Heres a question that a friend asked me over on my facebook page. Of course, the answer was too long for facebook to display. Also, its a great question so I’m posting it here for everybody to discuss and learn from.
“Dr. Okwuje, Since you are a body builder, how can I build up my forearm muscle? After my thumb surgery I don’t have a lot of strength in my right forearm…Dr Garay says it will come in time, but I want to hurry it along a bit! I have been doing wrist curls? What do you think?”
Janis, in general there are Two things that dictate muscle mass, hence size AND “definition”.
1) Hyperplasia – an increase in the number of cells
2) Hypertrophy – an increase in the size of the muscle.
Hyperplasia tends to be controlled at a more central level, by expression of DNA, (diet, hormones, etc) This tends to respond slower to working out, but exercise is still important as molecular signalling processes act at this level.
Hypertrophy is the reaction to stretch and damage of individual muscle units. The result is that the muscle repairs itself and gets larger in the process assuming that there’s an adequate supply of dietary proteins (the building blocks) to support the growth.
Your forearm is composed of a bunch of different muscles but in in general the front are the wrist and arm flexors while the back are the wrist extenders. To develop stronger/larger forearm musculature, wrist curls are a great start.
However, I would also suggest the following.
1) Cable flys (chest) or any exercise that will require you to lock your wrist against extension resistance. Its great when you can use exercise for dual effect. By resisting extension, you’re in effect doing your wrist curls, but also hitting another muscle group!
2) Reverse curls. These target one of my favorite muscles – the brachioradialis. This is a forearm muscle (lateral forearm, next to elbow) that actually is a flexor of the forearm – not the wrist. You basically do a curl like you would for your biceps, but PRONATE your wrist, so that you look at your knuckles not your palm when you curl.
Typically you’ll be able to do less weight, so don’t be alarmed.
3) Ensure a proper diet rich in essential proteins.
I like to do 5 sets of increasing weight and decreasing reps. Usually 10, 10, 8, 5, 3. You want to ensure that the 5 and 3 are difficult.
As always, stretch out and train smart – there’s no hurry. This is a long-term game, not a sprint.
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I have an exercise which really seems to keep my forearm muscles toned and seems to isolate both sides equally. It is “palms up and palms down dumbell wrist curls.” This exercise involves using dumbbells, whatever weight is comfortable (I am a girl so I use 10 pounders). Kneel on the floor with your arms on a weight bench and the barbells in your hands (palms up toward the ceiling) and do wrist curls (10-15 reps), however many sets you like. Then, you switch and do the same exercise palms down, same reps and sets. I also sometimes do “dumbbell twists,” which can be done with a heavier weight. Just sit on a bench holding the dumbbell, let your arm hand between your legs and just slowly swing back and forth. You have to keep the dumbbell stable though, or you can injure your wrist.
That does sound like a really great workout routine for your forearms, but you are right. I would be worried about hurting my wrists in some way. It made me think, is it possible to get carpal tunnel from lifting dumbbells like that? I know that most commonly occurs in people that type a lot, but it sounds like it could also develop from incorrect ways of working out, too. Thanks for the comment!
I have carpal tunnel syndrome because of a former secretarial job, and it can be quite a pain – with numbness in my fingers (mostly at night). I might be imagining things, but it seems like liftings weights might seem to actually help my symptoms just a bit. I would also be interested in knowing about the effects of weight lifting on carpal tunnel syndrome. Thanks.
Another good forearm exercise that targets the fingers as well but doesn’t put stress on the wrist is to squeeze a rubber ring. Rock climbers use this method to add strength to their forearms. As a result they can hold on better to the cliff. If you can’t find a rubber ring it would probably work the same with a rubber ball. Just make sure it is a little over the size of the palm of your hand and it should be hard enough to squeeze that it would actually workout the forearm.
Yesterday my son showed me another great forearm exercise that is so simple. You just stand with two dumbbells in your hands with your forearms facing foreward (palms back) and keeping your wrists straight you lift the dumbbells in front of you at a forty five degree angle and down, doing as many reps/sets as you are comfortable with. This is so simple, and I felt the burn!
To change the subject a bit, I have always been told to exercise most muscle groups every OTHER day except for abs and calves. I understand that these can be worked every day. Is this true Dr. O? What are your thoughts?