The Top 5 Exercises For Increasing Forearm Mass

Alex Stewart
Written By: Alex Stewart
December 30th, 2010
Updated: March 19th, 2021
Categories: Articles Training
597.4K Reads
The Top 5 Exercises For Increasing Forearm Mass
Add forearm mass fast with: barbell wrist curls, reverse wrist curls, dumbbell wrist curls, dumbbell reverse wrist curls and reverse barbell curls.

Over the course of these various posts you’ve read a number of pieces that discuss how various muscle groups work in tandem with other muscles groups in the body. They complement one another, work together, and support one another through daily activities. The forearm muscles are a prime example of a muscle group that we have to rely on every day both through practical activities as well as our workouts.

Improving the forearm greatly supports the strength of the upper arm and biceps with lifting. Reinforcing the wrists and forward bones of the upper extremities is essential if you want to be able to lift and maintain a raised weight. With poor conditioning of the forearms, the upper extremities wouldn’t be able to support the kind of weight you can throw around with massive shoulders and biceps.

Forearm Anatomy

The primary movers of the forearm muscles are the flexors and extensors. The muscles are used to strengthen the wrists and grip in the hands, improving your capacity for daily living through lifting bags and other objects.

The forearm contains a number of small as well as lengthy muscles, including the flexors and extensors, pronators and supinators. Each of these muscles is responsible for the combined movement of the hand and wrist.

The Top 5 Exercises for Increasing Forearms

There are any number of exercises that can help you focus your forearms to increase the overall strength of these muscle groups. These exercise target the specialized muscles of the forearm.

The top 5 forearm exercises have been put together to eliminate a lot of time and wasted energy on ineffective workouts. These workouts will focus on minimal movement while maximizing the focus.

1. Barbell Wrist Curls

Like many of the top 5 forearm exercises listed here, the barbell wrist curl is an extremely effective workout that targets the flexor muscles of the forearm. It can be done using an appropriate machine or a weighted barbell.

Sit on a bench or at the machine. Rest your forearms on your thighs with palms up as you hold the barbell. Using only your hands and your wrists you will curl the barbell up toward the ceiling as high as you can lift. When you lower the barbell under control, allow it to roll into the nook of your fingertips.

2. Barbell Reverse Wrist Curls

The barbell reverse wrist curl is a very similar motion to the common barbell curl listed above, and focuses primarily on the forearm extensor muscles.

To perform this workout you will need to take a seat at a bunch or at the appropriate weight machine. Lay your forearms on your lap while you hold the weighted barbell (or empty barbell) with your palms facing down. Using only the muscles in your wrists and forearm, curl the weight upward as high as you can go while keeping your forearms flat on your lap. Lower the barbell under control as far as you’re able to go and then repeat.

3. Dumbbell Wrist Curl

This is one of the top forearm exercises that is absolutely great for the forearm flexors. This motion allows you to work each forearm individually. By working with the individual weights, you’re able to establish a greater sense of balance.

To perform this top forearm exercise you’ll need to straddle a bench and hold the dumbbell with an underhand grip. Spread your legs and rest your forearm on the bench so that it’s extending beyond the end of the long bench. Allow the dumbbell to drop so that it rolls into your fingertips. Grip the weight and flex your wrist to bring the dumbbell back up to a starting position.

4. Dumbbell Reverse Wrist Curl

Redundancy is never an issue when you have a variety of muscles to train. While these workouts may seem similar to another, the change in position completely changes the targeted muscle group. The reverse wrist curl targets the bulk of the extensors. Again, when you work with the individual weights you’re able to individually target the muscle groups of the arms. The individual workouts from one side to another will help stimulate balance and proportion between your forearms.

For this top forearm exercise you need to straddle a bench and hold your dumbbell with an overhand grip. Lean forward and rest your forearm on the bench at a bent, 90 degree angle. With this angle you’ll be holding the dumbbell weight off the side of the bench with your palm facing the floor. Lower the dumbbell as far as you can and the reverse the motion to bring the weight back up as far you can while flexing the wrist. Once your reps are complete, switch arms and repeat the process.

5. Reverse Barbell Curls

Unlike the other top forearm exercises, the reverse barbell curl actually diverts some of the attention to the biceps however it does specifically target the forearm extensor muscles through the lifting process. This is an excellent workout if you want to take some emphasis off the forearm muscle groups to blend maneuvers into a whole body workout – perhaps to give your forearm a bit of a rest.

To perform this workout, grip a barbell (some prefer an EZ curl barbell for added wrist comfort) so that your hands are shoulder width apart, palms to the floor (overhand grip). Standing straight, you will keep your back flat and your chin up. Tuck your elbows into your sides and curl the bar upwards towards your clavicle area (upper chest, neck). Hold the lift and flex the forearm muscles then lower the barbell under control.

Remember to keep your arms tucked into your sides. If you open your arms up you’re placing additional emphasis on your upper arm muscles and could inadvertently strain your shoulder muscles and joint.

Beginner Workout

Exercise Sets Reps
Barbell Wrist Curl 2 12
Dumbbell Reverse Wrist Curl 2 12

Intermediate Workout

Exercise Sets Reps
Reverse Barbell Curls 3 10
Dumbbell Wrist Curls 2 12
Barbell Reverse Wrist Curls 1 15

Advanced Workout

Exercise Sets Reps
Barbell Reverse Wrist Curls 1 20
Dumbbell Wrist Curls 2 12
Barbell Reverse Curls 3 10
Barbell Wrist Curls 2 12
Dumbbell Reverse Wrist Curls 1 20

To obtain the best results, mix any number of these top forearm exercises into your daily or weekly routine, some people like to train there forearms after a back or bicep workout. As discussed forearms assist in the gripping of the weight during exercise so try and stay away from workout out your forearms the day before or proceeding back and bicep training as these muscle groups require a considerable amount of grip strength to train.

Stagger your workouts so that your forearm muscles have adequate time to recover and recoup from the beating you’re sure to give. For faster muscle recovery while working out with the top 5 forearm exercises, eat a well-balanced diet that is high in protein to fuel your muscles.

Alex Stewart is the Sales Manager for Betancourt Nutrition Supplements. For more information on Betancourt Nutrition supplements, click here.

12 Comments
Steve Mark
Posted on: Tue, 04/10/2018 - 02:18

Hey Great post, I like it! and appreciated. I have tried exercise 1 and exercise 2 few days ago. I could see some improvement let me try other exercise also.
Thank you for your valuable post.

Cee
Posted on: Wed, 11/13/2013 - 06:14

You should try this amazing bit of kit I found called the Wringer. You can buy it at www.wringitout.com or at kik sports. It's very easy to use and gets results quickly.

joe
Posted on: Sat, 09/07/2013 - 07:28

@ dozer
Not if you havetge carb intake
And calories to back up the cardio after resistance

Dozer
Posted on: Wed, 03/20/2013 - 21:24

@Logan
Cardio after resistance training messes with them gains....

Mian Azmat
Posted on: Tue, 02/19/2013 - 19:47

Hi,
I am 6 feet tall, 249 Lbs male. I have been working out off and on and I have even taken few supplement cycles to boost my muscle growth. My problem is that my body accumulates a lot of fat. I want to get lean. can u please suggest me a supplement cycle that gives me enough nutrition and also burns my fat on my abdomen. My BMI is around 31 i guess. I am working out with a 5 day cycle - one for each body part like one for thighs, one for shoulders, one for chest, one for back etc. and i do abs daily except on the days when i train my thighs.

Logan
Posted on: Tue, 03/05/2013 - 16:22

I dont want to sound rude or obvious but bro its simple all you got to do is go on a calorie deficit and do some cardio. So find out your maintenance calories(there are many calculators online to do this) and drop that by 200 every week until you get around 2200-2300... example: week 1: 3000 cals, week 2: 2800 cals and so on, also do around 30 mins of cardio after you do your weightlifting routine. And thats all its very simple people just seem to overthink the whole process of losing weight.

ali kebab
Posted on: Sun, 07/07/2013 - 06:53

swear to god mate i wnat to build biga muscle so i do the injection thing. i wanna look big and beat up every 1 that looks at me. swear to allah im gona beat up evry one cause i suffer roid rage.

Guru
Posted on: Fri, 02/15/2013 - 19:01

You can train forearms as much as you want. The key is incorparating diffierent exercises, good nutrition,and rest.

yasir ali
Posted on: Tue, 11/20/2012 - 14:49

@hr.. i've read it somewhere that forearms and calves are such muscle groups which can be worked out daily as they are built to be used in normal day activities and they recover faster.. so currently im doing forearms daily.. please guide me again!

shubham
Posted on: Wed, 10/31/2012 - 14:11

your suggetion are too helpful

hr
Posted on: Tue, 07/24/2012 - 18:11

No because if u are really like REALLY working ur forearms they should be sore after some time in which case u would want to give them 5-7 days of rest because if u overtrain those muscles then u could be losing muscle since when your muscle is sore it tears if u overtrain u could get microtears on ur muscle which could hurt tge growth of your muscle

arjay
Posted on: Sat, 01/07/2012 - 22:43

is it ok to do a wrist and forearm set of exercises twice a day (about 6 hrs or more apart)? how long should the gap be if doing sets twice a day?
thank you