The forearms can sometimes tend to be a weak point for those trying to build a better physique. Maybe you have been training for a few months and are noticing that your lower arms seem to be lagging behind, so you’ve decided to start working your forearms directly. So, what weight should you use to train your forearms?
The muscles of the forearms can often be surprisingly powerful but isolation exercises targeting these muscles can put a lot of strain on your wrists so it is important not to go too heavy, to focus on form, and getting a tight contraction. The exact weight you will need to use will vary according to your individual strength level, as well as on the specific exercise. However, broadly speaking, it is a good idea to start with a lower weight than you want to use for a biceps curl. Start out with roughly 50 to 60% of the weight you curl with on wrist curls, and go far lighter for reverse wrist curls, since these use the far aller extensor muscles on the top of the forearm. For reverse wrist curls, most people should start with as little as 20-30% of the weight that you would use for a reverse biceps curl.
Your lower arms will also be indirectly trained during virtually any free weight exercise, especially upper body pulling exercises. So if you are new to weight training, continue to work on compound exercises that will grow muscle on your body as a whole, and your forearms may well catch up.
Let’s go into a little more detail.
How do I train forearms with free weights?
The simplest forearm exercises are wrist curls and reverse wrist curls. These can be performed with dumbbells, a barbell, or resistance bands. Wrist curls can also be done in a number of positions: across a bench, or with a preacher attachment, or even standing in mid- biceps curl position.
Holding a weight plate using your fingers, until failure, is another way to really squeeze every last ounce of strength out of your hands and increase your forearm size and strength. Simply hold the heaviest weight plate that you can handle with your fingers, with your arms by your sides. Continue until the weight is about to slip, then safely place the plate on the floor. This can be performed with a plate in each hand, or one arm at a time.
The forearms contain many muscles (see here) which perform a number of functions including moving all the fingers, flexing and extending the wrist, rotating the wrist and aiding in elbow flexion (e.g. curling). Some of them insert into the upper arm and work in synergy with the muscles of the upper arm. This means that the forearms will also be trained during any exercise which includes rotating the wrists or flexing the elbow. This means that exercises such as seated cable rows, and rope pushdowns and pulldowns will also have a positive effect on your forearm development.
Can I train forearms with light weights?
It is arguably better to use lighter weights when training forearms. All forearm exercises put a lot of strain on your wrists, which are somewhat delicate joints. Going too heavy with wrist exercises can be a recipe for injury.
Even though your forearms may become quite powerful, it is better to use a weight that you can perform 10 or more repetitions with. It is not a muscle group that will be effectively trained with heavy, low-rep sets.
Higher rep sets in the 15-20 range can also be beneficial and help to build up muscular endurance in the forearms which can, in turn, improve your performance in many other exercises such as pull-ups, rows, and cleans.
When you continue to train your forearms in a lighter weight range you can then afford to train them more frequently. Similar to your calves, your forearms are used for countless physical activities, and in nearly every free weight exercise, so the forearms are naturally quite resilient muscles and will recover quickly if you don’t overdo it. This means that you can include some forearm work anytime you work out. Even daily if you don’t go too heavy and keep the set count to 5-6.
Are indirect forearm workouts enough?
Some would argue that pull-ups, deadlifts, rows, and other exercises that challenge your grip while training other muscles will be sufficient to grow your forearms. For many people this may be enough to grow large, powerful forearms. For those that find that this is not enough for them, additional, direct forearm work will be necessary.
In general, free weights will be far better for your forearms and grip strength than machines, or even bands. Virtually every free weight exercise requires you to hold the weight with your hands, and the resistance is constant until you set it down. Many beginners will find that their forearms are the limiting factor in many exercises until they can catch them up with the larger muscle groups. If they remain a weak link, it will limit how hard you can train other, bigger muscle groups like lats, traps, biceps, and even legs.
One fantastic biceps exercise which will also work both the wrist flexors and extensors (both sides of your forearms) is Zottman curls. These start with a dumbbell in each hand, with your palms facing forward, as you reach the top you will rotate your wrists inward, bringing your palms to face you at the top of the movement. Then you will lower the weight in a reverse curl. Although this is considered a biceps exercise, it works your forearms just as thoroughly.
Using dumbbells will also tax your forearms to a greater extent than machines or barbells, since dumbbell training will require each arm to independently stabilize and control the weight.
If you have been training for a while and are using relatively heavy weight on your big compound exercises but find that your forearms are lagging, start doing some wrist curls and reverse wrist curls.
In general, as your body as a whole grows larger and more muscular, your forearms will typically grow in proportion with them. This assumes that you have been training with a combination of free weights and body weight exercises that demand grip strength. If you find that this is not the case for you, and you can see your forearms to be a weak point, then you will need to add some direct forearm work.
In order to stay motivated, It is important to accurately track your progress by taking regular measurements of your forearms using a tape measure. For your overall progress, a great tool to measure body composition is a handheld body fat monitor. This can help you see how much lean mass you have gained/lost, and how much fat you have gained/lost.
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Unfortunately, you cannot just do a bunch of biceps curls and expect to get lean arms from this alone. Fat cannot be spot-trained off. The common analogy is that losing fat is like removing a cup of water from a bucket or a pond – the water doesn’t come from one side or another, it just comes off from all over, evenly. If you need (or want) to lose fat from a certain area, you need to strategize in that way that makes overall fat loss the goal. As you lose fat from all over your body, it will eventually come off your arms too. You cannot control the way your body distributes fat deposits. While biceps curls do burn calories, there are far more efficient calorie-burning exercise choices available that will help you lose this stubborn fat faste
How many squats a day will make a difference?
While nearly any number of squats will make some difference, the higher the number you do, the greater the results. This carries true until you get to really high rep numbers, i.e. over 200 squats. If you are out of shape, even 10-20 squats per day will have a significant impact on the strength of your legs, back, and on your energy levels. It is difficult to overtrain with bodyweight squats, so do plenty of them. 100+ squats a day is a great level to be at. If you want more muscular legs, try to work your way up to at least 50 per day, every other day and you will not regret it!
