Forearms

If you're looking for stronger forearms, put these exercises, tips and techniques to use in your workout.

5 Most Important Exercises.

September 21, 2012 By 6 Comments

There are no shortage of exercises to add variety to you workout - and switching things up can prevent a stale workout and plateaued results. By incorporating kettlebells, changing the base of stability, taking a new class or trying new exercises, it’s easy to keep you workout fresh and challenging.

Having said that, there are five tried and true exercises that every workout regime should include. These exercises have passed the test of time and have been used by bodybuilders, powerlifters and workout enthusiasts for generations.

  1. Bench press. The godfather of strength training, any gym worth your time will have a handful of bench presses. Some are flat, some are inclined and some are declined - but all are a great way to build strong and powerful chest muscles. In fact, the bench press is one of the three lifts in the sport of powerlifting. Though this exercise primarily works your pectoralis major muscle (i.e., your pecs), supporting muscles like the anterior deltoids, serratus anterior, coracobrachialis, scapulae fixers, trapezii, and the triceps are also trained.
  2. Barbell bicep curl. Of all the bicep exercises that I’ve tried, none compare in their effectiveness to the barbell bicep curl. By adding a barbell, you’re able to increase the amount of resistance that your muscles work against - and the results speak for themselves. Though you’ll primarily work your biceps brachii muscles, your brachialis (lower biceps) and brachioradialis (forearm) are also trained.
  3. Squats. Want a bigger and stronger butt? No exercise compares to the squat in its effectiveness. Also performed in powerlifting, squats primarily work your gluteus maximus, quadriceps and hamstrings. Your erector spinae, transverse abdominus, gluteus medius, gluteus minimus, adductors, soleus and gastrocnemius will also get some love. Proper form is essential for a safe and effective squat, so it’s important to do your homework or consult with a trainer before you jump into your gym’s squat rack or power cage.
  4. Shoulder press. Sometimes called the overhead press, there are innumerable variations of this popular exercise. In terms of building size or strength, there are no shoulder exercises that can touch the effectiveness of a good barbell or dumbbell shoulder press. Specially, this exercise is great for your deltoids - but it also engages your triceps brachii and trapezius muscles.
  5. Deadlift. Also one of the three powerlifting exercises, the deadlift is a compound exercise that engages a large number of muscles including your latissimus dorsi, trapezius, erector spinae, gluteals, hamstrings, quadriceps and hip flexors. In other words, your leg, butt and back muscles will all be screaming after a good set of deadlifts. Even your forearms, to a lesser degree, and obliques will be engaged. Though the deadlift is extremely effective, it’s not for everyone. For individuals with back injuries or certain joint issues, other exercises may be a better fit.

Of course, you don’t want to do each of these exercises in every workout. It’s best to break your gym sessions out so that each workout targets different muscle groups. Incorporate the bench press on a chest day, the barbell bicep curl on arm days and so on.

In my opinion, these are the top five exercises to include in any workout regime - but I’d love to hear what you think. Which five exercises top your list? Let me know in the comments below.

Filed Under: Arms, Back, Biceps, Butt, Chest, Exercises, Forearms, Legs, Shoulders, Triceps Tagged With: , ,

At Home Exercise for Strong Forearms.

February 11, 2012 By 3 Comments

Holy forearms.

Strong forearms aren’t just sexy - they’re functional.

When perform repetitions with barbells or dumbbells, some exercisers may notice that it is their grip strength (rather than the muscle being worked) that fails first. In other words, just holding onto the weights may be the greatest challenge - not the exercise itself.

Whenever I go rock climbing, I’m always impressed with the forearms of frequent climbers. Since grip strength is a necessity in climbing, their forearms are developed and bulging. It’s that sexy construction worker look.

In reading a recent article about climbing, the author recommended a very simple but highly effective exercise to build grip strength and forearm muscles. It only requires a tennis ball. I loved it so much that I wanted to share it with you. You can do it at home - or even at the desk while working.

In one hand, squeeze a tennis ball 20 times. Pause and repeat for two more sets.

Then, squeeze the ball between your thumb and pointer finger 20 times. Do this with each finger individually.

Switch hands, and repeat the whole series.

That’s it. But it’s not as easy as it sounds - and your forearms will be burning. Nonetheless, it’s a very effective way to build the grip strength that’s necessary for effective free weight training.

Filed Under: Arms, Exercises, Forearms Tagged With: , , ,

Rock Climbing: Best Workout Ever?

August 10, 2011 By 7 Comments

It's a bird! It's a plane. No, it's Davey Wavey...

You’ve probably heard someone say, “Exercise can be fun!” And you’ve probably had the immediate reaction of rolling your eyes. But not so fast!

Today, I had an opportunity to visit a local rock climbing gym. Surprisingly, they’re becoming increasingly common in old factories or warehouses around the world. For just $15, I received equipment, training and a day’s worth of access to the gym and rock walls. Monthly and yearly memberships are also available for discounted rates.

Rock climbing is an incredible workout for a number of reasons.

First, it combines strength training and cardiovascular exercise. You’ll be surprised how quickly your heart starts pumping and your pores start sweating. In terms of intensity, rock climbing is the caloric equivalent of about a 7 MPH running pace. For someone my size, it’s about 800 calories and hour.

Second, it hits muscles that are usually pretty difficult to exercise - namely your forearm muscles. The major forearm muscles are brachioradialis, pronator teres, flexor carpi radialis, palmaris longus and flexor carpi ulnaris - and all five get a major workout as grapple across rocks, pull yourself up and grip the holds. You’ll also work your upper arm muscles (biceps, triceps, deltoids), quadriceps and calf muscles.

Third, it’s super fun! Rock climbing something different - and it’s a lot more exciting and interesting than doing forearm exercises with free weights. It breaks your routine and can do a decent job shocking your muscles. It’s also a great idea for a creative date night. Just saying.

If I’ve convinced you to try rock climbing (and I hope I have!) then check out the international rock climbing gym directory to find a gym near you.

Filed Under: Exercises, Forearms Tagged With: ,

The Big Disadvantage of Weight Lifting Gloves.

February 17, 2011 By 43 Comments

Weight lifting gloves come with a price!

If you’ve ever been to a gym, you’ve probably seen men and women wearing weight lifting gloves. They are worn for a variety of reasons, but generally because they:

  1. Increase grip strength. Weight gloves make it easier to hold dumbbells and barbells while performing various exercises.
  2. Decrease calluses. Weight gloves prevent hands from becoming callused as a result of dumbbell and barbell exercises. They keep your hands silky smooth.
  3. Additional wrist support. Most weight lifting gloves wrap around the wrist and provide additional support during heavy lifting.

The benefits are admirable. But weight lifting gloves also come with a huge disadvantage: Weight lifting gloves damper real gains in grip strength. When it comes to lifting heavy boxes, changing a tire, hanging off a cliff or any other real life situation, you probably won’t have your gloves. In essence, the gloves provide a false sense of grip strength. Instead of strengthening your grip and forearms, the gloves do the work for you and prevent real gains.

For this reason, I retired my weight lifting gloves years ago. Sure, smooth hands are nice. But when I find myself hanging off the side of a 40-story building, I’ll be glad to have my grip. :-)

Do you wear weight lifting gloves? Let me know in the comments below.

Filed Under: Forearms, Tips Tagged With: , , , ,

What is Progressive Overload?

January 15, 2011 By 17 Comments

Many fitness enthusiasts are fairly committed to the gym and working out, but often perform the same routines with the same weights over and over again. They don’t see any changes in their bodies or increases in strength, and often excuse their lack of results with the mistaken belief that it takes many years to see any real changes.

As it turns out, the human body doesn’t change unless it is forced to do so. If your body doesn’t need to adapt by getting bigger or stronger, then it won’t.

Enter a concept known as progressive overload. Developed by Thomas Delorme, M.D. to help rehabilitating World War II soldiers, progressive overload is the the gradual increase of stress placed on the body during exercise training.

The concept is beautifully simply and scientifically proven: In order for a muscle to grow, it must be overloaded. Doing so activates the natural adaptive processes of the human body, which develops to cope with the new demands placed on it. In addition to stronger and larger muscles, stronger and denser bones, ligaments, tendons and cartilage are all resulted through progressive overloads.

There are 7 techniques to incorporate progressive overloads into your workout:

  1. Increase resistance. This means lifting more weight. If you normally do 8 repetitions, but are now able to do 9, it may be time to increase the weight. If you are new to working out, you may be able to increase weight by 5% - 10%. If you are more advanced, 2% - 5% may be more appropriate.
  2. Increase repetitions. If you normally do 6 repetitions of an exercise, try for the 7th rep. Once you can do the 7th rep, try for the 8th.
  3. Increase the sets. If you normally do 2 sets, try for a 3rd set. While the first set will get you a majority of the results and benefits, there are some additional benefits that can be yielded from additional sets. I generally don’t do more than 4 sets.
  4. Increase frequency. If you train your legs every 10 days, perhaps you can train them more often. It’s generally unwise to train a muscle that is still sore from a previous workout, but there may be an opportunity to hit certain muscle groups - especially those that are lagging - more frequently.
  5. Increase intensity and effort. Instead of going through your workout like a zombie, really crank up the effort. Sometimes working with a good partner or trainer can be a big help. Push yourself - or find someone that can do the pushing for you!
  6. Increase exercises. Maybe you do 3 different exercises for your biceps, or any other muscle group. Try introducing a 4th or 5th exercise to yield increased results.
  7. Decrease rest time. By doing more exercises in the same amount of time, your body will have to work harder and more efficiently.

You’ll need to map these 7 techniques to your exercise goals. For example, increasing the resistance is great for people that want larger muscles. Increasing the repetitions or decreasing rest time may be better suited for people that want increased definition or endurance training.

Whatever your goals, make this powerful time-tested technique work for you.

Filed Under: Abs, Arms, Back, Biceps, Chest, Forearms, Legs, Shoulders, Tips, Triceps Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,
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