drop and pin back your shoulder blades, keep good posture, brace your core, and walk as far as you can. If you made it more than a couple hundred yards, you need a heavier load. These work not only your forearms and grip – but also your neck, shoulders, back, abs, legs, and glutes! Just don’t forget that the key is going HEAVY.
3: Bar Hang – Another self-explanatory one! Just head to a pull-up bar or any bar you can hang from … hang and hold your body weight as long as you can! Drop, rest, repeat for a few rounds!
FOR BIGGER FOREARMS
Try adding a few of the above exercises and at least one grip strength exercise on an upper-body or accessory day.
Yes, these are super simple exercises, but if done correctly, we promise they are extremely effective for building your forearms (with the bonus of some bicep work if you pick those last three.)
Always remember, you don’t have to get super creative when weight training. Simple exercises usually work the best no matter what muscle you are working, including your forearms!
After you’ve thrown these into your workout routine for a few weeks, come back and let us know what you think in the comment section! And while you’re there, let us know if you have a favorite grip strength or forearm exercise!! We love hearing your suggestions!
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