Forearm Workout: Best Exercises for Bigger Forearms and Grip

Strong forearms help you hold heavy deadlifts, rows and carries, and they are on display every time you roll up your sleeves. A simple forearm workout twice a week can build both size and grip.

Forearm Muscles

• Flexors: on the palm side, they bend the wrist and close the hand.
• Extensors: on the back of the forearm, they extend the wrist and open the hand.
• Brachioradialis: near the elbow, works hard in hammer and reverse curls.

Best Forearm Exercises

Wrist curls

Rest your forearms on a bench, palms up, and curl the bar with your wrists.

Reverse wrist curls

Same setup, palms down.

Reverse curls

Curl a barbell with an overhand grip.

Hammer curls

See how to do hammer curls.

Farmer's walks

See farmer's walk.

Dead hangs

Hang from a pull-up bar for time.

Plate pinches

Pinch two plates together, smooth sides out, and hold.

Forearm Workout

1. Reverse curls: 3 x 10 to 12
2. Wrist curls: 3 x 15 to 20
3. Reverse wrist curls: 3 x 15 to 20
4. Farmer's walk: 3 x 30 meters
5. Dead hang: 2 x max time

How Often?

Forearms recover quickly. Train them two or three times a week at the end of a session.

Straps, Chalk and Grip Training

Straps let you train your back and legs past your grip limit; chalk helps you train your grip directly. Use both: liquid chalk for grip work and lighter sets, and lifting straps for heavy top sets. (Liquid chalk is not returnable.) Our straps are 24" and $19.99. See how to improve grip strength for deadlifts.

Wrist Wraps for Heavy Pressing

Forearm training is not the same as wrist support on heavy presses. Wrist wraps help keep the wrist stacked on bench and overhead work.

Grip Strength Types

"Grip" is not a single quality. Training all three types makes your hands more capable in and out of the gym:

• Crushing grip: closing your hand around an object, like gripping a bar or a gripper.
• Support grip: holding something for time, like a deadlift lockout or farmer's walk.
• Pinch grip: holding something between your fingers and thumb, like a plate pinch.

Most barbell lifts train support grip. Adding pinches and hand grippers fills in the gaps.

Forearm Training at Home

You do not need a full gym to train your forearms.

• Towel hangs: loop a towel over a pull-up bar and hang from it.
• Rice bucket: dig your hands into a bucket of rice, opening and closing them and twisting your wrists.
• Wrist roller: tie a weight to a rope wound around a stick and roll it up and down.
• Heavy bag carries: carry a loaded backpack or a heavy household object in one hand.
• Hand grippers: keep one at your desk for short sets through the day.

Thick Grip Training

Thicker handles make your hands work harder. Use thick grip attachments on dumbbells or barbells, or wrap a towel around the handle for rows and curls. Start with lighter weights; even an extra half inch of handle thickness can feel much harder.

Forearm Workout for Lifters

If you already deadlift, row and do pull-ups, you get a lot of grip work. Add this short block twice a week:

1. Wrist roller: 3 trips up and down
2. Plate pinch: 3 holds of 20 to 30 seconds
3. Reverse curl: 3 x 12
4. Hand gripper: 2 sets of max reps per hand

Forearm Workout for Bodybuilders

For size, focus on higher reps and full range:

1. Barbell wrist curl: 4 x 15 to 20
2. Reverse wrist curl: 3 x 15 to 20
3. Hammer curl: 3 x 10 to 12
4. Behind-the-back cable wrist curl: 2 x 20

Balance Flexors and Extensors

Many people train only the palm-side muscles because they are used every time you grip a bar. Include reverse wrist curls or rubber band finger extensions to train the back of the forearm too. A balanced approach keeps your training well rounded.

How Grip Improves Your Other Lifts

A stronger grip lets you hold heavier deadlifts, row with more control and carry more weight in farmer's walks. On presses, many lifters find that squeezing the bar hard helps them feel tighter. Stronger hands make most lifts feel more secure.

Tracking Forearm Progress

Track hang time, farmer's walk distance and the weight on your wrist curls. Grip strength responds fairly quickly to focused training, so you should see measurable improvement within a few weeks.

Forearm Training Mistakes

Using huge weights with tiny ranges on wrist curls, training forearms every single day with no recovery and ignoring the extensors are the most common errors. Use a full range, moderate loads and two or three sessions per week. Like any muscle, forearms respond to steady progression and rest.

Forearm Warm-Up

Before heavy grip work, do 20 slow wrist circles each way, a set of light wrist curls and a short dead hang. Warm forearms tolerate heavier holds and carries much better than cold ones.

FAQ

Can you grow forearms?

Consistent direct work and heavy holding exercises help many people build them.

Do straps weaken grip?

Using them only on your heaviest sets while training grip separately is a common approach. Read are lifting straps cheating.

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Straps and chalk, with free shipping on orders over $49 and a 30-day return policy.