How to Get Big Forearms – 2 Forearm Exercises For Bigger Forearm Muscles

Getting bigger biceps and triceps is on the mind of most guys who go to the gym, but very few seem interested in knowing how to get big forearms…in fact this body part is often neglected in their training routines, and only trained indirectly.

Big forearm muscles can make or break a great physique and training routine, so here you’ll find a couple of my favourite forearm muscle building exercises as well as some hidden benefits of getting big forearms.

Hidden Benefits of Bigger Forearm Muscles

Obviously most folks who want to get big forearms do so in order to look stronger and have a more balanced overall body shape. After all, it’s no good having big bulging biceps but skinny bony forearms, right?

However, knowing how to get big forearms and training them specifically in your workouts will improve your grip strength and help you to avoid injury.

These hidden benefits of bigger forearm muscles will enable to perform better throughout the rest of your workout in all the other exercises, since forearm and grip fatigue is a common reason why many folks fail to train at optimum intensity through the WHOLE of their workout.

2 Exercises For Big Forearms

The following exercises, if performed regularly, will help you in your quest of how to get big forearm muscles, but I must stress that they should be performed at the END of your workouts, not at the beginning.

As mentioned above, the reason for getting bigger forearm muscles is to improve grip strength and avoid fatigue…therefore if you perform these exercises at the start of your workouts you are more likely to suffer fatigue early on and thereby compromise the rest of your workout.

As a tip, it is best to perform the following forearm exercises using an EZ barbell bar as opposed to a standard straight one used on squats and bench press. While not absolutely necessary, an EZ bar will allow a better and more comfortable range of motion.

Wrist Curls

Wrist curls, both forward and reverse, are my personal favourite exercise for getting big forearms. But take note, these will make you feel a serious burn in your forearms as you get a fantastic muscle pump.

To perform them, sit on a weights bench and grab a weighted barbell (light weights to begin with), and hold it with an underhand grip with your elbows on your thighs so that your forearms are flat against them and your wrist is just beyond the point of your knee.

Rotate your wrists down in order to lower the bar so that your knuckles are pointing at the floor…hold for a moment…then rotate your wrists back towards you as if you were trying to point your knuckles towards the ceiling. Your wrists should be the only thing move, so focus on isolating the movement here.

Repeat for 10 reps, then do another 10 with an overhand grip.

An overhand grip works different muscles in your forearm, so I recommend that you do both overhand and underhand if you are serious about how to get big forearms.

Reverse Barbell Curls

This is similar to the standard barbell curl but performed with an overhand grip instead of an underhand grip. It’s great for your forearms and giving a little extra juice to your biceps too.

Hold a bar with both hands in a standard barbell curl pose – feet slightly less than shoulder-width apart and elbows close in to your waist.

Lift the bar by rotating at your elbows and bring it up towards your chest, making sure to keep your elbows close to waist and avoid them sticking out (which usually happens when people cheat or the weight is too heavy). Lower the bar to the start and repeat for 10 reps.

How to Get Big Forearms – 2 Forearm Exercises For Bigger Forearm Muscles by John Wheeler