If you want to build big forearms and want forearm exercises that you can do anywhere, you are going to want to pay attention. When it comes to building bigger forearms you want to be sure that you perform exercises for both the front and back sides. The muscles on the underside of the lower arm are called the flexors and the ones on the top side are called the extensors.
All too often, we feel as if the only forearm exercises we can do in our workouts for forearms require a barbell, dumbbells or a plate. In this video, I’m going to show you some exercises for your forearms that you can do anywhere without anything but your own bodyweight.
It starts on the ground with two movements, one for each side of the forearms.
These were shown to me by Olympic medalist gymnast Jonathan Horton at my live event a few years back.
They not only help to overload flexion and extension of the wrist but they develop wrist stability and strength on the way to building bigger forearms. The key to having strong wrists is that it carries over into many of the other barbell based exercises and benefits your overall strength, like the bench press and overhead press. If you have weak wrists you are never able to handle the heavy loads that you ultimately are capable of on either of those foundational weightlifting exercises.
We start by targeting the flexor muscles of the forearm. The way we do this is by getting on your knees on the ground and placing your hand flat on the floor as if getting ready to do a pushup. I use a muscle marker to draw a line across the knuckles at the base of my fingers to reinforce where I want to push through as I perform the movement. Obviously, this is not a requirement of the exercise.
From here you push down into the ground through this spot on your hand and drive your body up. The more you anchor your bodyweight directly above where you are pressing, the more weight your wrists will have to lift up against gravity. If wrists mobility is an issue for you or you need to off load some of the work being done you can sit back more on your heels and press from there.
The wrists will be going from this extended position to a neutral position at the top of every rep. This flexion of the wrist is resisted and causes the muscles in the flexor compartment of the forearm to be overloaded. Just as with any form of resistance, when applied properly, you can build big forearms with this exercise. There is a standing variation if you want something that requires even less motion and mobility at the wrist.
To target the opposite side of your forearms, the extensor muscles, you want to start with the back sides of your hand flat on the floor. Again, if you are limited by wrists immobility issues, you can do this with the variation pointed out in the video. Here you want to slowly extend the wrist and the fingers, as if trying to spread them into the floor, until you get your wrist once again back into a neutral position. The act of going from a flexed to a neutral position requires extension of the wrist that is going to help to build bigger forearms.
You can easily add some more forearm exercises into your repertoire here as well by simply including a back pack. Weight it with some books, water bottles, sand or anything to create some load that your forearm muscles are going to have to lift. Perform wrist extensions, wrist curls, and reverse curls to build up your brachioradialis, flexor and extensor muscles of the forearms.
Finally, simply just hanging from a pullup bar can help to build good strength, stamina and toughness. If you don’t have a bar, you can easily get this done from a tree limb out in the yard. The fact is, there are no excuses when it comes to finding the right forearm exercises you can do anywhere and build big forearms. You just have to be willing to put in the work.
If you’re ready to start putting in the work and are looking for a daily workout and meal plan, be sure to head to athleanx.com via the link below. Use our program selector tool to find the workout program that best matches up to your current goals and I’ll take care of the getting you the results you want.
For more videos on forearm exercises and forearm workouts to build big forearms, be sure to remember to subscribe to our channel here on youtube via the link below and remember to turn on your notifications so you never miss a new video when it’s published.
Build ripped athletic muscle here – http://athleanx.com/x/my-workouts
Subscribe to this channel here – http://bit.ly/2b0coMW
Chris Wright
Well there is one exercise missing that you can do ANYWHERE ;)
This post right here officer
Almost everywhere
seen as a pervert at Walmart you’re going to be jailed
Not anywhere bro tf
I was just trying to figure out some neat ways to work forearms for my friend and I today…what a coincidence. Great video guys!
Good for you Zak :)
Great training is where it’s at!!
your phone and your computer are spying on you. that’s why you got this video suggestion (: but lucky you that it is AthleanX
@nopreach haha isn’t that the truth
You are brilliant. I am not a weight lifter. I am 74-year-old yoga teacher. But I cannot believe how tight I am on these. And I also have arm elbow shoulder pain. So I think this is gonna really work for me. You are brilliant thank you for your service
How long have you been doing yoga? That’s awesome!!
I’m a 90 year female with butt implants
@Gia Khalsa That’s freaking awesome!! I have been training since 2008 and have taken on yoga in the last 10 or so. I love it! Yes, please do!
@Spoopy Scary Skelebones sus
First day back at the gym today, let’s get it! Thanks Jeff!
The wrist flexibility stretches were exactly what I needed today. Thanks!
Yeah that mobility makes a difference!
Jeff: “The muscle that pops out here”
Me: “Maybe that’s what yours does”
*NOTIFICATION SQUAD GIVEAWAY* – Alright guys, I’m giving away a complete 30 Day Workout program to 100 lucky clickers within the first hour this video is published! Remember, this is NOT THE FIRST 100, but those randomly selected within the first hour the video is published. Click the link to see if you’ve won. No strings attached!
https://giveaway.athleanx.com/ytg/forearm-exercises
If you don’t win, no worries, you’re not going away empty handed. Just be sure you have your notifications turned on so you can get to my next video quickly and try again. Good luck and thanks for being a loyal subscriber…
@quarkspark yeah, o tried to create an account and then the programme page didn’t work. I’ll try again and hope to catch another
Wth? This link wasn’t available for at least the first 30min after posting. Now it’s obviously too late.
I want contact with you in some thing important
Can we get an AthleanX Application?
so we can ALL win?!
Been writing emails to your customer service for this for years!
You know what, that first exercise is exactly the same as calf raises but for your forearms! Perfect
I guess if you think about it for arms or the Calves of the arms
Man! extremely good advice!. Merry Christmas brother and thank you for your work. We. many, many with me around the world appreciate it! Greetings from Scandinavia!
Yes! This is great information and workout! Thanks so much. I’ve been trying to strengthen my forearms over the last few months, and these are great exercises.
I have been blasting my grip for years now. I think it’s the difference maker in being able to do a lot of pull ups. Most I have ever done is 32!
True. The reason why my back sucks is because my forearms are weak. I fatigue quickly so its hard for me to do pulldowns, deadlifts etc without losing grip 3-4 reps into the exercise
Looks like I just have to add some of these exercises to my daily Athlean-X Jeff “Train Like An Athlete” Cavaliere routine:
1. FACE PULLS
2. CARRIES
3. BAND PULL APARTS
4. OVERHEAD TRAPS RAISE
…
241. WRIST BENDS
242. KNUCKLE LIFTS
243. REVERSE CURLS
244. HEEL REVERSE CURLS
245. DEAD ARM HANG
Share the full list :)
Three days Later…. Dead Arm Hang
I had to quit my job, no time for it
Okay if you share a full list of 245 exercise and include a list a of equipment needed
I will upload an attempt at completion of this list, since i don’t know quit it would probably be completed in an intense 4-6 hours ,all exercises done one set/max reps , min 1 rep per exercise.
Really helpful. Bodyweight exercises are so versatile! Thank you Jeff!
I need a hip mobility and strengthening video! I train in mma, and when I throw high kicks I can tell my hips are tight and weak. Thanks for everything, Jeff.
I need this too, my hips feel really fking tight and immobile right now
@Max Bergman it’s because we sit too much. Jeremy ethier has a great video on fixing the hips. I recommend it
His video helped me in shoulder impeachment. He is best.
Watch some of tom Merrick videos
Hi guys, just wanted to say to all of you, that even in Paris France we follow Jeff and it changed my gym life ! Bonne soirée tout le monde :)
Jesse: Well I know how to get bigger forearms
Jeff: Well no Jesse that just creates muscle imbalances
Man, totally forgot about those. Used to do them as a teenager. Tied a rope to a brick and the other to a thick dowel. Then I’d wind the rope up and down. Over and over and over. It was boring and my arms were never as ripped as Jeff’s. Oh yah, I stopped. Anyway, I’m gonna include these AND I’m going to work on increasing the mobility of my wrists. I have 1/2 as much in my right wrist. Jeff, mobility of joints is a huge problem for me. Over 55, stiffening up, but working hard. Any advice is welcome and keep up the great work. You are second to none. And that is backed up by the flack u get!
I’d have to say, particularly if you are older, you might need to work into these exercises very slowly or risk a very unpleasant wrist injury which can take a long time to heal. You probably know if you are prone to wrist injuries like I am. Since I was in my 20s, though I could bench over 300 lbs, I have been unable to preform normal flat hand pushups. A few sets of those and I am in pain for weeks. I do pushups on my fist or fingertips to compensate. I think it’s genetic in my case, as my brother has had several wrist surgeries. I am actually in the market for forearm exercises. So, I plan to try these very carefully.
Well after injuring my elbows and going through rehab barely supporting 10lbs….. I now do forearm exercises. Wish I had convinced myself a while back of how important they are for the overall performance of arms. Lesson Well learned…… great video
Interesting view on wrist mobility. I’ve been focusing on pull ups and my forearms have been okay so far. Gotta strengthen the forearms more then!