I remember years ago using a type of wooden rod with a string attached to the middle and a weight hanging at the end of the string. The string was just long enough so that when you held your arms straight out in front the weight almost touched the floor. Seems like rolling the weight up and then down REALLY BLASTED my forearms. Anyway I was thinking of putting one of these things together for some forearm concentration. Think it’s worthwhile to actually make 2, in differant diameters? Any insight from anyone using this piece would be appreciated.
Hey i have been using this piece of equipment for some time now and i am reaping the rewards of my labour,my forearms are bigger and more vascular than they have ever been and my grip has increased somewhat too. I think you have came up with a good idea there as a thicker handle would tax your grip more than a thinner one, and making two would provide you with a different source of stimulas each time you used the device. I made one out of an old broom handle sawn down to 18’ with a hole drilled through the middle and a leghth of thick cord atached to a weight pulled through the hole and securely tied off to prevent slippage.
cool! Also, I remember this dude doing an exercise for his forearms with a broom…what you do is, hold the broom at the very tip clenched with your fist, and then with your fingers only, ‘bring’ the broom up all the way so that you have the broom clenched at the bottom where the sweeping threads are. This is harder than you think!
Something else I’ve started doing…take two plates and put them against eachother so the flat sides are facing out. Hold them together by crushing them with your fingers against your palm. When you can’t hold on anymore switch hands. Keep switching until you hit total failure. Another way is to hold them pinching them between your fingers and thumb. I should mention that I just started doing this so I don’t know how good of an exercise it really is as far as improving grip strength.
Cool! A grip thread!
- Doing the roll-ups with various-sized handles is an excellent forearm developer.
- Gripping plates in the manner described (smooth side out, between thumb and fingers) is one of the BEST ways to increase your “Pinch” grip. Most men cannot do this with two 25 lb. plates, yet grip experts can do this easily with two 45 lb. plates!!
- There is an excellent book called “Mastery of Hand Strength” by John Brookfield that lists all of these exercises, along with probably 30 more (literally). Do yourself a favor and get this book if you are at all interested in grip strength. I can’t recommend it highly enough. Just do a search on any search engine for the title, and you’ll find several places selling it for $15.
John, it’s a great idea. One little tip. When you do wrist rollers, instead of holding them straight out, let your arms hang straight down. You won’t fatigue your shoulders as quickly, which will give you more gas for the forearms. You’ll need to stand on two chairs to get a good rom.