so i bought this wrist roller to help improve my grip strength and forearm size…ive never felt this kind of a burn in my forearms before! does anyone else use this or have any experience using it? im wondering if this will actually improve my grip strength or just increase the size of my forearms?
The wrist roller I used was made of a much thicker plastic tubing, but it did increase the size of my forearms and improve my grip.
I made my own with 3 inch diameter PVC pipe and a piece of rope. Yeah, it works quite well.
One thing I wish though was that I had a gadget for working the extensors, i.e. extending the fingers out and up. I think that, at least for me, those muscles get way underworked.
I used them before, it does help with forearm growth not sure about grip though. They sure do make your forearms burn though.
If you improve wrist and forearm strength your grip will improve.
When doing wrist rollers let your arms hang down, don’t hold them straight out in front of you, that way your shoulders will tire out before anything. Hold them low to actually work your forearms.
[quote]Kalle wrote:
If you improve wrist and forearm strength your grip will improve.
When doing wrist rollers let your arms hang down, don’t hold them straight out in front of you, that way your shoulders will tire out before anything. Hold them low to actually work your forearms.[/quote]
i put my forearms over a bar in my squat cage and go from about neck level…
i use a jumpstretch heavy band looped over one end of the bar in the squat rack at shoulder height(when it’s free of course) and hang a 36kg DB from it.
You have the thickness of the olympic bar and the stable support of the rack.
Great for forearms and grip - kills!
Guys line up to use it.
[quote]passionhawaii wrote:
Kalle wrote:
If you improve wrist and forearm strength your grip will improve.
When doing wrist rollers let your arms hang down, don’t hold them straight out in front of you, that way your shoulders will tire out before anything. Hold them low to actually work your forearms.
i put my forearms over a bar in my squat cage and go from about neck level…[/quote]
Just let your arms hang down.
[quote]passionhawaii wrote:
Kalle wrote:
If you improve wrist and forearm strength your grip will improve.
When doing wrist rollers let your arms hang down, don’t hold them straight out in front of you, that way your shoulders will tire out before anything. Hold them low to actually work your forearms.
i put my forearms over a bar in my squat cage and go from about neck level…[/quote]
thats what I do, aswell. It takes the shoulders out of the equation.
If you have a roller made of pvc pipe that is slightly larger than the end of an Olympic bar try the following:
- Either on a smith machine or the squat rack (if you dare) place the bar at the desired height.
- Place at least a 45 pound plate on one side to hold the bar in place.
- Slide the pipe over the other end of the Olympic bar to at least the center, if your rope is threaded through the pipe.
- The spinning of the Olympic bar eliminates the balance and shoulder issues and all of the focus is all on the forearms and grip.
get you some!
i like to load up the olympic bar with two plates…one per side… while holding the bar w/shoulders forward in front of ya, ease up one hand and roll with the other, switching hands keep the bar rolling when you cant roll one more single handed start curling both wrist under and up simultaneously
get twenty single rolls followed with ten two handed non stop!
[quote]passionhawaii wrote:
so i bought this wrist roller to help improve my grip strength and forearm size…ive never felt this kind of a burn in my forearms before! does anyone else use this or have any experience using it? im wondering if this will actually improve my grip strength or just increase the size of my forearms?[/quote]
I’ve got the exact same one, ha. Need to get back to using that when my tendinitis clears up.
[quote]passionhawaii wrote:
so i bought this wrist roller to help improve my grip strength and forearm size…ive never felt this kind of a burn in my forearms before! does anyone else use this or have any experience using it? im wondering if this will actually improve my grip strength or just increase the size of my forearms?[/quote]
I’ve used two different ones. One looked like yours, but with just a clip to loop through weights. The black cushion grip was too soft and ripped when I used a 35-lb plate. I usually use a simple wooden one, which works fine.
I do this with my arms hanging down as someone else suggested, so I can use more weight. When I do it, it’s the last exercise of the workout, a “finisher” for my forearms. I get quite a pump from it, and a burn as you say.
I find it’s easier to roll it “up” (reverse wrist curl motion, using extensors, I guess) than the other way, which seems surprising to me. Some T-Nation article said do it both ways.
My forearms have always been a strong point, and their size and grip strength have been improving steadily, but likely more credit goes to rack pulls and odd chinup variations than the wrist roller.
[quote]MarkT wrote:
I’ve used two different ones. One looked like yours, but with just a clip to loop through weights. The black cushion grip was too soft and ripped when I used a 35-lb plate. I usually use a simple wooden one, which works fine.
I do this with my arms hanging down as someone else suggested, so I can use more weight. When I do it, it’s the last exercise of the workout, a “finisher” for my forearms. I get quite a pump from it, and a burn as you say.
I find it’s easier to roll it “up” (reverse wrist curl motion, using extensors, I guess) than the other way, which seems surprising to me. Some T-Nation article said do it both ways.
My forearms have always been a strong point, and their size and grip strength have been improving steadily, but likely more credit goes to rack pulls and odd chinup variations than the wrist roller.[/quote]
35s!!! how much weight would you use if you were to have your arms at shoulder level? i have a lame ass 10 lbs on mine…i do it after my workout and i roll it up about 4 or 5 times…i tried the arms down method and that does work better for the inward roll…
I stand on a bench to get that extra height…but i have to agree for overall strength deads and pull ups and stuff like that beats this by far…i got this in hopes of looking more like popeye…hah
[quote]passionhawaii wrote:
MarkT wrote:
I’ve used two different ones. One looked like yours, but with just a clip to loop through weights. The black cushion grip was too soft and ripped when I used a 35-lb plate. I usually use a simple wooden one, which works fine.
I do this with my arms hanging down as someone else suggested, so I can use more weight. When I do it, it’s the last exercise of the workout, a “finisher” for my forearms. I get quite a pump from it, and a burn as you say.
I find it’s easier to roll it “up” (reverse wrist curl motion, using extensors, I guess) than the other way, which seems surprising to me. Some T-Nation article said do it both ways.
My forearms have always been a strong point, and their size and grip strength have been improving steadily, but likely more credit goes to rack pulls and odd chinup variations than the wrist roller.
35s!!! how much weight would you use if you were to have your arms at shoulder level? i have a lame ass 10 lbs on mine…i do it after my workout and i roll it up about 4 or 5 times…
I tried the arms down method and that does work better for the inward roll…i stand on a bench to get that extra height…but i have to agree for overall strength deads and pull ups and stuff like that beats this by far…i got this in hopes of looking more like popeye…hah[/quote]
I don’t know, I haven’t tried it at shoulder level, it seems like it would be limited by endurance in my posterior delts or something, rather than the forearms. I stand on a step to get the extra height, too.
Don’t be too impressed by the 35 lbs, my form might not be very strict, since a 45-lb reverse wrist curl (two hands on a barbell) is plenty hard for me, but I can roll up 45 lbs, so something’s weird there, maybe some bicep hitching.
Also, I might only roll a 35 up two times each way, then my forearms are toast, and rolling up the empty cord is a challenge.
As for your Popeye aspirations, it might work for that. My forearms are not too much smaller than my upper arms. It’s kind of fun, since people can see them more often. But obviously it means I need to do some curls.
Other things I have occasionally done for my forearms: barbell wrist curls (almost as heavy as my ordinary barbell curls), barbell reverse wrist curls, and barbell reverse curls.
Also, my favorite chinup is a sternum chinup gripping a non-grip part of the pullup frame, so that works the grip a bit. And a final disclosure - my forearms have always looked ok, even when untrained, so I could just be Popeye’s secret child.
Have fun with your roller, I bet it will work fine for you if you hold it down and progress the weight.
I’ve built and used one myself, but I much prefer using a Captain of Crush (and yes you can use them for higher reps, but don’t expect them to last quite as long)
[quote]MarkT wrote:
passionhawaii wrote:
MarkT wrote:
I’ve used two different ones. One looked like yours, but with just a clip to loop through weights. The black cushion grip was too soft and ripped when I used a 35-lb plate. I usually use a simple wooden one, which works fine.
I do this with my arms hanging down as someone else suggested, so I can use more weight. When I do it, it’s the last exercise of the workout, a “finisher” for my forearms. I get quite a pump from it, and a burn as you say.
I find it’s easier to roll it “up” (reverse wrist curl motion, using extensors, I guess) than the other way, which seems surprising to me. Some T-Nation article said do it both ways.
My forearms have always been a strong point, and their size and grip strength have been improving steadily, but likely more credit goes to rack pulls and odd chinup variations than the wrist roller.
35s!!! how much weight would you use if you were to have your arms at shoulder level? i have a lame ass 10 lbs on mine…i do it after my workout and i roll it up about 4 or 5 times…
I tried the arms down method and that does work better for the inward roll…i stand on a bench to get that extra height…but i have to agree for overall strength deads and pull ups and stuff like that beats this by far…i got this in hopes of looking more like popeye…hah
I don’t know, I haven’t tried it at shoulder level, it seems like it would be limited by endurance in my posterior delts or something, rather than the forearms. I stand on a step to get the extra height, too.
Don’t be too impressed by the 35 lbs, my form might not be very strict, since a 45-lb reverse wrist curl (two hands on a barbell) is plenty hard for me, but I can roll up 45 lbs, so something’s weird there, maybe some bicep hitching.
Also, I might only roll a 35 up two times each way, then my forearms are toast, and rolling up the empty cord is a challenge.
As for your Popeye aspirations, it might work for that. My forearms are not too much smaller than my upper arms. It’s kind of fun, since people can see them more often. But obviously it means I need to do some curls.
Other things I have occasionally done for my forearms: barbell wrist curls (almost as heavy as my ordinary barbell curls), barbell reverse wrist curls, and barbell reverse curls.
Also, my favorite chinup is a sternum chinup gripping a non-grip part of the pullup frame, so that works the grip a bit. And a final disclosure - my forearms have always looked ok, even when untrained, so I could just be Popeye’s secret child.
Have fun with your roller, I bet it will work fine for you if you hold it down and progress the weight.[/quote]
when you do the shoulder level ones try placing your forearms on a barbell thats at shoulder level…takes away the shoulders…
this will hopefully help me work more on my biceps since i dont really train them as hard as i could/should i guess…ive been on a deadlift high for a while now and thats all i ever want to do haha…
[quote]passionhawaii wrote:
when you do the shoulder level ones try placing your forearms on a barbell thats at shoulder level…takes away the shoulders…
[/quote]
Thanks, that’s a good idea. In my gym, the only places for that would be the squat rack or the Smith machine. I suppose wrist rolling in the squat rack might be even more obnoxious than curling… I may give it a try today and see how much less weight I can handle than my usual way, i.e., how much I usually cheat.