Best exercises for forearm size/wrist strength?

[ForTheLoveOfForearms]

Hi guys

 

A few years ago I took to training grip strength after a few shoulder issues rendered usual strength training an impossibility for me (i still train, albeit a lot lighter), only I began to develop some trigger finger and tendinitis in my fingers - probably from being over eager and doing too much too soon. 

 

I have since begun training forearms and wrist strength and enjoy it a lot.Thus far I do:

 

Wrist roller

Wrist curls with fat gripz (I do them one-handed but use a short barbell bar as I've heard it's good way to develop wrist strength/stability over dumbells)

Dumbell holds with fat gripz

I also use a powerball (little gyro spinner thing) after my workouts to promote blood flow and for some high rep work

 

 

My question to you guys is, which are the best exercises and which offer the best strength carryover?

Also, how does one get into steel/nail bending (I've spent a lot of time watching forearm/grip trainers/nail benders on youtube and it looks fun) and does nail bending tax the fingers a lot (would it exacerbate trigger finger/ finger tendonitis?

 

 

Thanks !! 

[Evan Raftopoulos]

in my opinion if you had to choose only one method for strength the fastest way is arm wrestling. The second fastest way is wrist curl variations with heavy wts. It's hard to tell if one exercise is more effective than another. Unless you go back in time and change your exercises and see if you are different it's hard to tell if a very specific exercise is the "best" for strength/size. However, i know for a fact that arm wrestling makes my forearms more sore than any training with wts.  Great feeling  

Edited May 4, 2016 by Evan Raftopoulos

[EJ Livesey]

Nail bending is one of the hardest things you can put your hands, fingers and arms through IMO. I have crazy grip strength carry over from it. My entire upper body hurts from it the next day and I have never felt that from grip training. 

Edited May 4, 2016 by EJ Livesey

[ultimatemk309]

I know if I do high reps (4x10ish) with moderate weight with the rolling thunder my forearms are shot the next day.

[Evan Raftopoulos]

21 hours ago, EJ Livesey said:

Nail bending is one of the hardest things you can put your hands, fingers and arms through IMO. I have crazy grip strength carry over from it. My entire upper body hurts from it the next day and I have never felt that from grip training. 

yes, I forgot about bending  which reminds me I need to train more! 

[ForTheLoveOfForearms]

On 5/5/2016 at 11:34 AM, Evan Raftopoulos said:

yes, I forgot about bending  which reminds me I need to train more! 

Been checking out your instagram and your forearms are crazy! Must get compliments on them all the time, if only for the vascularity!

[KapMan]

My increased size and my increase in strength isn't from bending, its from thick bar work at heavy weight following specific rep ranges for that muscle. You gotta figure your forearms are used daily, like your calves and trunk. These muscles need more stimulation to kick the growth reflex into high gear. I typically do heavy sets of 3-8 depending on the exercises. I find that doing wrist curls with a thick bar, and plates has really got the ball moving. Though I don't do both on the same work out. Some tips I glean from Dr. Mike that has really elevated my game, because science. Oh I've been copying some exercises from Arm wrestling and that's legit as well.

 For your normal pulling training to transfer best to forearm growth, make sure you only use straps WHEN YOU NEED THEM (This tip is great, I do not strap up for anything unless I'm tired for I'm saving my grip for something) I see guys strapping into pulldowns, for example, and that just tells me your forearms need serious work. For heavy bent rows and deadlift variants, strap up for sure (cause you don't want to limit your back via your forearms), but for the rest, use just chalk and let your grip get some work.

 If you choose to do direct forearm training, your MRV here will be between 10-15 sets per week in most cases. I recommend using barbell and dumbbell wrist curls (where you let the weight roll all the way down to your finger tips, then curl all the way back up to squeeze and repeat slowly) as well as grippers (Ironmind, for example) for most forearm training. Use 8-20 reps ( I do 3-8 per set and that works for me as of now) per set and do QUALITY contractions, getting a full ROM and holding peak contractions for a second or two. You don't isolate this muscle to just heave weight around... your pulling already does that.

 Isometric holds are ok, but a.) Isometric contractions don't cause as much muscle growth as dynamic ones and b.) your pulling training already accomplishes this effect.
 

 If you choose, train your forearms either the day after back training or at the end of a back session. Don't train back before your forearms have healed, or you'll interfere with the growth of both muscle groups.

Don't expect overnight results. Forearm growth takes a long time, and the surefire way to get big forearms is to gain weight over time and get your back stronger... the direct work is icing on the cake.

[ForTheLoveOfForearms]

2 hours ago, KapMan said:

My increased size and my increase in strength isn't from bending, its from thick bar work at heavy weight following specific rep ranges for that muscle. You gotta figure your forearms are used daily, like your calves and trunk. These muscles need more stimulation to kick the growth reflex into high gear. I typically do heavy sets of 3-8 depending on the exercises. I find that doing wrist curls with a thick bar, and plates has really got the ball moving. Though I don't do both on the same work out. Some tips I glean from Dr. Mike that has really elevated my game, because science. Oh I've been copying some exercises from Arm wrestling and that's legit as well.

 For your normal pulling training to transfer best to forearm growth, make sure you only use straps WHEN YOU NEED THEM (This tip is great, I do not strap up for anything unless I'm tired for I'm saving my grip for something) I see guys strapping into pulldowns, for example, and that just tells me your forearms need serious work. For heavy bent rows and deadlift variants, strap up for sure (cause you don't want to limit your back via your forearms), but for the rest, use just chalk and let your grip get some work.

 If you choose to do direct forearm training, your MRV here will be between 10-15 sets per week in most cases. I recommend using barbell and dumbbell wrist curls (where you let the weight roll all the way down to your finger tips, then curl all the way back up to squeeze and repeat slowly) as well as grippers (Ironmind, for example) for most forearm training. Use 8-20 reps ( I do 3-8 per set and that works for me as of now) per set and do QUALITY contractions, getting a full ROM and holding peak contractions for a second or two. You don't isolate this muscle to just heave weight around... your pulling already does that.

 Isometric holds are ok, but a.) Isometric contractions don't cause as much muscle growth as dynamic ones and b.) your pulling training already accomplishes this effect.
 

 If you choose, train your forearms either the day after back training or at the end of a back session. Don't train back before your forearms have healed, or you'll interfere with the growth of both muscle groups.

Don't expect overnight results. Forearm growth takes a long time, and the surefire way to get big forearms is to gain weight over time and get your back stronger... the direct work is icing on the cake.

Thanks for taking the time to type this out buddy. I do plenty of pull ups as of late and always make sure I do forearms at the end of my workouts. At the peril of sounding really stupid, what is MRV (in relation to sets per week?) and is there any benefit to going to failure, or is it best to train decent enough volume without burning out on each set? 

 

Complimentary forearm pic - Brett Favre. Look at the fear in the eyes of that man next to him 😂

[KapMan]

MRV ( Maximum Recoverable Volume ) Is the most training that a person can effectively recover from. This why some people can train heavy grippers two to three times a week and others can only do one. I can do grippers twice a week heavy, I can pretty much grip heavy almost everyday and still glean results albeit slower.  I've read on here guys pretty much going heavy every grip session and hitting PRs. Or that's the appearance because light days are boring to watch