My calves and forearms are naturally like sticks. However, I’ve nearly obsessively trained my calves HARD in the past year and brought them up remarkably. Now I intend to do the same for my shitty forearms. Hopefully the results will be similar.
[quote]Ignant wrote:
I have more trouble adding mass to my forearms than any other body part. What are the best exercises for adding mass to the forearms?
I don’t have a routine, but I mostly use grippers and the wrist roller(the thing with the rope) and I havent had much success. [/quote]
very imo,
forearms size is more related to back size than arms size…
I mean,very rarely i have seen grip problems during curls but I witnessed -very often- grip problems during:
-heavy rows
-heavy pull ups
-heavy shrugs
-heavy deads
if you don’t use straps during back excercises the weaker ring of the (posterior kinetic) chain is the grip (forearms) so ,training the back, you train forearms.
of course ,after first sets alias when your forearms are well toasted, wear the straps to full train your back…or you leave the gym with trained f/arms and a not so fully trained back…
imo, pull more weight on (back) basic excercises and your f/arms will grow; i have here a beautiful wrist roller (homemade) wood pipe of big diameter,it has been 2 years I don’t use it because I can’t! after back sessions my f/arms are done…
jack-off a bear
Fat Gripz
Already mentioned but worth mentioning:
Heavy pulling
But another worthy movement:
HEAVY pinwheel curls
I’ve noticed baseball players tend to have really big forearms too
[quote]overstand wrote:
I’ve noticed baseball players tend to have really big forearms too[/quote]
Agreed, I feel mine certainly were helped by years of Golf daily also.
i always had pretty small wrists and forearms when i was a bodybuilder. i would do endless wrist curls and other isolation movements for the forearms. once i switched to powerlifting and lifting heavy my forearms and wrists grew like crazy. when i bench i will do most of my benching without wrist wraps and that has really increased my wrist and forearm size. most of my watches have to be worn on the last or second to last hole on the band now.
so basically really heavy lifting over time will increase them.
Grip4orce will get the job done…the thing different with these compared to thick-bars is the added resistance…makes you squeeze.
Seems like it increases muscle focus and really blows up the forearms more then the average thick-bars. The downfall on these is the extra work, makes you focus more and really squeeze the bar. After you get used to them they really add value to all other lifts with the regular bars and dumbbells. More strength and intra-strength
shitty calves, high insertions. forearms grew as the rest of me grew, I have tiny wrists and a tiny penis…you know what helped spark growth…getting hummers.
serious and short answer - grow everywhere, lift heavier things. rack pulls and deads, just holding significant weight over time helps, as mentioned thick bars help.
best thing for forearms was mentioned - heavy pinwheel curls. go heavy 2-4 sets, one more set lighter, i brace against an incline bench leaning over, one arm at a time and squeeze and hold the peak contraction.
[quote]overstand wrote:
I’ve noticed baseball players tend to have really big forearms too[/quote]
I think it is because of a volume stimulus. Swinging bats all day long everyday will build them up. I noticed mine have gotten bigger just from all the extra volume I started to do on back day. I use straps with some movements, and even then my forearms are trashed to the point of cramping the rest of the day.
I think much like calves, forearms respond best to lots of volume (which you can accomplish by directly or indirectly working them) and frequency.
My friend played for FMU, and he said most of the players in the gym mainly focus on core + forearms in their work outs.
Edit: For baseball
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Farmer Carries and Kroc Rows
Farmer Carries and Kroc Rows
Shake Weight
Genetics.
Beyond that, I’ve never found direct forearm work useful. Handling heavy weights consistently in bench, row, curl etc has helped me most. Fat bar also.
[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
My calves and forearms are naturally like sticks. However, I’ve nearly obsessively trained my calves HARD in the past year and brought them up remarkably. Now I intend to do the same for my shitty forearms. Hopefully the results will be similar. [/quote]
this is what i believe is the reason most people who have shitty ‘genetics’ dont end up with good forearms or calves. ID, youre a prime example of how to do it, if you have a bad body part, that shit needs to become your fucking focus.
Calves and forearms are no different than any other bodypart. If my biceps wont grow, which people just happened to be way more obsessed about, i train them with focus compared to everything else. Same for calves, train those fuckers everyother or even every fucking day if ya have to. Forearms are meant to hold onto shit, just like calves get worked everyday just from walking, we hold onto things all day so youre really going to have to work the shit out of them frequently to get them to go beyond their current level.
In my opinion, these are two bodyparts people dont like to focus on because they are ‘small’ generally need alot of frequency, painful techniques and alot of weight to see a difference, and its common trend to be more ok to lack on calves and forearms than say chest or bi’s.
Im quite tired of, o youre born with them so dont even try. Fuck that, hell if i was born with a flat fucking chest, youre telling me thats somehow different than small forearms or calves? Youre telling me my body has specific bodyparts that it wont let grow, namely calves and forearms? Fuck that. My body doesnt want to add muscle anywhere without a reason, so i fucking give it a reason.
Im pretty much just rambling now, but ID seems to have the same mindset i do when it comes to this, same from reading about his ‘narrow’ chest problem, which im not sure if he solved but actively troubleshooted how to train around a shoulder problem and still work the shit out of his chest.
You think its fucking fun holding long contractions on calfs raises or doing the double pop, do partial reps until you cant fucking stand after the set? Helll no, but thats what were here for. To do what others would consider stupidly painful, to do what no one else would to improve our body, to do what anyone else would consider unthinkable, in the name of muscle.
You want a complete physique? You better damn well have good forearms and calves just like anything else. I dont give a fuck what anyone else says, you got huge fucking legs and tiny little pencils below the knee, it looks fucking stupid. YOu got massive fucking arms, shoulders, barrelling chest and massive back? You better damn well have some thick meat below the elbow, or again, it looks fucking stupid.
ID, i like your style, wouldnt mind hearing about the results of your forearms expedition.
To all readers, this is all IMO!!! no harm meant!
O and lastly, exercise selection is such a small part of the game guys, theres only so many ‘special’ exercises out there, and everyone has a pretty same knowlegde of what exercises are availabe for what. If more people were concerned with effort, consistence, nutrition rather than what exercises work best, i think wed be in much better place, more people with more muscle.
Everyone is going to bench press, everyone is going to do rows ect… but if you choose to do them for years week in and week out, day after day, eventually you will learn how to bench for YOU, how to row for YOU, and that is what makes the exercise special. Everyone can bench, not everyone can bench effectively for there goals.
Thats something IMO that is learned on your own, sure ppl can give tips, but YOU need to put in the work. This applies to all body parts. Put in the time, reap the rewards.
that is all.
FatGripz. They do wonders for your forearms.