When most people think about arm workouts ... they think about their biceps and triceps. But, what about your forearms?
Why is it that the forearms always get overlooked?
After all, having strong and toned forearms isn't only pleasing to the eyes ... but it's also important for your overall health and longevity.
Thankfully, there are many forearm exercises that can help you build strength.
Keep reading and I'll share 6 of my favorite forearm workouts! I'll explain everything you need to know about your forearms, why it's important to keep them strong, and the best forearm workouts to try.
Plus, with a little dedication and the right strategy in place, you’ll start earning the results you want in no time!
But first, let’s take a look at which muscles we're going to be working.
What are the Forearm Muscles?
The forearm consists of multiple muscle groups that allow for essential movements like grip strength, wrist control, and elbow function. These muscles work together to help with quite a bit. This is everything from lifting weights to daily tasks like opening jars or typing.
Proper training requires targeting all movement patterns to maximize strength and muscle balance:
• Flexion
• Extension
• Pronation
• Supination
Here’s an overview of the main muscles at work in your forearms:
Flexors (Wrist & Finger Flexion)
Located on the palm side of the forearm, these muscles contract to close the hand and grip objects.
Extensors (Wrist & Finger Extension)
Found on the top side of the forearm, they allow for wrist stabilization and finger extension.
Brachioradialis
A major elbow flexor that contributes to forearm thickness and is activated in pulling movements.
Pronators & Supinators
Enable rotation of the forearm, crucial for turning the palm up or down.
Tendons & Connective Tissues
Support wrist stability and grip endurance, preventing injury.
Stronger forearms mean better grip, more lifting power, and improved overall performance. Training both flexors and extensors ensures balanced strength and reduces injury risk. Prioritize proper movement patterns, and you’ll see gains in both size and function.
How to Train Your Forearms
If you want to build serious grip strength and thicker forearms, you need to train them with purpose. Hit them at least twice a week, focusing on flexion, extension, and grip work.
Key movements to include:
• Wrist curls for flexion/extension
• Reverse grip cable curls & Zottman curls for elbow strength
• Farmer’s carry & Plate pinch to build an iron grip
We'll cover these exercises shortly. Just make sure to train smart and don’t neglect the details. Your forearms will thank you.
Benefits of Strengthening Your Forearms
What are the benefits of working out your forearms? The truth is, there are a lot.
Here are some of the biggest perks to working out your forearms:
A Stronger Grip
A stronger grip is important for a variety of daily tasks. This can be everything from lifting heavy items to moving furniture. Heck, even carrying your groceries requires grip strength.
Better Workouts
Better grip strength can also help your overall performance in the gym. This can help make tough workouts much safer and easier to do.
Increased Bone Density
Like any other form of resistance training, forearm training can help with bone density. The bones and joints in your wrists and forearms are going to be stronger and more resilient to stress because of this!
Faster Progression
Having a stronger grip can also help you make progress in your other lifts as well. By this, I'm mainly talking about weight progression.
Now, these are just a few of the benefits of exercising your forearms.
Let's cover 6 of the best forearm exercises for building strength.
6 Forearm Workouts To Crush Your Goals
Ready to dive into some awesome forearm exercises? Then let's start with the most classic forearm exercise of them all...
1. Wrist Curls
Wrist curls are a killer exercise to target the forearm flexors and strengthen your grip. They can also help train wrist stability and improve pulling power.
How To Do Wrist Curls
1. Start by sitting on a bench with your legs bent beneath you and your feet planted flat on the ground.
2. With your arms resting on your thighs, hold a dumbbell in each hand. Make sure your palms are facing up and slowly curl your hands toward your biceps.
3. Make sure to keep your wrists stationary, only curling your hands toward them.
4. There also shouldn't be any pain in your hands or wrists. If there is, try using a different grip or changing the angle.
5. Repeat this process for 2-3 sets of 10 to 20 repetitions, and take it slow. If you want to take this exercise to the next level, try performing it standing with a barbell behind your back.
You can also try performing this exercise with a neutral grip. This variation can bring a whole new challenge just by changing the orientation of your wrists.
2. Reverse Grip Curls
Reverse grip curls are great for targeting both your forearms and biceps. They focus on the brachioradialis to build thickness and strength.
For this exercise, you will need a barbell, EZ curl bar, or a dumbbell. I prefer the EZ curl bar, but regardless of which option you choose, make sure to use a weight that is challenging for you.
How To Do Reverse Grip Curls
1. Start by holding your weight of choice with an overhand (reverse) grip. Make sure to stand with your feet at shoulder-width apart.
2. Keep your back straight and your elbows tight to your body. Grip the EZ curl bar tightly and slowly bend your wrists toward you.
3. Hold for a few seconds before slowly releasing your grip to bring your wrists forward.
4. Repeat this for reps.
3. Dead Hang
This is a great exercise for building your wrist and finger flexors. Dead hangs are also a very simple exercise.
This is an isometric exercise, so there isn’t any movement. However, it will test your strength and endurance to the max!
How To Do a Dead Hang
1. First, grab a pull-up bar with an overhand, shoulder-width grip.
2. From here, hold onto the bar and squeeze hard for as long as you can. Doing this will count for one set.
If you want to increase the difficulty, try wrapping 2 towels over the bar at shoulder-width apart. From here, grip the towels below the bar and hang from them as long as you can.
You can also add a weighted vest to really take things up a notch.
4. Farmer's Walks
Choose farmer’s walks for forearm workouts with dumbbells. They don't only strengthen your grip but also activate your core, shoulders, and lower body. This full-body movement is one of the most effective exercises to build forearm strength, stability, and endurance.
How To Do Farmer's Walks
1. Start by holding the dumbbells at your sides with your palms facing inward. Keep your shoulders pulled back with your traps engaged. This will help keep the weight from pulling your shoulders down.
It's also important to keep your core tight and engaged. The extra support throughout the movement can help prevent injuries.
2. In a slow and controlled manner, begin walking with the weights in either hand.
3. Keep walking until you can no longer hold the weights. This will count as one set.
If you feel like it's too easy ... just increase the weight!
5. Hammer Curls
Hammer curls target your forearms and biceps by using a neutral grip. This can help build a stronger grift, increase forearm size and train endurance. I highly recommend them for balanced arm development.
This is another one of our forearm workouts with dumbbells, so make sure you have some close by.
How To Do Hammer Curls
1. Hold the dumbbells by your sides with your palms facing inward.
2. Bend your knees slightly to get into an athletic position, and keep your shoulders pulled back. From here, slowly bend your elbows and contract your biceps to lift the dumbbells up toward your shoulders.
3. Be sure to keep your elbows tucked into your side, your hands in a neutral grip, and squeeze hard the entire time.
4. Once you lift them all the way, slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position.
5. Repeat this for reps.
6. Wrist Roller
The wrist roller is a simple and effective tool that targets your forearms by rolling a weight up and down. I love them because they enhance grip strength and build muscle endurance.
This requires a specific piece of equipment called the wrist roller. Essentially, it is a short bar with handles on both ends and has a rope attached at the center that hangs down. This rope allows you to attach weights to the bottom to create resistance for the exercise.
This exercise will burn more than the others, in my experience. It's a wonderful way to train the muscles of the forearm.
How To Use a Wrist Roller
1. Attach a small amount of weight at first until you find your relative strength level, and go up from there.
2. To begin, you will hold the handles straight out in front of the chest, and start rotating the bar away from you. Be sure to alternate each hand as the rope wraps around the bar and draws the weight up toward the top.
3. Once the weight has reached the top, slowly reverse the direction. This will lower the weight back to the starting position. That’s not all though...
4. Now change directions, rotating the bar back toward your body. The rope will now wrap around the bar in the opposite direction as before.
5. When the weight reaches the top, reverse the direction once again, bringing the weight back to the starting position.
6. Repeat this for 2-3 sets in both directions.
Trust me, your forearms will be on fire before your first set is over!
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the Best Forearm Workout?
To say that there is a best forearm workout or exercise would be misleading. I would say it's best to incorporate multiple exercises like wrist curls, farmer's walks, and wrist rollers. This can help train the forearms in a variety of different ways to maximize results.
How Often Should I Train My Forearms?
I recommend training your forearms at least once a week. Keep in mind that many exercises that you'll do outside of a dedicated forearm workout will activate your forearms. Deadlifts happen to be a great example of an exercise that uses your forearms.
Can I Train My Forearms At Home?
Absolutely! You can build solid forearm strength at home with exercises like wrist curls, hammer curls, and farmer's walks. All you'd really need is a pair of dumbbells.
Tips For Seeing the Best Results With Your Forearm Workouts
Far too many people forget to train their forearms. Little do they know, this could be holding them back from progressing in other areas!
Think about it ... if you want to increase your deadlift, but can't hold on to the weight ... then your grip is holding back your ability to progress the strength in your legs and back.
Now, whether you want to build strength, or just carry all your groceries in one trip ... these exercises can help.
All of them can be done at home or in the gym. All you really need is the right equipment. Most of these pieces can be found at just about any gym or sporting goods store.
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