Swing your forearms: increase volume and strength
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Forearms are an essential part of a harmoniously developed musculature. However, training these muscles requires special attention and discipline from the athlete. Forearm muscles are always as easy to “pump” like chest or biceps muscles. A well-thought-out program of special exercises is needed to achieve qualitative changes in strength and volume. In this article, we will consider in detail how to pump the forearms at home and not only.
These muscles are among the so-called “small muscles” – they are not as visible as the shoulders, chest muscles, and quadriceps (thigh muscles), but without them, the bodybuilder will not look proportionally developed. Also, forearm strength is important for full training of other muscle groups: if the forearms are not sufficiently trained, it will be difficult to make progress in training.
Need for training
Powerful forearms make you look more massive: pumped muscles in this group give the impression of physical strength. Besides, developed forearms give you a visual sense of asymmetrical body (provided, of course, that the other muscle groups are also fine).
There is also a purely aesthetic aspect to it – when the lifter is dressed, often only his neck and forearms are visible: the desire to impress others even when he is dressed can also be called a good enough reason.
Anatomical features
The forearm is a part of the human upper extremity from the elbow joint to the hand.
The composition of the muscular group is as follows:
- Brachialis (shoulder muscle);
- Brachioradialis (brachialis muscle);
- Benders;
- Extenuators;
- Round pronator.
Bce, these small muscles are jointly responsible for flexion and extension of the arm in the elbow and wrist joints as well as rotational movements. Forearms are also difficult to pump due to their complex anatomic structure. The exercises should cover all 5 muscles that make up this anatomic group.
Important points in how to bulk forearms :
Start your workout with basic exercises and end with isolation. The fact is that the base is designed to build muscle and takes a lot of strength. If you first work on your forearms in isolation, then there will not be enough energy for the main training. Swing your forearms on your arm or back days, but not to the detriment of your next workout. For example, if a person shakes his forearms with his back, and after a day he has arm training, this will negatively affect productivity. Therefore, competently draw up a training plan. Do not forget about the warm-up of the wrist and elbow joints. Perform smooth rotational movements to prevent possible pinching during exercise. Load your forearms only at the end of the main workout. Otherwise, a weakened grip will reduce the effectiveness in traction movements: pull-ups, block pull, deadlift, tilt bar pull, and others. Although the forearms are far from the main muscle group, their complete disregard may adversely affect the training of the whole body. At the same time, it is important to prioritize and not to devote more time to this muscle than to the legs or back. One to two workouts per week is enough to significantly increase grip and increase muscle volume. Follow the technique and order of exercises – and soon you will be able to boast of huge, pumped forearms.
Stubborn muscles…
Since the forearms work in exercises for other muscle groups and are involved in daily life, their stress resistance is quite high. Therefore, these muscles are called “stubborn” and their development is a very time-consuming process that requires patience and perseverance.
First, let’s decide how many times a week we can swing the forearms. For the harmonious development of this muscle group, you need to perform exercises twice a week. In this case, each exercise should be done in 3 approaches with 10-15 repetitions in each. An important nuance – before training the forearms should be performed their full warm-up and warm-up: these muscles are quite often injured. Excessive muscle stretching at the final points of the movement amplitude should also be avoided.
It is best to exercise the forearms together with training the arms and back. Ho do exercises for the forearms should be done at the end of the training, when the back and arm muscles have already been worked out, otherwise, the full benefit of training will not be.
It is not recommended to do forearms training more than twice a week. Ha regeneration of these muscles takes at least 48 hours and 72 hours, or better. If the forearms are regularly overstressed, chronic pain in the wrist area may occur.
Exercise Complex
And now directly on how to swing your forearms. A training program must necessarily include exercises for the entire muscle group. The choice of specific exercises and their sequence should be changed from training to training – this will improve muscle growth.
We offer the most effective and affordable exercises for forearms training at home as well as in the gym.
Exercises with the barbell
Bending arms with the barbell in standing position. Performs in the same way as with a biceps, only with the reverse (upper) grip. Leaving the shoulders stationary, the barbell is raised to shoulder height on exhalation. Arms are slowly lowered to the starting position when breathing. Brachioradialis is the main load here, biceps and brachialis are used in parallel. The barbell is taken smaller than the biceps because the brachiradialis is anatomically weaker.
Bending the wrists with the barbell in sitting position. Take the barbell with the lower grip (palms up), placing the forearms on your thighs. Holding the barbell firmly, pull the forearms a little forward and lower the load down. 3aTEm slowly perform bending and stretching the arms in the wrists. The amplitude of movements during the training of the wrists is low, so do not pull or rock the bar to avoid stretching and injury.
Bending your wrists with a barbell behind your back. Stand with your back to the barbell stand, turn your palms back, take the projectile, and perform bending and stretching of the wrists without bending the elbow joints. This exercise also develops the muscles that bend and stretch the wrist itself. This type of training is suitable for those who find exercises sitting with the barbell somewhat uncomfortable.
Dumbbell exercises
First of all, forearm exercises with dumbbells include “3ottmana bending”. This is a variation of the forearms exercise with a barbell, only dumbbells instead of a barbell. In the lower position, the dumbbells are held in the same way as when climbing on the biceps, as you move upwards, the forearm is pronounced (palms are turned down). 3ahtem hands with dumbbells are lowered and turned to their original position – palms up.
The second exercise is similar to bending the arms in the wrists with a barbell sitting, only, again, the shell changes. Also, when performing the exercises with dumbbells in the sitting position, it will be effective to work out each hand in turn.
Hang on the bar
This is the most elementary exercise for forearm muscles: you just hang on a bar, preferably with a load. The systematic performance of this exercise in a couple of months will allow you to easily win a prize in a popular park attraction.
Tip: The weight should be selected so that it doesn’t take longer than 30 seconds to hang, otherwise the muscles will develop on endurance, not on weight and strength.
Espander exercises
A good alternative for regular forearm development at home is to exercise with a super-rigid espander. The shell should be exactly stiff, as soft variants develop mainly the brush. So before you buy a shell from the shop, be sure to check with the salesperson which espander is more suitable for forearm muscle training.
Additional exercises
Good extra exercise for developing the forearm area:
- Heavy jump rope in handles: this cardio exercise for 20 minutes puts a good load on the outer surface of the forearm.
- Bouncing a boxing bag, especially when wearing heavy-duty gloves, is excellent stress on the benders.
- Wearing a special rubber bracelet during the exercises will increase muscle resistance and will work on the development of weight and strength.
- And one more tip: regular training – no reason to neglect the hard home “men’s” work. Moving furniture, working with a hammer, drill, and screwdriver – in itself a great way to develop forearm muscles.
