# Forearm Blast



## Arnold (Apr 10, 2002)

*Forearm Blast *

_Develop an often neglected body part in only a single weekly 15-minute routine._

 
Originally featured in: 
Men's Fitness April, 2002 

A couple of hundred years ago, strong forearm muscles were a dime a dozen. Everyone had ???em. Lumberjacks, blacksmiths, farmers. Men grappled with heavy implements all day long, then hit the local pub to drink ale from a 10-pound beer tankard, fight and arm-wrestle. Not a case of carpal tunnel syndrome in sight.

Fast-forward to today. Most denizens of corporate America could classify their forearms as vestigial muscles???tasks such as typing and surfing the Web pose serious injury risks to grossly underdeveloped flexors and extensors.

Even those of us who hit the gym regularly aren???t training this key muscle group with any kind of focus or consistency. Sure, your forearms get worked pretty hard on back day when you perform any kind of pull-down, row or curl. And yeah, handling heavy dumbbells, barbells and weight plates will improve your general forearm and grip strength. But functional strength, the kind that actually improves performance and reduces the risk of injury, requires a more focused effort.

If you want to play better golf, tennis, hockey, baseball or basketball, or just improve your weightlifting ability, you need to target the muscles that flex, extend and rotate your wrist joint. Strong forearms make for a better athlete???just look at Tiger Woods. His powerful forearms and grip strength allow him to manipulate the clubhead with pinpoint accuracy, even while the rest of his body is moving at breakneck speed, to create and execute shots that other pros physically can???t perform.

Whether you???re trying to hit the 2-iron stinger off the tee on a windy day, extend your shooting range on the basketball court, or win a role as a bad-ass arm-wrestler in Over the Top II, powerful forearms will help. And while your forefathers had to spend countless hours pounding on an anvil or chopping down trees, all you need is 15 minutes out of your week to develop forearms that would make Popeye jealous. 

*The Workout*
You can complete this quick forearm regimen at the end of any session in which you???ve trained arms or done upper-body work. Your forearms have already been working, though not maximally, so they should be warm and ready to go.

The workout consists of three basic exercises: wrist curls, reverse wrist curls and forearm rotations. To begin, superset the wrist curls and reverse wrist curls; you can use either dumbbells or a barbell???your choice. To decrease the time spent selecting a weight, you might want to have two sets of dumbbells or barbells available, since you???ll probably need a lighter weight for the reverse curls than for the wrist curls (you likely have stronger wrist flexors than extensor muscles). Do 10 to 15 repetitions of wrist curls, then, without resting, switch to reverse wrist curls. Take a one- or two-minute break between supersets. Complete three sets of each exercise.

Next, using dumbbells, you???ll complete three sets of forearm rotations. Make sure to select a weight that you are able to control, to keep the tension on your muscles at all times. Do 10 to 15 reps. Take a one- or two-minute rest between sets.

Do this routine twice a week, allowing for ample rest (48 hours) between sessions. Try not to schedule these sessions the day before a big arm workout or sporting endeavor, as tight, sore forearms can decrease performance.


----------



## ActionMatt (Apr 10, 2002)

I'd be a lot more willing to listen if he hadn't stated that moving heavy dumbells and lifting on back day built strength, but not "functional" strength. Unfortunately, I stopped reading at that point.


----------



## Mule (Apr 10, 2002)

Whats a dumbell rotation?


----------



## Rob_NC (Apr 11, 2002)

> _*Originally posted by ActionMatt *_
> I'd be a lot more willing to listen if he hadn't stated that moving heavy dumbells and lifting on back day built strength, but not "functional" strength. Unfortunately, I stopped reading at that point.




HUH?  Sure, you can develop your forearms indirectly, but why not target them directly with specific movements? Not training forearms directly would be the same as not training bis and tris directly. The goal is to hit the ENTIRE muscle.


----------



## ActionMatt (Apr 11, 2002)

The forearm isn't "a" muscle. Mostly, its the brachioradialis and the groups of wrist flexor and extensor muscles.

The brachioradialis is what most determines forearm size. It is targeted heavily in any activity involving elbow flexion, and if this isn't enough hammer or reverse curls can be used. The wrist flexors and extensors are tiny muscles that don't have much in terms of ROM and make up little of the forearm's appearance. Normal gripping activities are enough for those.


----------



## Preacher (Apr 11, 2002)

I can do wrist curls like ... forever and not feel a damn thing until suddenly the whole arm 
seems to cramp out and lock itself into the upright position, hurting like hell ...

I found that I got a lot more forearm stimulation from doing heavy deads with both palms facing backwards and Reverse barbell Curls. 

There's just something to masochistic about them wrist curl, if you ask me ...


----------



## Scotty the Body (Apr 11, 2002)

> _*Originally posted by Mule *_
> Whats a dumbell rotation?


I'm wondering the same thing?


----------



## ZONE (Apr 11, 2002)

> _*Originally posted by Scotty the Body *_
> 
> I'm wondering the same thing?



Dumbell Rotation:


You put Mule and Scotty in the same room and tell them to move around in a cirlce......


     


Oh man I crack myself up.........


----------



## Mule (Apr 11, 2002)

Who the hell is this guy and why are we letting him on this forum.


----------



## Scotty the Body (Apr 11, 2002)

I don't know Mule,  and I'm starting to wonder if he know himself with all these different names he keeps using. Must have a split personality. 

LOL, Just messin with you Zoneman, Zone, Jake, Bob, Neil (opps sorry, thats what you do.) hahahahaha


----------



## Mule (Apr 12, 2002)

Is anyone going to tell me what Dumbell rotation really is?


----------



## Neil (Apr 12, 2002)

> _*Originally posted by Scotty the Body *_
> , Neil (opps sorry, thats what you do.) hahahahaha



WTF?


----------



## Lightman009 (Apr 12, 2002)

I find reverse wrist curls to be pretty effective. But I am a little leary to using the other exercises, however I had been told that certain curl workouts work the forearm  pretty good.


----------



## james_75 (Apr 15, 2002)

One exersize that i found works good for the forearms is wrist rollers....to anyone who dosent know what they are (im not trying to insult anyones inteligence) were we lift we have a bar w/ the cable attached w/ the weight at the bottom and you roll them up and than let them down slow ......you really feel the burn


----------



## epimetheus (Apr 15, 2002)

An exercise I use for my wrist and forearms is something I have heard refered to as Thor's hammer.
http://www.freetrainers.com/FT/jsp/Message.jsp?f_ix=5&m_ix=14246

I hold a dumbell like I would a hammer and make it as if I am hammering (sort of), and also twist my wrists around. I.E ; holding dumbell perpendicular to the ground like a hammer.  (palms facing inward) and twisting so my palms are facing the ground and then twist it around so my palms are facing up.
I do low weights because Im still a wimp at it, but it leaves me feeling like I seriously got something done to say the least.


----------

