Muscle guide · Arms

The Best Exercises for Forearms

The best forearm exercises are wrist curls and reverse wrist curls for the flexors and extensors, hammer curls for the brachioradialis, and heavy carries for grip. Two or three short sessions a week is enough.

Includes: Brachioradialis, Flexor Carpi Radialis, Flexor Carpi Ulnaris · also called Supinator longus Left, Supinator longus Right, Ulnar wrist flexor Left, Ulnar wrist flexor Right

Written by the FitStack training team. Last reviewed .

Front view: muscles worked by forearms training. Primary: forearms.
Back view: muscles worked by forearms training. Primary: forearms.
Primary

What the forearms do

  • Bends and extends the wrist.
  • Grips and holds objects.
  • The brachioradialis helps bend the elbow, especially with a neutral grip.

The front of the forearm holds the wrist and finger flexors (such as flexor carpi radialis and ulnaris); the back holds the extensors. The brachioradialis runs from the upper arm to the thumb side of the wrist and is trained hard by hammer and reverse curls.

5 best forearm exercises

  1. Barbell wrist curl — Wrist flexors.
  2. Reverse wrist curl — Wrist extensors.
  3. Hammer curl — Brachioradialis.
  4. Farmer's walk — Grip endurance and strength.
  5. Dumbbell wrist curl over a bench — One arm at a time.

Sample forearms workouts

Forearm and grip finisher

Gym · Beginner

Forearm and grip finisher: exercises and sets × reps
Wrist curl 2 × 15–20
Reverse wrist curl 2 × 15–20
Farmer's walk 3 × 30 m

Sets × reps. Finish each set with one or two reps left in reserve, and rest 2 to 3 minutes after compound lifts and 1 to 2 minutes after isolation work.

How many sets for the forearms?

Heavy pulling already trains grip. If you want bigger forearms, add 4 to 8 direct sets a week of higher-rep wrist work.

Muscle growth rises with weekly volume: in a meta-analysis, 10 or more hard sets per muscle per week produced more growth than fewer than 5 (Schoenfeld et al., 2017), and training a muscle at least twice a week beat once a week when volume was matched (Schoenfeld et al., 2016). Start near the low end and add sets while you are still recovering between sessions.

More forearms exercises by equipment

Dumbbell

Barbell

Cable

Body Weight

Band

Leverage Machine

Smith Machine

Weighted

Kettlebell

Filter every forearms exercise in the library →

Exercises that also work the forearms (50)

Forearms training FAQs

How do I get a stronger grip?

Hold heavy things for time: farmer’s walks, dead hangs and double-overhand deadlifts without straps.

Do forearms need direct training?

Not for most people, but direct work helps if your grip limits your pulling or you want more forearm size.

Sources

  1. Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass. J Sports Sci. 2017;35(11):1073-1082.
  2. Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Effects of resistance training frequency on measures of muscle hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2016;46(11):1689-1697.

General fitness information, not medical advice. Speak to a doctor or physiotherapist about injuries or health conditions before starting a new programme.