When it comes to the muscles in your arms, the forearm muscles are often neglected. This is a shame because the forearm muscles are actually quite important for overall arm health and function.

Not to mention- looking awesome.

If you want to get bigger forearms you need to train them with the right exercises, at the right intensity, for a sufficient number of sets and reps.

Let’s look at each in turn.

1) The Right Exercises

You’ll recall that muscle hypertrophy is caused by a mix of mechanical tension, muscle damage, and metabolic stress. The reason why bodybuilders have big muscles is that they expose their muscles to all three of these, in sufficient quantities.

We can therefore deduce that the right forearm exercises for hypertrophy are those which maximize tension, damage, and stress on the forearms

What are the best exercises for forearms?

The first thing to note is that the forearm lacks big strong muscles as you might see in the thighs or biceps. It has smaller muscles that are more suited to fine movements over small distances, rather than forces over large distances.

The best exercises for hypertrophy, therefore, involve lots of reps with moderate weights, rather than heavy low-rep sets.

The best exercises are therefore those that require a lot of dexterity, not power: Wrist curls, reverse wrist curls, barbell or dumbbell twists.

2) The Right Intensity

The intensity at which you train your forearms is important for hypertrophy. You need to lift a weight that’s challenging, but not so challenging that you can’t complete all the reps with good form. This is usually between 60-70% of your one-repetition max (1RM).

3) The Right Number of Sets and Reps

You also need to do the right number of sets and reps. For hypertrophy, you should aim for 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps. This will ensure that you’re maximizing tension, damage, and stress on the muscles.

How To Maximize Your Forearm Muscles Growth

There are a few other things you can do to maximize your gains. For example, make sure you’re eating enough protein, and that you’re taking a good quality supplement like whey protein or casein protein. And lastly, ensure you’re getting enough sleep and recovery time between workouts.

5 Best Exercises for Forearms

If you want to give your forearms a good workout, here are five exercises that you can try:

Wrist curls

Wrist curls are a great exercise for the forearm muscles. To do this exercise, you will need to find a bench or other sturdy surface that is about waist height.

Sit down on the bench with your palms facing down and your arms hanging straight down. Use your fingers to curl your wrists up towards your shoulders. Hold for a few seconds, and then lower your wrists back to the starting position.

Reverse wrist curls

Reverse wrist curls are very similar to wrist curls, except you will be performing the exercise with your palms facing up.

Sit down on the bench with your palms facing up and your arms hanging straight down. Use your fingers to curl your wrists up towards your shoulders. Hold for a few seconds, and then lower your wrists back to the starting position.

Hammer curls

Hammer curls are a great exercise for working the muscles on the back of your forearms. To do this exercise, you will need to find a weight bench or other sturdy surface that is about waist height.

Sit down on the bench with your arm hanging straight down at your side. Hold a weight in your hand with your palm facing your body. Curl the weight towards your shoulder, and then lower it back to the starting position.

Plate pinches

Plate pinches are a great way to work the muscles on the sides of your forearms. You will need two plates to do this exercise.

Place the plates together so that they are touching, but the smooth side of the plate is out. Grab onto one plate with each hand, and pick up the stack of two plates. Pick them up for about 10 seconds, and then lower them back down to the ground.

Reverse plate pinches

Reverse plate pinches are very similar to plate pinches, except you will be performing the exercise with your palms facing out instead of in.

To do this exercise, place the plates together so that they are touching, but the rough side of the plates is out. Grab onto one plate with each hand, and pick up the stack of two plates. Pick them up for about 10 seconds, and then lower them back down to the ground.

These are five great exercises that you can use to work your forearm muscles. Give them a try and see how they work for you!

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