The forearms are often forgotten by the time you complete your upper body, lower body, core, flexibility, and cardiovascular exercise. Strong forearms, though, can improve your entire workout and help you increase your weight limits. Plus, strong forearms benefit the look of your arms. Try these five forearm exercises to help fast. Always warm up first and select a weight that you can lift for one to three sets of eight to 12 repetitions. Allow for one day of rest in between workouts.
5 Forearm Exercises That’ll Change the Way You Workout
1) Wrist Curls
Hold a barbell with both hands or hold a dumbbell in each hand. Sit on a bench with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Rest your forearms on your thighs and allow your hands to extend just beyond your knees. Face your palms up. Lower your fingers toward the floor as you slowly let the weight roll toward your fingertips. Then, grasp the weight, flex your wrists and raise your hands toward your arms as high as possible. Keep your forearms in contact with your legs throughout the exercise.
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2) Reverse Wrist Curls
Hold a barbell with both hands or a dumbbell in each hand. Sit on a bench with your knees bent and feet on the floor. Position your palms down this time and rest your forearms on your thighs with your hands just beyond your knees. Lower your hands toward your shins and then exhale and raise your knuckles as high as possible. Repeat for repetitions and you will really feel the burn in these forearm exercises.
3) Pronation/Supination
Sit on a chair or a bench with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Grasp a dumbbell in one or both hands. Rest your forearms on your thighs with your hands hanging just beyond your knees. Begin with your palms facing in and your thumbs up. Rotate your thumbs down and raise your pinkies as high as possible. Then, rotate your thumb up as far as possible. Keep your forearms in contact with your legs. You can also perform this exercise with your arm resting on the backrest of a chair or with your arms resting on a table that is approximately shoulder height when you are seated.
4) Wrist Roller
Some fitness centers have a wrist roller machine; others may have a wooden dowel rod with the heavy-duty string and a weight plate secured to the end. The goal with the wrist roll is to raise the weight by alternating your grip and rolling the back of your hand toward you to wind the string. Then, you slowly lower the weight by unwinding the string and rolling your palm down and away from you.
5) Grips
Grips are another way to strengthen your forearms. You may recognize these as a hand-sized contraption that resembles a coiled spring with two plastic handles. You squeeze the handles together to strengthen your arms. Some gyms have a wrist grip machine that mimics this exercise. You can also enhance your grip by hanging from a pull-up bar. Grasp the bar with your thumbs on the opposite sides than your fingers. Straighten your arms and hang for as long as possible. Remember to breathe normally. You can advance this exercise by hanging from one hand at a time.
