Forearm Exercises for Popeye Power

Updated 22.01.2012
This post will cover some effective forearm exercises to bring out that popeye power in You:

Athletes in many sports need good grip strength and additionally, proper forearm work will give your arms nice proportions as well as help build your bicep!
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So let’s dive right in:

Also called “wrist curls”, this is the standard forearm exercise: you basically bring the palm/thumb closer to your bicep. What this does is build your wrist flexors, which are making up a big part of a solid forearm.

The opposite movement to wrist curls. These are weaker and smaller muscles than the flexors, still it’s not a mistake to train them, too.

The radial and ulnar deviation we do for the sake of completeness and variation, and to directly hit muscles like flexor carpi radialis and flexor carpi ulnaris for example.
Here in the radial flexion your thumb is pointing up, hands semi-supinated (like when the palms are facing each other).

You guessed it: the opposite movement to Radial Flexion. Either we use a cable pulley or a stick/unilaterally loaded dumbbell/light barbell, with the arm held behind the body.

What Popeye's Forearms REALLY Look Like...

Turning of the wrist upwards. Say you bend your elbows to 90°, palms facing down. Then you turn the wrist so that the palm faces upwards, like in demanding cash: that’s supination. The bulk of this movement is actually carried out by the biceps! And by a forearm muscle called…supinator! Talk about originality…

Yebbs, just reverse the supination-movement. Hits the pronators, two rather smaller muscles. Means: not so much weight, not so much attention.

Palms down curls. These emphasize the Brachialis. Why is that cool? Because it lies under the biceps brachii. Means? It lifts the biceps, giving you a greater peak. Told you it was cool!
Reverse curls and hammer curls also emphasize the Brachioradialis, and that mother makes for IMMENSE forearms, and upper arms, come to that. It’s the one in the front/on top of your forearms, you can check it out in the anatomy pic up there…

These are a little funny maybe, but they demonstrate the forearm exercises pretty good…

Palms facing away: pull ups. Palms facing you: chin ups. The pull ups hit the upper and outer back/lats, and they do the same to your arms as reverse curls, see above.
 
OK I hope these are explained properly, if you’re not clear on the one or the other of these forearm exercises, please let me know in the comment section and I’m ON IT! Like a flash.

Have a Good One,

Mark

P.S.
Some of you guys have requested a short demo-video since some of the exercises are rather uncommon.
Here it is now, find the order of progression for the exercises below:

Followed by the Tri Set from my post: A Brutal Forearm Workout

6 Comments

• j2kool3816 says:

  January 23, 2012 at 1:42 AM

  Can we get a short video just showing the exercises in circuit. Just so we can see proper form and technique.

  Reply
  • Mark says:

    January 23, 2012 at 7:52 AM

    Hey that’s a really good idea, might look into that!

    I’m planning a post on a killer forearm workout next…

    Mark

    Reply
• Maya says:

  January 28, 2012 at 10:11 AM

  Yo Mark,

  you are the hero!!!

  Lot’s of people on Rustys’ page are in love with you – especially the ladies

  Maya x

  Reply
  • Mark says:

    January 28, 2012 at 1:35 PM

    LOL! Ha ha, How come?

    Mark

    Reply
• Maya says:

  January 30, 2012 at 8:31 AM

  ’cause of the story about you rescuing the dogs!
  It’s all over the internet bro lol

  Speak you soon

  Maya x

  Reply
• Mark says:

  January 31, 2012 at 9:50 PM

  This is just a quick update for all of you who have requested a video to demonstrate the different exercises and also the forearm workout: The video is up now on both posts, right here and on http://www.tsmethod.com/blog/forearm-workout/

  Mark

  Reply