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.
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.
