Weak forearms can hold you back–causing your grip to fail sometimes long before your larger muscle groups do. There really is nothing more frustrating when your back, hamstrings, quads, or whatever target muscle you’re using is strong enough, but you just can’t hold on any longer.
If forearm fatigue feels like déjà vu, you might find yourself seeking out some forearm exercises (or if you’ve simply landed here because you’re conscious of building defined arms, we wouldn’t blame you either). Forearm exercises don’t often make an appearance in workout programs, and the best forearm exercises can be hard to come by. But luckily, we’ve narrowed down the best ones for you.
And the best thing? Forearms don’t need a ton of exercises to train them. Just a few forearm exercises each week can sufficiently to enhance strength.
So whether you’re aiming for a new one-rep max or you simply don’t want to be caught out not being able to open a jar for dinner, these are the best forearm exercises.
Building your forearm strength is guaranteed to help you get a better grip on the barbell. In the meantime, you might need some lifting straps to help you PB your deadlift or some gloves to prevent you from slipping from the pull-up bar.
What Are The Forearm Muscles?
The forearm, running from your elbow to your hand, is made up of two main groups of muscles: the flexors and extensors. These contain twenty muscles and work to bend and extend the wrist and elbow, and are also responsible for the movement of the fingers [1].
The brachioradialis is the most powerful forearm muscle [2]. A forearm flexor is located on the outer part of the forearm, and this muscle fires into gear every time you flex your elbow. If you’re wondering how to grow your forearms, you need to pay attention to this muscle during your forearm workouts. It’s a pretty big muscle, and its growth will make your forearms look a lot bigger.
While many of the smaller forearm muscles cross the wrist joint, the brachioradialis doesn’t, meaning it can’t be trained through wrist flexion or extension. It must be trained using elbow flexion/extension exercises instead.
To build big forearms, it is essential to train both wrist flexion/extension and elbow flexion/extension to work both flexors and extensors, including the important brachioradialis muscle.
How To Train Your Forearms
To build big forearms and progress forearm strength, you don’t need to do a profuse amount of forearm exercises, but you should include flexion and extension of the wrist and elbow, along with focused grip exercises, to give the forearms the attention they need.
Our best exercises to include in forearm workouts include:
Wrist flexion/extension: Wrist curls
Elbow flexion/extension: Reverse grip cable curl & Zottman curl
Grip strengthening: Farmer’s carry & Plate pinch
The 6 Best Plate/Dumbbell Forearm Exercises
1. Palm Down Wrist Curls
First, we’re targeting the wrists with two curl variations: the regular (palm down) wrist curl and the supinated (palm up) wrist curl.
The regular wrist curl works the wrist flexors (muscles on the underside of your forearms). Working these muscles will help build big forearms, encourage stronger wrists, and build your grip strength.
The key with these forearm dumbbell exercises is to select the correct weight (go on the lighter side with the dumbbells but not so light that you feel like you aren’t doing any work!), keep the reps controlled, and focus on moving through the full range of motion.
How To Do Wrist Curls (Palm Down):
The best way to perform wrist curls is by resting your forearm on a bench for support, ensuring that your wrist (and only your wrist) moves.
Kneel facing the horizontal side of a flat exercise bench.
Hold a pair of light dumbbells in each hand. Move your forearms to rest on the bench, palms facing
up.
Begin the exercise by curling your wrist towards you.
When you’ve curled the dumbbell as far as you can go, pause, then release, curling back to the starting position.
Repeat for 15 to 20 reps.
Tip: Perform wrist curls with a slow tempo to maximize time under tension (TUT), which has been proven to be one of the key drivers of muscle hypertrophy [3].
2. Palm Up Wrist Curls
To create evenly balanced forearms, flip things over and perform palm-up wrist curls, too.
Taking a supinated position for your forearm curl means you’ll fire up the wrist extensors (the muscles on top of your forearms), balancing your forearm gains and grip strength to create well-rounded, big forearms.
How To Do Wrist Curls (Palm Up):
Kneel facing the horizontal side of a flat exercise bench.
Hold a pair of light dumbbells in each hand. Move your forearms to rest on the bench, palms facing
down.
Begin the exercise by curling your wrist towards you.
When you’ve curled the dumbbell as far as you can go, pause, then release, curling back to the starting position.
Repeat for 15 to 20 reps.
Tip: Just like the palm-down wrist curls, it’s essential to focus on a slow, controlled movement, moving through the entire ROM.
3. Reverse Grip Curl
Curls are usually associated with building big biceps–but switching up your grip can change the focus of a curl from the biceps down to the brachioradialis. Taking a pronated grip in exercises such as the reverse grip curl is proven to maximize brachioradialis activation and minimize bicep involvement (which, if we’re focusing on building the forearm muscles, is precisely what we want to achieve) [4]. This makes it one of the best forearm exercises for mass.
This exercise can be performed using a barbell, EZ bar, cable machine, or dumbbells.
How To Do The Reverse Grip Cable Curl:
Take hold of the barbell with an overhand grip (palms facing down), with hands just outside of thighs.
Stand tall with your shoulders back and engage your core.
Curl the weight by bending your elbows, keeping them close to your side, and bringing the bar to your chest.
Pause, then reverse the movement, slowly lower the bar back down, and extend your arms.
Repeat for 10-12 reps.
Tip: Activate your brachioradialis even more by performing partial reps in the top range of motion. A study found that this position (elbow at 100-120 degrees flexion) provides maximal activation in the brachioradialis rather than the biceps (which were better activated when the elbow was more extended) [5].
4. Zottman Curl
The Zottman curl is a rotational curl exercise that builds strength in the biceps on the way up and isolates the forearm muscles on the way down [6]. If you’re training biceps and want to sprinkle in a bit of forearm training along the way, the Zottman curl is the ideal forearm dumbbell exercise, allowing you to train both your biceps and forearms at once to create fully developed arms from start to finish.
How To Do The Zottman Curl:
Pick up a pair of dumbbells and hold them in front of your thighs with your arms fully extended. Rotate your wrists so your palms are facing outwards (supinated) as if you are doing a regular bicep curl. Make sure your feet are hip-width apart.
Brace your core and curl both dumbbells up to your shoulders by bending your elbows. Keep your elbows pinned into your sides as you do so.
When you reach the top, consciously squeeze your bicep, then rotate your wrists to a pronated position (palms facing outwards).
Slowly lower the dumbbell by extending your elbows until your arms are straight.
Rotate your wrists back to a supinated position, then repeat the movement.
Tip: You don’t need to go heavy on the dumbbells for this movement to be effective. Choose a pair of moderate-weight dumbbells, and focus on moving slowly and controllingly without any swing. To level up your gains, focus on the muscles you are using by employing a mind-muscle connection.
5. Farmer’s Carry
The last piece of the puzzle to complete our forearm strengthening exercises is grip strength work. As the muscles responsible for finger movement sit within the forearm and the tendons that control them, working on your grip will strengthen the forearm muscles, too. That being said, in terms of hypertrophy, building your grip strength is unlikely to lead to noticeably bigger forearms. Still, it will have massive benefits for other grip-based exercises, such as deadlifts or pull-ups, allowing you to lift heavier or hold on longer.
As if that weren’t enough, having a strong grip has benefits outside the gym. Those with greater grip strength have better immune strength, cognitive functioning, higher life satisfaction, greater subjective well-being, and reduced depression and anxiety symptoms [7,8].
Farmer’s carry (or the farmer's walk) is one of the best grip-strengthening exercises. They will also work the whole of your upper back and fire up your core [9]. They can be done with a pair of dumbbells or kettlebells, and going heavy on these is a must!
How To Do A Farmer’s Carry:
Select a pair of heavy dumbbells or kettlebells and place them beside each ankle.
Squat down, keeping your chest up and spine neutral, and take hold of each dumbbell/kettlebell. Stand back up, holding each dumbbell/kettlebell by your side with your arms extended.
Move your shoulders back and down and brace your core. Then, grip the dumbbells or kettlebells tightly to secure your grip on them.
Step forward and begin walking. Keep your head straight and shoulders down. Continue walking for the duration or distance, then put the dumbbell/kettlebell back on the floor.
Tip: You might also like to try a hook grip, where you lock your thumb underneath your fingers. This can be uncomfortable at first, but can help you get a more secure grip on the dumbbell or kettlebell, allowing you to lift heavier or walk longer.
6. Plate Pinch
The plate pinch is a less common grip exercise that will really challenge your grip strength. Holding a plate between your thumb and fingers might sound easy, but it will fatigue your forearms to build strength and endurance that carries over to many grip-heavy exercises.
Unlike the farmer’s carry, with a plate pinch, you can’t wrap your fingers around the plate, which increases the challenge for your forearm muscles and makes even holding a light weight difficult.
How To Do The Plate Pinch:
Select two lightweight plates and stand them up so they rest on the outside of your calves.
Hinge over and take hold of the end of the plate in either hand, gripping the edge of it between your thumb and fingers.
Deadlift the plates up, squeezing them hard between your thumb and fingers to keep your grip on them. Keep your shoulders back and down, face forward, and brace your core.
Hold the plates for as long as possible until you feel your grip slip, then return the plates to the ground.
Aim to hold the plates for 30 to 60 seconds.
Tip: If you find holding the plates for 60 seconds too easy and you need to level up, try picking a heavier plate to make the exercise more challenging.
The 3 Best At Home Forearm Exercises
Not heading out to the gym or already been? Luckily, forearm exercises can easily be done at home, too. For those days you don’t want to head out to the gym, or maybe you’ve done a gym session but didn’t do any forearm-specific work.
If you have access to dumbbells at home, you can do any of the dumbbell forearm exercises above, including wrist curls, Zottman curls, and the reverse grip curl (using a pair of dumbbells instead of a cable).
Don’t have any equipment? Here are some alternative forearm exercises to do at home. You can do these at your desk or while watching TV for as little as 5 minutes a day.
1. Forearm Squeeze
Targeting the forearm flexors, the forearm squeeze improves hand and grip strength.
You do need a little equipment for this one–a forearm gripper or any other object you can squeeze, such as a softball–but the forearm squeeze is probably the easiest forearm exercise to do at home. You can do it sitting at your desk or while watching TV, and you can easily increase the intensity based on your ability–i.e., by increasing the resistance of your object or increasing the reps.
How to do forearm squeezes:
Choose a hand gripper or object that will challenge your current grip strength (without being too challenging that it’s impossible to squeeze).
Hold the hand gripper in the palm of your hand, with your fingers around the handles and your thumb on the opposite side.
Squeeze the gripper handles together as far as you can.
Hold for a few seconds, then slowly release your grip.
Repeat for 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 20 reps (gradually increasing the reps over time as you get stronger).
2. Fingertip holds
Fingertip holds are a slightly more challenging forearm exercise to learn. This bodyweight exercise involves holding a plank position and supporting your entire body weight on just your fingertips. It is guaranteed to challenge your forearm strength and endurance.
How to do fingertip holds:
Start by kneeling on all fours. Then, make sure your hands are directly below your shoulders, and position your fingers so that only the tips of the fingers are on the floor.
Then, lift one knee off the ground at a time, step your feet back, extending your legs to bring your body into a high plank position.
Focus on bracing your core to keep your body straight, think about actively engaging your forearms, and focus on putting the majority of your bodyweight through your forearms.
If you are just starting out, try holding the position for 5 to 10 seconds. When you become more advanced, aim for 30 to 60 seconds.
When you’ve finished, bring your knees to the floor and lift your hands off the ground. Rest for 1 to 2 minutes before repeating for 3 to 5 sets.
3. Fingertip Push Ups
The hardest forearm exercise to do at home is fingertip press-ups. These are an advanced adaptation of a regular press-up that intensely challenges the forearms to build strength and endurance.
Make sure you’ve mastered fingertip holds before you attempt fingertip press-ups.
How to do fingertip push-ups:
Start by kneeling on all fours. Then, make sure your hands are directly below your shoulders, and position your fingers so that only the tips are on the floor.
Then, lift one knee off the ground at a time, step your feet back, extending your legs to bring your body into a high plank position.
Inhale, bracing your core and squeezing your glutes. Slowly lower your chest towards the ground, keeping your elbows close to the side of your body. Aim to get your chest as close to the ground as possible.
Then, press back up to a high plank (exhaling as you do) by pushing through your fingertips and extending your arms.
Repeat—aim for 3 to 5 reps if you are a beginner or 6 to 10+ if you’re more experienced at fingertip push-ups. Repeat for 3 to 4 sets, resting for 60 seconds between sets.
What Are The Benefits Of Forearm Workouts?
Better lifting capacity: If you’ve started to notice your grip strength holding you back in exercises such as deadlifts, pull-ups, or rows, building your forearms will boost your grip strength, helping you lift heavier. This can help prevent plateauing, ensuring weak forearms are not holding back your lifting potential.
Improved sports performance: Forearm strength gives you the power and endurance you need to excel in sports that require grip strength or a lot of wrist and hand movement, such as climbing, tennis, and basketball [10,11].
Enhanced skill development: From calisthenics to Olympic lifting, stronger forearms and wrists provide more stability for more advanced movements such as muscle ups or cleans and jerks.
Injury prevention: Forearm strength helps prevent common strength training injuries such as tendinitis and wrist strain by strengthening the tendons, ligaments, and muscles that stabilize the wrist and elbow. This helps you train for longer without setbacks.
Aesthetic appeal: Many of us are guilty of overly focusing on the upper half of our arms. Training your forearms ensures balanced arm aesthetics, enhancing overall muscular appearance.
FAQs
Do I Need To Train My Forearms?
It’s not absolutely essential to train your forearm with specific forearm exercises because you train your forearms through many compound lifts. A study on 43 male high school baseball players proved this–finding that those who did resistance exercises, but not forearm-specific ones, still made forearm gains [12].
Training your forearms can, however, improve forearm strength. The same study found that greater strength gains were made overall for those who incorporated focused forearm exercises into their training.
If you’re looking to improve your forearm strength and unlock the benefits of increased forearm strength, you should include a couple of forearm exercises in your workouts once or twice a week.
How Many Times A Week Should I Train Forearms?
You should only train your forearms once or twice weekly with specific forearm exercises.
Research found that training forearms ten times a week didn’t lead to better strength gains than those who trained only 2 to 3 times a week [13]. Due to the high carryover from other exercises, you don’t need too many additional exercises to activate your forearms sufficiently.
How Many Sets and Reps of Forearm Exercises Should I Do?
4 to 6 sets of 12 to 20 reps will work well for forearm exercises.
Like the calves, forearms respond well to higher sets and reps as the muscles are predominantly made up of slow twitch muscle fibers. Slow twitch fibers are slower to fatigue than fast twitch, meaning they can sustain activity for longer [14].
When Should I Do Forearm Exercises Within My Workout?
Forearm exercises should be performed at the end of your workout so that you don't fatigue your grip for subsequent exercises!
Should I Train Forearms With Biceps Or Triceps?
Training your forearms on the same day as biceps and triceps makes sense–but you can train your forearm muscles on any training day, as long as you program your forearm exercises at the end of your workout so as not to impact your main lifts.
When choosing which forearm exercises to do, you should consider what exercises you included in your main workout. For example, you may have performed hammer curls during your bicep workout, working the forearms during elbow flexion/extension, so you may want to focus on your training on some wrist-focused exercises or grip strength ones.
Do I Need to Warm Up My Forearms Before Doing Forearm Exercises?
As you are doing forearm exercises at the end of your workout, you shouldn’t need too much warming up. However, it’s usually a good idea to do a couple of specific wrist exercises before starting your forearm exercises to active the muscle fibers and increase blood flow, for example:
If you already feel like you’ve warmed your forearms sufficiently during your workout, you might skip these warm-up exercises and instead go straight into your forearm exercises, using a lighter weight for the first set to warm up.
How Long Does It Take To Grow Forearms?
The forearms are one stubborn muscle group that doesn’t respond as quickly as others. Sometimes, it can feel hard to force them to grow. Adding a few focused forearm strengthening exercises to the end of your workouts will help build your forearm muscles, but you do need to be patient.
Some tips to accelerate forearm growth include:
Vary your forearm exercises: Sticking to the same forearm exercises week in and week out can lead to plateaus in growth. Vary your exercises, ensuring all parts of the forearm muscles are worked to promote balanced growth.
Elicit mind-muscle connection: Perform every grip exercise with intent, squeezing tightly on the bar or dumbbell. Initiating this mind-muscle connection will ensure your forearms are always engaged, increasing activation to escalate growth.
Avoid over-relying on straps or lifting aids: Straps, gloves, and chalk might help you grip better and lift heavier, but if your goal is building big forearms and progressing your grip, you ideally want to limit your use of these accessories to put as much load through your forearm muscles as possible to maximize their growth potential.
Can I Do Forearm Exercises At Home?
Yes! The forearm exercises above (Forearm Squeeze, fingertip hold and fingertip push ups) are all effective forearm exercises that can be done at home. If you have a set of dumbbells, you can also perform wrist curls, Zottman Curls, and farmer’s carry–depending on what weight of dumbbells you have available.
All In All
Unless you’re conscious of building fully balanced arms from start to finish, you may not have given much thought to forearm exercises until now. But trust us when we say little dedicated forearm training goes well beyond aesthetics: Strong forearms lead to a stronger grip, which is like a free pass to lifting heavier weights, for longer. Not only that, but forearm and grip strength are linked to health benefits, including improved quality of life and lower mortality risk.
If you do resistance training multiple times a week, you'll already be exercising your forearm muscles. However, adding a few forearm-focused movements to your weekly workouts can go a long way.
Grip with more intent, lift heavier, and live longer (and develop evenly balanced arms along the way)–when you start seeing the benefits of these forearm exercises, you’ll wonder why you didn’t start them sooner.
References:
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www.sciencedirect.com. (n.d.). Brachioradialis - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics.
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Kleiber, T., Kunz, L. and Disselhorst-Klug, C. (2015). Muscular coordination of biceps brachii and brachioradialis in elbow flexion with respect to hand position.
Murray, W.M., Delp, S.L. and Buchanan, T.S. (1995). Variation of muscle moment arms with elbow and forearm position.
Melrose, D. (2014). Exercise Technique: The Zottman Curl.
Wu, D., Gao, X., Shi, Y., Wang, H., Wang, W., Li, Y. and Zheng, Z. (2022). Association between Handgrip Strength and the Systemic Immune-Inflammation Index: A Nationwide Study.
Jiang, R., Westwater, M.L., Noble, S., Rosenblatt, M., Dai, W., Qi, S., Sui, J., Calhoun, V.D. and Scheinost, D. (2022). Associations between grip strength, brain structure, and mental health in > 40,000 participants from the UK Biobank.
Winwood, P.W., Cronin, J.B., Brown, S.R. and Keogh, J.W.L. (2014). A Biomechanical Analysis of the Farmers Walk, and Comparison with the Deadlift and Unloaded Walk.
Schweizer, A. and Furrer, M. (2007). Correlation of forearm strength and sport climbing performance.
Cronin, J., Lawton, T., Harris, N., Kilding, A. and McMaster, D.T. (2017). A Brief Review of Handgrip Strength and Sport Performance.
Szymanski, D.J., Szymanski, J.M., Molloy, J.M. and Pascoe, D.D. (2004). Effect of 12 Weeks of Wrist and Forearm Training on High School Baseball Players.
Boyes, N.G., Yee, P., Lanovaz, J.L. and Farthing, J.P. (2017). Cross-education after high-frequency versus low-frequency volume-matched handgrip training.
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