Forearm Workouts For Awesome Arms

Last January after the Superbowl I went to a class at the gym and everyone was talking about the halftime show.  No surprise right? Well, the talk wasn’t about the show itself but about Madonna’s forearms.  I stood there laughing to myself because that’s definitely the first thing that caught my eye, and forearm workouts are not top on my list of things to do at the gym.

Photo credit: DennisSylvesterHurd

Forearm Training For Those, Like Me, Who Don’t Do It

Why the heck would I focus on my forearms?! The first reason should be to strengthen every muscle in your body so you have overall strength and fitness as well as being healthy. However, your first reason might be more along the lines of getting rid of skinny forearms or looking ripped, I guess that’s okay too. Strong forearms are important for grip and finger strength; PLUS if you strengthen your forearms you actually prevent injury! Have you ever heard of tennis elbow? What about golfer’s elbow? Those are caused from overuse or repetitive movements at the wrist that cause irritation and inflammation to the tendon of the muscles of your forearms. This is more likely to happen to people who have weak forearms. With that said, unless you really want ripped forearms, there may not be a need for you to focus solely on that muscle group. If you are performing other upper body weightlifting they are most likely getting a good enough workout that you don’t need to do specific exercises for forearms.

How To Strengthen Forearms

Forearm Exercises Without Weights: How To Do Forearm Workouts At Home Or At Work

The best forearm exercises are simple and quick to do. The most common forearms exercises are the wrist curls and reverse wrist curls. In these exercises your elbow and shoulder are stabilized and the only thing moving is your wrist. For the wrist curl your palms face up and you just curl your wrist up as far as you can go. And the reverse wrist curl is just as it sounds. Your palm faces down and you extend your wrist (bend it backward) as far as you can go. These can be done without weights, but you will mostly be building endurance rather than forearm strength. If you just don’t like weights you can perform these with a resistance band as well. You can also improve grip strength with just a rag or towel. With your arm completely extended in front of you hold the end of a towel in your fingers. Then pull up the towel little by little with your fingers until the entire towel is in your fist and then squeeze and hold for 10 seconds. And lastly, spend your extra time squeezing a stress ball or putty.

Forearm Exercises With Weights

Ironically the best forearm workout for mass is the same as above, just add weights. You can use a forearm machine, barbell, or dumbbell to add weight. When performing forearm exercises with dumbbells or other weights you want to fatigue your arms without overdoing it on the weight. One way to injure yourself is to use too much weight! So, we’ve discussed wrist curls and reverse wrist curls, but there is also forearm curls. This is similar to a bicep curl, the only difference is your palms face down.

Is That It?

Yep, it basically is that simple. However, you can also purchase forearm equipment such as a forearm strengthener. Some of these are a Gyro-Ball, a Spring Hand Grip Strengthener, or a foam forearm trainer. These not only relieve stress and take your mind off of things, but can be done at work! Plus they really give your forearms a workout! One that’s a little uncommon (and I think a bit ridiculous) is forearm weights. It’s a weighted sleeve you wear on your arm; however, in my opinion forearm workout equipment is unnecessary for general fitness and there are plenty of other ways you can increase your forearm strength. Let us know if you have any other secrets to getting forearms like Madonna’s!

About Randi

Just trying to stay fit while being a wife and mother.