How to Get WIDER Forearms (WORKS EVERY TIME!)
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Published 2022-07-28
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In this video, I’m going to show you the best forearm exercises to build thicker, wider forearms. Most of all, I’ll show you how to focus on the muscles of the forearm that are most easily able to add size and width due to their orientation in the lower arm.
But first, it’s important that you measure your forearms accurately. In other words, before you look at your skinny wrists and deem your ability to build big forearms as compromised, realize that the muscles of the lower arm become largely just tendons as you get close to the wrist. This means, even if you did all the right things with your workout for forearms, if you had small bones you wouldn’t have large wrists.The good news however is that if you do the right exercises for forearms you will see thicker, wider forearms.
That said, it’s time to build big forearms the right way.
If you want to build up the extensor component of the lower arm you need to perform the exercises that work both the ECR or extensor carpi radialis, and the brachioradialis. The irony behind these muscles is that the latter isn’t even technically a forearm muscle. Even more ironic is the fact that the brachioradialis is responsible for the majority of the size of the forearm in the extensor component. It traditionally is viewed as an elbow flexor muscle that works well with the brachialis and biceps.
So in order to accomplish growth here, you’re going to want to perform an exercise that involves elbow flexion. Ideally, you’ll want to do this from a pronated forearm position. This leads us to the reverse barbell curl. With the pronated arm position, the biceps is most diminished in the exercise, leaving the brachioradialis and brachialis to do more of the work.
The issue with this exercise is that it can be a tough position for some to get into due to limited wrist mobility. In this case, the EZ bar variation is ideal. It places the forearm into a less pronated, but still not supinated position that keeps the focus on the brachioradialis. But just doing this exercise for forearms isn’t enough since we can easily incorporate the ECR by just extending the wrists at the top of the rep.
As far as the range of motion of the reverse curl, there is something you want to consider here as well. First, in the fully lengthened position, the brachioradialis does not have as effective a line of pull as it does when the elbow is partially flexed. So, if you want to target this forearm muscle better, you’ll want to initiate each rep from a partially flexed elbow position.
The best way to do this is with the bar starting at the waistline and dragging it up the body as if doing a drag curl. This is going to produce an intense contraction in the brachioradialis and ECR all the way through the limited, but more effective range of motion of the rep.
In order to hit the underside of the forearm and get wider forearms from side to side you’re going to want to also perform another exercise. One of my favorites to do this is with the top down wrist curl. Here you let the cable handle (or band if you’re doing this at home) drift into the ends of your fingers. Start by clenching your hand and making a fist against the resistance of the weight. From here, continue the downward motion by performing a wrist curl.
You’ll find that by performing this in this way, you get an even more intense contraction than you would from the standard dumbbell wrist curls performed with the forearm resting on a bench.
If you want to build bigger forearms, the key is knowing which forearm exercises do the best job of targeting the most “space occupying” muscles of the lower arm. With these two moves you have a quick but effective combination that will help you get wider forearms and say goodbye to skinny arms once and for all.
For a complete program that puts the science into every exercise selection so you can build muscle and burn fat faster, be sure to visit athleanx.com via the link below.
For more forearm workouts and exercises for bigger forearms, be sure to subscribe to our channel via the link below and remember to turn on your notifications so you never miss a new video when it’s published.
All Comments (21)
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If you are looking for a full workout to get bigger forearms, I put together the PERFECT forearm workout that you can find right here --> https://youtu.be/4EkKhkSNjWY
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All these so called fitness influencers crucify this guy for giving great info but he’s a fantastic resource in my opinion. Thanks again sir.
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I’ve learned so much from watching Jeff’s videos. He’s the most knowledgeable trainer I’ve come across, and can give you not only the what, but the how and why.
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As a healthcare professional, Jeff’s use of and understanding the anatomy and physiology is so much better than most college classrooms will teach. I also appreciate some of your educational devices you have acquired over the years! Very helpful, thank you!
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what I love about Jeff's videos is that he is not only showing us what exercises to do but also explains why. I learned a lot from this channel and spread this knowledge with my gym buds !!
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11 years of Jeff's wisdom has helped me through my fitness journey. Thank you again Jeff!
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People are always talking about "farmer" strength or tradesman strength and I think that comes from manual labor always working your forearms specifically with gripping heavy and large things repeatedly. Your grip strength really gets strong when managing power tools or grabbing and moving large equipment
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About a million years* after I started watching Jeff Cavaliere, and he's still coming up with the goods! Thanks, Jeff - I've just tried some of those exercises with NO WEIGHT and I can feel it in my tight forearms! (* Slight exaggeration.)
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I have been doing wrist curls for years and my mind was blown when I actually compared muscle contraction with a wrist curl vs finger flexion! I will definitely be changing up my forearm routine for tomorrow's arm day.
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what a legend, always uploads something for what I've been worried about
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Been an Athlean X fan since 2016 and this man's advice helped me fix my shoulder issue and severe tennis elbow, when doctors could only suggest surgery. He also motivates me to lift my lazy ass and go to the gym, not just to look good, but also to be the best version of myself. Thank you Jeff!
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Ive been following and learning from Jeff's videos for 3 years now, and one of my favourite things is that he puts the transcript for his videos right in the description. Theres a transparency and a usefulness to this that I really appreciate. Thanks Jeff and Jesse!
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Great work man! Since switching to mainly bodyweight exercises arms got bigger than ever even at the age 51!!!
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As an arm wrestler, these are exercises we use regularly in mostly higher rep ranges. Great video
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I love how he added in a bonus piece of valuable information about it fortifying your strength in your tendons to prevent potential injury on the higher resistant workouts ✅ thanks again Jeff
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We're training our arms today and I've been looking for a new and challenging grip exercise that would hit the entire forearm in an intense and safe way. It's almost as if Jeff knew this is what I needed.
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#1 Exercise for Forearms: Rock-climbing/Bouldering Works those digits like crazy. Trust me, you haven’t felt an intense forearm workout until you’ve done climbing or bouldering. Excellent video, Jeff. 👌
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I swear you are reading my mind. I was literally flexing my forearms while at work wondering how to grow them and I get this notification. Every. Single. Time.
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