The Best Forearm Exercise

Here's what you need to know...

While some guys are blessed with naturally big forearms, others need
to work at it. The wrist roller is about the best exercise you can use for
bigger forearms.

Wrist rollers are inexpensive and can be made at home for next to
nothing.

Hold the roller down at your waist as opposed to shoulder height.

Stand on a platform or box to compensate for the reduced range of
motion.

Simply add roller work to the end of your workout or use it as part of a
giant-set forearm routine.

Some guys are blessed with the ability to grow impressive forearms
simply by gripping heavy barbells and dumbbells. As such, they don't
need much direct forearm work at all. However, they're also the genetic
minority since most have the opposite problem decent biceps
development but forearms like a ballerina.

The good news is that for even the genetically hapless, the forearms
respond very well in terms of both size and strength to hard consistent
work with one exercise in particular the wrist roller.

A Brief, Painless Anatomy Review

The muscles in the forearms are divided into two very broad groups,
forearm flexors and forearm extensors. The forearm flexors are the
stronger and larger of the two sections, and have several important
jobs.
Finger flexion, in simple terms, means grip strength, of which there are
two main types. Isometric grip strength is the ability to hold onto
something such as a heavy deadlift. Concentric grip strength, more
commonly referred to as crushing grip strength, is the ability to close
your hand against resistance, as measured by the Captains of Crush
grippers, for example.

Unfortunately the principle of specificity holds true and one type of grip
strength doesn't automatically transfer to the other. In other words,
isometric grip strength (which is more commonly developed in the gym
through holding barbells, handles, etc.) doesn't automatically carry
over to crushing grip strength (as measured by ripping phone books,
plate pinches, rolling up frying pans, or just crushing your father-in-
law's hand when you shake it).

The forearm extensors are responsible for extending the wrist. We

don't do this movement often against a significant resistance in
everyday life, but we frequently have to resist wrist flexion, which uses
the extensors.

Exercises like reverse biceps curls and dumbbell lateral raises will
work the forearm extensors to some degree as important stabilizers.
Reverse wrist curls train this muscle group more directly.

The Roller

The wrist roller is by far the best exercise for developing forearm size
and strength. It is to your forearms what barbell squats are to your
legs, if not better. There's simply no substitute for this exercise, and if
you don't have access to one you can easily make one for around five
bucks.

Most start off very humbled by the wrist roller and are lucky to use 10-
15 pounds or less, but with consistency and applying gradual overload
it's possible to work up to some impressive weights.
Another huge bonus of the wrist roller is that you must grip the roller to
prevent it from slipping in the opposite direction, which works the
flexors and develops crushing grip strength. From there, you can either
work the extensors by rolling it extension style (you'll be able to go
heavier with that form) or continue to hammer the flexors by rolling it
flexion style.

Wrist Roller Flexion.

Wrist Roller Extension.

Form Notes

Sometimes you'll see people holding the wrist roller out in front of
them, mimicking the end position of a front raise. This is certainly
harder and it does increase the range of motion (ROM), but your
shoulders become the limiting factor almost immediately and you
should be able to wrist roll more than you can hold out in front of you
for 30 seconds.

I recommend keeping the weight down in front of your waist and either
performing more rounds to increase the time under tension or standing
on a box to increase the ROM. Furthermore, using plates no heavier
than 25 pounds will also increase the ROM.

When rolling, try to keep the wrist roller reasonably straight. If it's
tilting at a significant angle as you roll, then your forearms aren't
working as hard as they could be.

For programming, I like to first increase the rounds that I complete

(starting on the ground and rolling up until the weight clicks is one
round) and then increase the weight. Rolling the weight down as well
as up is ideal, but you might find it's simply not feasible with certain
rollers and heavier loads because it'll rip away your skin on the way
down.
Increasing the rounds is ideal because the weight being lifted is quite
light. Even a 2-5 pound increase is a large percentage increase and
you'll tap out on your potential quite early if you just add weight.

Here are two programming options for the wrist roller. Plan A allows
you to go heavier and focus more on strength, while plan B allows you
to go lighter to focus more on endurance. Plan B will also give you a
better pump, which is good for size development.

Week Plan A Plan B

1 25 (lbs.) x 1 round, 4 sets 15 (lbs.) x

2 25 x 2 rounds, 4 sets 15 x 4 rou

3 25 x 3 rounds, 4 sets 15 x 5 rou

4 27.5 x 1 round, 4 sets 17.5 x 3 r

5 27.5 x 2 rounds, 4 sets 17.5 x 4 r

6 27.5 x 3 rounds, 4 sets 17.5 x 5 r

7 30 x 1 round, 4 sets 20 x 3 rou

Note: Four sets are performed two sets flexion style, two sets
extension style. I like to alternate them, starting with flexion since it's
tougher.

What's Good Wrist Rolling Strength?

There aren't too many lifters regularly using the wrist roller, nor are
there hundreds of YouTube videos dedicated to it. I don't claim to have
a perfect standardized way of ranking wrist roller strength but I can
give you some rough guidelines.

My first goal with the wrist roller was to complete 45 pounds for 5
rounds. I hadn't seen anyone do this before and I always thought it
would be pretty bad ass. To broaden it out, here are my standards
using the strict exercise form described earlier:

Wrist Roller Standards

Novice Early Intermediate Late Intermediate

10 x 3 25 x 3 50 x 3

You can simply incorporate the wrist roller into your regular workouts,
or if you prefer you can use the following biceps/forearms specific
circuit, which should really light you up. Perform this once a week:

Biceps and forearms circuit for an early-intermediate client:

Exercise Set 1 Set 2

Neutral Grip Pull-Up* 6 6

Dumbbell Crossbody Curl 25 x 8 25 x 8

EZ Reverse Curl 60 x 8 60 x 8

Wrist Roller 15 x 3 15 x 3

* Use rope pull-ups to really target the forearms.

The four exercises above are performed in a row without stopping; one
set each, rest, and repeat. Once you can complete 12 reps, increase
the weight.
Big Forearms, Crushing Grip
by Dan Blewett 8/28/2013

Here's what you need to know...

There's no sport that isn't benefitted by stronger hands, especially sports

where holding a piece of equipment is required.

Bodybuilders are often only concerned with forearm size, which requires an
entirely different approach from grip strength.

For a stronger grip, choose passive crushing, active crushing, pinch gripping,
and thick bar work.

For bigger forearms, choose wrist curling, static holds, and extensor work,
all with moderate loads for higher reps.

Big, intimidating forearms are a sign of power. No one picks a fight with the
guy who sports mitts that look like they could uncork a fire hydrant. But are
you chasing grip strength or forearm size? Let's talk about how to train for
both.

Pick a Primary Goal: Grip Strength or Big Forearms?

If you're concerned with grip strength, it's probably sport or powerlifting

related. Implemental sports (especially those that use an implement like a bat,
club, or stick) are greatly improved when the athlete's hands are strong and
dexterous. Martial arts, rock climbing, and gymnastics all require tons of
maximal gripping. The fact is, there's really no sport that isn't benefitted by
stronger hands.

At the gym, pulling heavy weight requires holding heavy weight, and wrist
strength is required to stabilize a heavy bench press. Weak wrists can't push
heavy loads.

That said, some iron warriors are merely concerned with forearm size, which
is okay as having big forearms is an impressive, dominant characteristic both
on the stage and street.
Considering those are very different goals, you need to make sure the training
is specific. Think of it like powerlifting versus bodybuilding different goals
with different training methods.

Let's discuss the elements of a sensible grip program for the typical lifter.

Chasing Maximal Grip Strength

Implements You Should Own

Open-hand (thick) implement: Fat Gripz/Tyler Grips/Grip4orce/Grenade

balls/rock rings

Spend $40 on any one of the grip tools out there and make use of it. They'll fit
in the gym bag and pay for themselves when you tear the popped collar off
some ornery frat boy's polo shirt.

Spring-loaded grippers of 150 and 200-pound closing force. Captains of

Crush, Heavy Grippers, whatever they all work. We personally use Captains
of Crush and most of our 17-22 year-olds use the 1.5 and 2.0.

Elements Of A Good Program

Passive Crushing

Holding a crushing-grip where gravity is forcing the hand to open, such as

you'd experience in holding a heavy dumbbell or barbell. This implement
(dumbbell, barbell, or kettlebell) provides resistance by way of gravity.

Active Crushing

Active crushing involves squeezing something that resists the hand from
closing, such as a spring-loaded gripper. Understand you may not be that
strong in active crushing, even if you can hold 500-plus pounds in your hands.
The act of getting the hand closed under resistance, which passive gripping
doesn't provide, is often overlooked.
Pinch Gripping

Pinch gripping involves squeezing the extended fingers towards the thumb
without flexing individual digits, such as you'd experience holding a textbook.

Open-Hand

An open-hand grip involves passively holding an object that's so large the

fingers and thumb can't overlap. Fat Gripz and fat bars are examples of open-
hand held implements.

Lower Reps and Hold Durations

Maximal strength requires maximal holds, which I'll define as four reps or
less, or 10 seconds or less of a static hold.

If you combine these elements in a solid mix, you'll be on your way to having
an exceptional grip. Note that all these actions attempt to close the hand,
which involves only the muscles of the anterior compartment of the forearm.
i.e., the flexor/pronators. Maintaining healthy forearms and hands will need
balance, which we'll address later.

Chasing Maximal Forearm Size

Implements You Should Own

Wrist Roller

Buy one if you want, but a homemade version of PVC pipe (1.5-2 inches is
perfect) with climbing webbing attached is a cheap and amazing solution. You
can pack a shortie that can attach to a cable machine, or a longer power-rack
version that you'll fall in love with.

Check our versions below that we made out of aluminum tubing. The beauty
of sitting them in a rack or attaching to a cable column is that you can truly
test the grip without the shoulders giving out first.

Open-hand (thick) implement: Fat Gripz/Tyler Grips/Grip4orce/Grenade

balls/rock rings
Elements Of A Good Program

Wrist Curling

To develop that big flexor/pronator belly, you need to use wrist flexion.
Really heavy wrist curls bother a lot of my clients' wrists, so we usually go for
sets of 8-plus and seek a pump rather than maximal strength. Wrist rollers are
better suited for heavy wrist flexion.

Heavy Static Holds

These are one of the best ways to develop bigger forearms. Farmer's carries
and static holds of 20-60 seconds allows for high loads, high tension, and high
blood flow. My forearms went through their biggest transformation as a 19
year-old on a deadlift-intensive program. I gained over an inch that summer
by simply deadlifting like a man for the first time.

Low-to-Moderate Grip Tension Through Range of Motion

This is where thick implements and open-hand grips come into play. The extra
gripping required causes a huge pump almost instantly. I prefer to keep
resistance low when taking an open-hand grip through a full range of motion
at the elbow joint. High tension flowing through a moving elbow joint quickly
causes discomfort and flare-ups.

Moderate to High Reps

We want to flood the forearms with blood and nutrients. Getting a good pump
requires moderate to high reps: 8-20-plus reps depending on the exercise.

Be Cautious With High Grip-Tension Through Range of Motion

I've found through experience that the number one way to develop
flexor/pronator mass or, if you're not careful, biceps tendinitis and pain, is by
using a high-strain grip in a full range of motion exercise. This usually
involves using high resistance with a pinch or open-hand grip.

I've personally suffered through four partial or full elbow ligament tears, so
my elbow and forearms are a scarred mess. When you have a trashed joint,
it'll let you know in a hurry when stress levels increase.

Examples are rowing with thick implements such as a fat bar or chinning on a
pair of grenade balls, a rope, etc. I suspect that the cause of this excessive
stress is found in the forearm flexors being forced to concurrently stabilize
both the wrist and elbow joint while allowing motion in both. This doesn't
mean never do these types of exercises, but rather be cautious and don't go
overboard. The video below shows an example:

Biceps curls with thick implements are also stressful, but loads are a lot lighter
than rowing, so it may be more acceptable depending on the person. Have you
ever tried performing a biceps curl with a heavy-resistance pinch grip? Instant
pain. Fat grips are best suited for static holds and carries rather than exercises
that will force the flexors to go through a range of motion under high strain.

Hit The Extensors!

The posterior compartment of the forearm contains the extensors of the wrist
and hand. These need to be developed along with the flexor/pronators, but
most neglect them. I recommend three key exercises to help maintain balance
between forearm compartments.

Reverse Wrist Curls/Wrist Rolls

Everyone in my facility loves the wrist roller it's task-oriented and more
interactive. We mostly use reverse wrist rolls rather than wrist curls but both
crush the wrist extensors. It's important to use a curl bar and semi-pronated
grip on reverse wrist curls as a straight bar prevents natural motion.

Reverse Biceps Curls

Reverse curls need no real introduction. I like a mixture of medium and high-
rep sets: some strength work at 4-8 reps and focus on a pump at 12-20 reps.
It's important to attempt to extend the wrist while curling the weight as this
makes the extensors work more actively.

Flat-Band Hand Openers

A strong crushing and pinching grip takes its toll on the finger tendons, so if
maximal grip strength is the goal, these are a must. For those only looking at
forearm size, reverse wrist and biceps curls will suffice.

Simple Programming

Programming is relatively simple. Mix a little bit in with your movements if

you're not doing heavy pulling (a thick implement instead of plain handle,
perhaps) and save the hard stuff for the end. If you train 4 days per week, your
scheme might look like this:

Grip Strength

Day 1 Heavy static holds or farmer's carries

Work up to a weight you can hold for 10 seconds; 4-6 sets are usually enough.
Finish with reverse wrist curls, 4 sets of 8 reps.

Day 2 Pinch gripping

Performing 4-6 sets of 10-20 seconds is a good starting point.

Day 3 Gripper work

Get warmed up and build to 6-8 heavy gripping sets of 2-3 reps. Finish with
band extensors for 3 sets of 20.

Day 4 Open-hand training

Add three reps to all of your barbell assistance exercises and use a fat grip.
Romanian deadlifts and rows are well suited here.

Forearm Size

Day 1 Heavy static holds or farmer's carries.

Use a weight that you can hold or carry for 3-5 carries of 30-60 seconds.

Day 2 Wrist curling

Hit the wrist roller or wrist curls hard, to failure, for 3-5 sets somewhere in the
15-30-rep range.

Day 3 Reverse wrist/biceps curling

Same as day two. Hit the wrist extensors hard for 3-5 failure sets of 10-20
reps. Go a little heavier than you would with wrist flexion.

Day 4 Open-hand training

Dedicate one pulling exercise to use with a thick implement and spend an
additional 5 minutes at the end of the workout with holds or carries.
Get Those Iron Mitts

Devote 5-8 good, intense minutes to grip work before you finish your peri-
workout nutrition. Do some every day using a different element above that
falls in line with your goal.

If you want bigger forearms, don't waste time doing plate pinches. The load is
too light, there's no pump, and it's almost all finger strength. But if you need
to take down an opponent by his fight shorts, then pinch away.

Make sensible decisions and become the guy no one screws with at the local
watering hole.
 Can't Add Size to Your Biceps?
Try Working the Forearms!
by Charles Poliquin

When a bodybuilder complains that he or she can't add mass or strength to his
elbow flexors, I often suggest they add some direct grip and forearm work.
Offhand, it doesn't seem to make sense. But when you add direct forearm and
grip work to your workout regimen, your curling poundages go up. How
come? We need to go back to the anatomy textbooks to answer that one. If
you were to investigate the anatomy of the biceps and lower arm, you'd find
that there are a few forearm muscles, such as the flexor carpi radialis, that
contribute to elbow flexion. Consequently, if you build them up, it'll lead to
enhanced biceps and brachialis development.

Elite bodybuilders of the '60s, like Chuck Sipes and Larry Scottknown for
handling Herculean weights in curling exerciseswere strong proponents of
this training principle.

But there's another benefit to working on your forearms and grip strength. If
you perform regular grip work, it'll permit you to use greater loads in key back
exercises, such as pull-ups and the various forms of rowing movements. As
you know by now, using heavier weights means a greater overload on the
muscular structure, and a greater overload on the muscular structure means
greater hypertrophy. And lastly, nothing gives you a psychological edge in a
business meeting like a bone-crushing handshake.

The regular performance of direct grip work will help pack size on the
forearms to make them look like Indian Clubs or, for you cultural xenophobes,
a bowling-pin look. This will enhance the overall symmetry of the arm. Now,
you may be convinced that you're going to have a hell of a time building up
your forearms, but contrary to popular bodybuilding mythology, the forearms
can grow! Packing a full inch on the forearms within 12 weeks of specialized
work is well within the realm of reality for one who's committed to the task.

Now, you may be concerned about how you're going to fit in all of this
forearm and grip work without neglecting your arms. Well, for the duration of
this program, I want you to cut down drastically on your biceps and triceps
work. You'll only need to do two exercises (two sets each) for both the triceps
and the elbow flexors. Don't panic, though. You won't lose any size, and you
may, in fact, gain some size from the aforementioned forearm/elbow flexor
tie-in.

Likewise, remember that forearms recover quickly from one set to another, so
you don't need much of a rest period.

The following is a 20-workout, forearm-building routine which normally

results in forearm circumference gains of one-half an inch to three-quarters of
an inch. This program is designed around the assumption that you're training
arms once every five days, and I recommend that you train your forearms
right after you train the arms.

Workouts 1-6

A1) Palms down dumbbell wrist curls for 15-20 reps. Take no rest and
proceed to exercise A2.

A2) Palms down low-pulley wrist curls for 15-20 reps. Rest for two minutes
and go back to exercise A1. Repeat the A1-A2 cycle three times (do three sets
of each).

B1) Palms up dumbbell wrist curls for 15-20 reps. Take no rest and proceed to
exercise B2.

B2) Palms up low-pulley wrist curls for 15-20 reps. Rest for two minutes and
go back to exercise B1. Repeat the B1-B2 cycle three times (do three sets of
each).

Workouts 7-12

Perform exercises A1 to A4, one after the other, with no rest between
exercises. Rest three minutes after completing A4, and repeat the whole cycle
two more times (do three sets of each).

A1) EZ-bar, palms down wrist curls for 10-12 reps.

As opposed to barbells, using the EZ-bar or dumbbells for palms-down wrist

curls greatly reduces strain on the wrists and allows for better isolation of the
forearm extensors.

A2) Palms up barbell wrist curls for 10-12 reps

A3) Standing EZ-bar reverse curls for 10-12 reps

A4) Palms up wrist rollers for 60 seconds of work. Keep rolling up the weight
and lowering the weight as quickly as possible for 60 seconds.

Because of the variance in rope length from gym to gym, I prefer to give a
time-under-tension goal instead of a rep bracket.

Workouts 13-18

A1) Decline barbell, palms up wrist curls for 12-15 reps. Rest for 30 seconds
and proceed to exercise A2.

For incline and decline forearm work, just prop up the appropriate end of a
flat bench by placing it over an object 4-6 inches in height.

A2) Incline EZ-bar, palms down wrist curls for 12-15 reps. Rest for 30
seconds and go back to exercise A1. Repeat the A1-A2 cycle four times (do
four sets of each).

B1) One-arm radial flexion using a low pulley and special handle for 12-15
reps. Rest for 30 seconds and proceed to exercise B2.

For forearm work, I prefer to use Tri-Bar handles (call 1-888-874-2271 or

visit the www.tribar.com website) as they're more comfortable for the wrists
and hands.

B1) Start | B1) End

B2) One-arm ulnar flexion using a low pulley and special handle for 12-15
reps. Rest for 30 seconds and go back to exercise B1. Repeat the B1-B2 cycle
three times (do three sets of each).
 B2) Start | B2) End

Workouts 19-20

A1) Incline barbell, palms up wrist curls for 8-10 reps. Rest for 60 seconds
and proceed to exercise A2.

A2) Decline EZ-bar, palms down wrist curls for 8-10 reps. Rest for 60
seconds and go back to exercise A1. Repeat the A1-A2 cycle four times (do
four sets of each).

B1) Forearm pronation using an adjustable pulley and triceps rope for 10-12
reps. Rest for 45 seconds and proceed to exercise B2.

Forearm pronation exercises recruit the pronator teres and pronator quadratus.
Including them in your routine will improve your curling strength in those
exercises using a pronated grip, so all forms of reverse curls will normally go
up after engaging in a just few sessions of pronation exercises.

B1) Start | B1) End

B2) Forearm supination using adjustable pulley and triceps rope for 10-12
reps. Rest for 45 seconds and go back to exercise B1. Repeat the B1-B2 cycle
three times (do three sets of each).

Forearm supination exercises recruit the short-head of the biceps brachii and
the supinator. If, when you get tired, you have a tendency to falter and
inadvertently switch to a semi-supinated grip when doing supinated-grip
dumbbell curls, you'll benefit from doing these exercises. They'll improve
your curling strength in those exercises that use a supinated grip, particularly
when you work with dumbbells.

B2) Start | B2) End

A Word on Training the Grip

Wrist curls and wrist roller exercises are great for the forearms, but they don't
specifically train the muscles used in gripping. The muscles you need to
concentrate on are located in the hand, and they don't run across the wrists.

Some people believe gripping muscles can be effectively trained by simply

squeezing a tennis ball. Three problems are associated with tennis ball
squeezing:

1) There's only one resistance option.

2) The more you squeeze the ball, the more it weakens, therefore giving you
less resistance (even though you're getting stronger).
3) You can't gradually increase the resistance and, thus, there's no way to
improve beyond a certain point.

Until "tennis ball technology" improves, the most practical and effective way
to strengthen your grip is by using one of the various gripping machines
available out there. These represent the modern alternative to the fixed-
resistance grippers sold in most sporting stores. They offer the advantage of
being more comfortable and adjustable than the spring-loaded grippers that
obviously don't accommodate everyone's hand size and strength levels.

When using a gripping machine (the better devices on the market are made by
Cybex, Atlantis, and Hammer), it's important to remember to just involve the
finger muscles. Unfortunately, because of the orientation of the handles, one
usually has the tendency to use the traps or the scapulae retractors to complete
the range of motion.

Another feature that I like about the gripping machines is that they're very safe
to use. Although you may think this to be a minor point, I'd like to share a true
story with you to illustrate the importance of safety. A high-intensity, one-set-
to-failure guy at our gym took the advice of one of his gurus and started
walking around the gym holding dumbbells that had handles heavily coated
with Vaseline. This, apparently, was the ultimate way to build gripping
strength. He shortly discovered that it was a very good way to break two toes,
too, since he dropped one of the dumbbells on his foot. It got worse, though.
After dropping that dumbbell, he lost his balance and dropped the other one,
which ended up hitting some Captain Anadrol disciple on the head while he
was doing crunches on the floor. That mistake earned the greasy-handed idiot
one of the most impressive backhands I've ever seen.

When training with gripping machines, I recommend time-under-tension

rather than reps. In other words, squeeze the handle for a predetermined time,
like 60 seconds. I also recommend using a periodized approach, such as that
explained in the following programs. As you'll see, Program 1 is
an accumulation phase that stresses the system through a high volume of
training, while Program 2 is an intensification phase that stresses the muscles
through a period of high-intensity training.

Program 1 (Weeks 1-3)

Accumulation Phase

Perform the exercises following a tri-set sequence, completing a total of three

tri-sets. Take no rest between each exercise, and rest for 90 seconds between
each complete set.

A1) Decline supinated wrist curls for 60-70 seconds. Take no rest and proceed
to exercise A2.

A2) Decline pronated wrist curls for 60-70 seconds. Take no rest and proceed
to exercise A3.

A3) Gripping machine for 60-70 seconds. Rest for 90 seconds and go back to
exercise A1. Repeat the A1-A2-A3 cycle three times (do three sets of each).

Program 2 (Weeks 4-6)

Intensification Phase

Alternate superset A1 with A2, performing a total of four supersets. Rest for
90 seconds between supersets.
A1) One-arm supinated dumbbell wrist curls for 30-40 seconds. Take no rest
and proceed to exercise A2.

A2) One-arm pronated dumbbell wrist curls for 30-40 seconds. Rest for 90
seconds and go back to exercise A1. Repeat the A1-A2 cycle four times (do
four sets of each).

B1) Gripping machine for four reps, holding the squeeze for a 6-second count
each time. Take no rest and proceed to exercise B2.

B2) Gripping machine, holding for 60 seconds. Rest for 90 seconds and go
back to exercise B1. Repeat the B1-B2 cycle four times (do four sets of each).

Now, I don't recommend that you train forearms and grip at the same time,
unless you're taking an amount of Anadrol that is equivalent to your social
security number, multiplied by this weeks' winning Lotto number, and
multiplied again by the average age that a Brazilian girl reaches menarche. It's
just too brutal, and it would constitute overtraining. Work either forearms or
grip, but not both.

Give this workout a try. If I ever get a chance to meet you and shake your
hand, I expect us to get in a gripping contest, the likes of which hasn't been
seen since the John Wayne character shook hands with the Irish bully in the
movie "The Quiet Man."
 Massive Forearms, Strong Grip
Not just another arm specialization program
by John Sullivan

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Forearms are the bastard stepchild of arm training. Normally when you see an
arm training article, it's really a biceps and triceps article, with a set of
hammer curls thrown in if you're lucky.

I'm not sure why though. Forearms are sometimes all people see of your
physique when you're out in public. From a performance standpoint, the grip
and forearms transfer power from the body to a sporting implement or directly
to an opponent. They literally attach the baseball player to the bat, the
powerlifter to the bar, and the mixed martial artist to his opponent.

In many sports, a freaky grip can give you a decided edge. Since biceps and
triceps have been hammered to death both literally and figuratively let's
turn our attention to the forearms. Whether you're training for looks, function,
or a combination of the two, read on. It's time to add in some serious grip and
forearm training to your routine.

Grip Strength Defined

Gripmaster John Brookfield has written a great deal about the different types
of grip strength. He gives several examples, which can be narrowed down into
four categories:

1) Crushing Grip
Squeezing a hand gripper, or someone's hand when you shake it, exemplifies
this type of grip strength.

2) Pinch Grip

The best example of the pinch grip is holding two weight plates together, flat
side out, and pinching them tightly so you can lift them off the floor. This
demands superior thumb strength.

3) Supportive Grip

This form of grip strength is best demonstrated by holding onto a heavy

barbell, dumbbell, or farmer's walk implement.
4) Wrist Strength

Exercises like wrist curls and lever bar lifts, in which the wrist is maneuvered
through different ranges of motion, characterize what can be termed wrist
strength.

Since much of this has been discussed before, I'd just like to point out that the
different types of grip strength are fairly separate and distinct. I think this is
the most misunderstood point with regards to training the hands.

For example, you may excel at closing a heavy gripper, but perform poorly on
exercises like farmer's walks where high amounts of supportive grip are
required. In addition, I've observed that the correlation between hanging onto
a thick bar and a normal diameter bar is very low, despite them both being
supportive grips. As the barbell diameter increases, the hand is forced open,
which shifts emphasis to the thumb.

The take-home message in all grip training situations is that you'll need to
train specifically for what you're trying to improve.

Some Helpful Training Tips

Now that we've established what the different types of grip strength are, here
are a few other tips that'll help to accelerate your progress:

Vary Your Elbow Angle: I've noticed that grip strength varies depending on
the degree of elbow flexion, and it's usually highest at approximately 90
degrees. Because of this variability, I suggest you train using various degrees
of elbow flexion. For this reason, I've included some exercises below in which
the elbow is actively flexing and extending while gripping some sort of
implement.

Train One Arm at a Time: Lifters typically have one hand with a
significantly weaker grip. If you're a strength athlete, you're only as strong as
your weakest link, so it makes sense to focus as much effort as possible on
bringing that up. Many of the exercises I've listed below are performed one
arm at a time for this reason.

Variety is the Spice of Life: In my experience, the hands adapt to a given

stimulus faster than other body parts. Changing the exercises (or even the
handle shape or size of the same exercise) every 2-4 weeks will ensure
consistent progress.

More importantly, using various grips and exercises will help you to avoid
repetitive strain injury. I've had clients who, for one reason or another, found
benching with a normal bar uncomfortable on the wrists. When I switched
them to a thicker bar (1.5" to 2" diameter), the pain was alleviated.

Pro Strongman and Excel Sport & Fitness co-owner Brad Cardoza bench
pressing with a thick bar.

Alternate Reps Frequently: Coinciding with my observation that the grip

adapts to exercise selection very quickly, rep ranges are no different. I suggest
alternating rep ranges (or time under tension for static exercises) weekly, as
outlined below.

Keep Your Hands Healthy: Giving more attention to the lower arms will
definitely give you a powerful pair of hands, but not taking proper care of
them may leave you unable to train. There are several things you can do to
ensure your hands stay healthy:

1. Ice If your hands are taking a routine beating, ice can be a tremendously
beneficial (and cheap) recovery method. Throwing your hands in a bucket of
ice water after training only takes a second and can pay off greatly in the long
run.

2. Care For Your Calluses Tearing calluses not only sucks in the short-
term, it also makes holding on to a heavy bar pretty tough for a week or two.
If you're building up big calluses, taking a few seconds to buff them with a
piece of pumice stone will reduce your risk of losing a chunk of skin. This is
especially important if you're doing a lot of heavy supportive work, like single
arm rack pulls or modified farmer's holds.

This can make holding a bar kind of difficult.

3. Active Recovery This is another great way to make sure the hands stay
healthy through movement. Grabbing a bucket full of fine sand, using Chinese
dexterity balls, or squeezing those little stress balls you can buy at the
supermarket counter all qualify as forms of active recovery. Done one to two
days after a tough forearm workout, this is another simple yet invaluable
option.

Get Active Release Technique (ART): Like several of my fellow strongman

competitors, I've gotten excellent results from ART. The benefits extend
beyond its usefulness in treating injuries though. ART may also yield positive
results in grip strength as well, so find a good provider in your area.

Getting Creative

While there are numerous companies that sell specialized grip tools, there are
plenty of free or very inexpensive ways to improvise your own grip
equipment. With a quick trip to your local hardware store and a little
imagination, you can make some serious grip strengthening devices for next to
nothing. The remaining exercises can be done with items typically found in a
commercial gym.

How to make your own:

Wrist Roller

A wrist roller is probably the easiest piece of grip and forearm training
equipment to make. First, find a piece of PVC pipe. It comes in different
diameters, so you may even want to get more than one size. Alternatively, you
also can use a squared piece of wood (like a chair leg) which will offer a
different feel.

Drill a hole in the center and thread a piece of strong rope through it. Knot the
end a few times once you get it though and you're good to go. I've added a
small clip to the other end of the rope on mine so it can be easily attached to a
loading pin. If you don't have a loading pin you can just attach the rope
directly to the plates.

Lever Bar

A lever bar is another piece of equipment that's fairly easy to make. All you
really need is a piece of 1.5" diameter pipe (that's the inside diameter) and
some sort of rubber stopper. Attach the stopper approximately four inches
from one of the ends. This is the end where you'll load the plate(s).
Remember, the longer you make the lever bar, the harder it'll be to maneuver.
I'd recommend a length of 15-20 inches. The one pictured is 24 inches, and it
takes only a small amount of weight (5-10 pounds) to make it very
challenging.

I've also bulked up the other end by securing a piece of slightly larger pipe
over it. It essentially becomes one lever bar with two different grip diameters.

Thick Handle Dumbbell

This is easily the most versatile grip tool you can make. Aside from pure grip
exercises like dumbbell deadlifts, you can use it for rows, presses, curls, and
pretty much every other upper body exercise where you'd use a normal
dumbbell.

To make a thick handled dumbbell you'll use the same 1.5" diameter pipe that
you did for the lever bar. You'll need a piece that's between 16 and 18 inches
long. You'll also need a 5-6" piece of slightly larger pipe for the handle. This
not only bulks up the grip, but it also keeps the plates from crushing your
hands, which is nice.

I simply wrapped duct tape around the inner pipe so the handle fits tightly
over it. You'll probably need a hammer to get the inner pipe through the
handle. This will ensure that it's a tight fit. As you can see, I've also added a
flange to each side, secured with a pipe wrench. This isn't 100% necessary,
but it gives the hands an added degree of protection from the plates.

I've also added tape to the sleeves so that I can attach spring collars. If you
have screw-on collars, you don't have to do this.

The Exercises

As I mentioned earlier, grip strength can be divided into at least four sub-
categories. Since we're looking for both forearm hypertrophy as well as some
additional general grip strength, we'll simplify it a little by dividing exercises
into ones that predominantly tax the wrist/forearm and ones that are primarily
grip strength based. It's an admittedly simplified classification, but it makes it
a little easer to set up a program.

Wrist/Forearm Dominant Exercises:

Lever Bar

Use the lever bar for pronation/supination, radial/ulnar deviation, figure 8's,
etc. The wrist can carry out numerous functions, so try different ranges of
motion.

Thick Dumbbell Zottman Curl

When done with a thick handled dumbbell, Zottman curls become particularly
effective wrist and forearm developers. You may find that when using a thick
dumbbell, you can't pronate quite as far as with a normal dumbbell. This isn't
a problem though, so just go as far as you can.

Wrist Roller
You've probably seen this done (or have done it yourself) with the arms
extended directly ahead. This is pointless though, as the shoulders will fatigue
long before the forearms will. Letting the arms hang straight down will allow
you to achieve much greater overload on the forearms. Make sure you practice
rolling the weight up in both directions (flexion and extension).

Thick Dumbbell Wrist Curl Performed with a thick handled dumbbell, the
single arm wrist curl becomes much more effective. You can rest the
dumbbell on the knee or on the end of a bench.

Reverse Curl Reverse curls will help add meat to the wrist extensors. Make
sure you're keeping the wrists straight the entire time.

Towel Chins

A very simple way to train your grip, towel chins are also extremely effective.
Just throw one or two towels over a bar and do chin-ups as you normally
would. If you can't do chins, you can just do timed hangs until your grip gives
out.
Grip Dominant Exercises:

Sand Bag Catches Make a small sandbag that you can grasp with one hand.
You can fill it with sand, lead shot, or a combination of both. Practice
dropping it and catching it in mid air, either alternating hands or re-catching it
with the same hand.

Modified Farmer's Hold

The addition of bands allows you to really overload the supportive grip, but
also steadies the bar somewhat so you don't have to worry so much about the
bars tilting in your hands. They can be attached to the rack as shown, or
attached to dumbbells. This is an excellent way to give the hands the strength
needed to hold on to a big deadlift or farmer's walk.

EZ-Bar Hub Lift

Hubs lifts are great for training the fingers as well as the thumb, which is often
the weak point in situations where you're gripping something other than a
barbell.

Stand on a bench or high step, grab the end of the bar with a pinching motion,
squeeze tightly and lift. You can do timed holds or deadlift it for reps, adding
weight to the other end of the bar to increase resistance.

Thick Dumbbell Deadlift This is like the famous Thomas Inch dumbbell
deadlift, but since the dumbbell is loadable, it's a great alternative for those
that aren't quite at that level yet. Like a normal deadlift, just grip it and rip it.
You can do either timed holds or reps.

Plate Pinch Grip

Just put two (or three) plates together with the flat sides out. You'll have to
squeeze very tightly or the plates will never leave the floor. If you can't do
two 25's, try two or three 10's and work your way up. Once again, you can
perform timed holds or reps.

Bar Sleeve Shrugs

If you don't have an axle, the sleeve of the barbell can be your poor man's
thick bar. Just place two bars on the safety pins so you have to do a partial
deadlift to get them up. The side you're gripping should be slightly lower by
about six inches. Be sure to load both ends with plates and collars. From there,
perform shrugs just as you would with a set of dumbbells. You can also do
timed holds in this position.

The Program

Keep in mind this is just a sample program. Feel free to alter it to suit your
own needs. The program is divided into two workouts a week, and can be
done after your upper body training or on another day where you can fit it in.
Either way, it shouldn't take very long; this isn't a 20-set forearm blitz
program.

Day 1 will consist of exercises that emphasize the wrist and forearm. Day 2
will focus more on grip dominant exercises. For each day, choose two
exercises and perform them according to the parameters I've provided. It'll
depend on what equipment you have, but again, it's all pretty easy to get at a
hardware store.

You may find your grip is shot after just one exercise. That's fine, just work
within your capabilities.

Workout 1
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
A1 EZ-Bar
3x6-8 3x10-12 3x6-8
Reverse Curl
supersetted with:
A2 Thick DB
3x8-10 3x12-15 3x8-10
Wrist Curl
 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6
A1 Towel
3x4-6 3x8-10 3x4-6
Chin-Up
supersetted with:
A2 Lever Bar 3x10 ea. 3x6 ea. 3x10 ea.
Week 7 Week 8 Week 9
A1 Zottman Curl 3x4-6 3x8-10 3x4-6
supersetted with:
3x1 each 3x2 each 3x1 each
A2 Wrist Roller direction direction direction
Workout 2
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
A1 Farmer's Hold 2x30-40s 3x15-20s. 2x30-40s
B1 EZ-Bar Hub
3x20-30s 3x5-10s 3x20-30s
Lift
Week 4 Week 5 Week 6
A1 Thick DB
3x8-10 3x3-5 3x8-10
Deadlift
B1 Pinch Grip
3x20-30s 3x5-10s 3x20-30s
Hold
Week 7 Week 8 Week 9
A1 Barbell Sleeve
3x12-15 3x6-8 3x12-15
Shrug
B1 Alternating Sand
2x20e 2x20e 2x20e
Bag Catch

So there you have it: your yellow brick road to bigger and stronger forearms.
It's not as flashy as bombing biceps or trashing your triceps, but hopefully by
this point you've realized the importance of training the entire arm, both for
aesthetic as well as functional reasons.

About the Author

John Sullivan is the co-owner of Excel Sport & Fitness

(www.ExcelStrength.com), a strength and conditioning facility located in
Waltham, Massachusetts. He's been a competitive strongman for five years.
He can be reached at jsullivan@excelstrength.com.

1998 2007 Testosterone, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

 Toothpicks to Timber
Five Exercises for Fierce Forearms!
by Don Alessi

Look at your lower arms. Go ahead, take a peek. Now guess what? If your
forearms are puny, your upper arms probably are too. In fact, you're seriously
limiting your strength, size, and symmetry with those toothpicks. Do you
really want those little things sticking out of your new T-Nation T-shirt? Do
you like having the grip strength of a girl scout? No? Good, then this is the
specialization program for you! Let's start out by taking a closer look at a few
issues most trainees never think about.

Are you yankin' my chain?

Think back to the first time you performed a drop set of shrugs. Your grip
probably seized up long before your traps felt any action. This was the flexor
digitorum superficialis failing early in the chain.

The upper body pulling chain begins and ends with grip strength. More
exactly, the nerve impulse first ignites the finger flexors which in turn radiate
to the wrist flexors, elbow flexors, and end upstream in the shoulder girdle.
Simple observation will tell you that the distal chain (finger and wrist flexors)
will likely fail first, hence the popularity of straps and grip devices.

Exercises that reap benefit from forearm strength include chin-ups, shrugs,
deadlifts, curls, and rows, just to name a few. In short, improve your grip and
you'll improve your whole body!

How important really is lower arm strength?

To answer that question, lets look at a real life example where that structure
is inhibited. I work with a client who has a hereditary motor and sensory
neuropathy called CMT. This disease takes aim on the lower arms and causes
progressive deterioration and weakness in the fine motor units of the fingers,
then spreads up the chain. In other words, the distal link of the pulling chain is
taken out.

The result? After a 10% loss in strength, the upper arms shrank an entire inch!
In other words, the lower arm paralysis affected the rest of the chain. The
lesson is, if you don't train your forearms you could be limiting your upper
arm potential.
Let me guess, you're going to say not to use straps, right?

Yep. When you use straps, did you ever happen to notice which side the straps
preferentially reinforce? Is it the thumb side or the pinkie side? Straps limit
your strength and development by artificially aiding the muscles that adduct
the wrist (pinkie side). Ultimately, this can even create a painful muscle
imbalance such as a "grasp and lift" injury.

And think about it, if a thin cloth strap can temporarily improve your grip
strength by 50, 70, or 100 pounds, what can the hypertrophied fiber of cross
sectional mass do for you? So, forget the straps and "build your own" with the
program below.

Need another reason to train the grip?

Beginners need grip strength to develop the lats and traps. Advanced trainees
need it to re-balance size, symmetry and function (a competitive edge). The
smaller your wrist circumference, the more grip strength specialization you'll
need.

Studies on bodybuilders indicate that your lower arm must be at least 75% of
your upper arm circumference (the average girth is 12.5" amongst contest
winners). Additionally, studies have proven that strength is highly correlated
to the cross sectional area (CSA) of the muscle and the lower arm flexors have
greater mass potential than the extensors. This is opposite that of the upper
arm where the extensors (triceps) have greater potential.

How 'bout a little anatomy lesson?

We've touched on some anatomy of the lower arm, but let's give a more
complete overview. If you begin to nod off, just skip down to the training
program.

Flexor digitorum superficialis: The primary role of this muscle is finger

flexion and the secondary role is wrist flexion. This muscle is important to
athletes who use fine motor skills such as gripping, stick handling, and ball
throwing.

There's evidence to suggest that bodybuilders can best train the wrist flexors
by skipping the finger flexors altogether. This can be done by using thick
grips. The thinking is that the fast fatigue rate and location at the distal end of
the chain may shut down the whole chain. I'm not sold on this concept, as
these intrinsic muscles were the first to go in my CMT client and resulted in
visible atrophy. As such, I train both with narrow and fat grip dumbbells and
barbells.

Flexor and extensor carpi ulnaris: Flexes and adducts the wrist and boosts
elbow flexion by approximately 8%. These muscles have the greatest strength
potential for intermediate to advanced bodybuilders and strength athletes.

Flexor carpi radialis: This is the muscle that's worked with the standard wrist
curl. It flexes the wrist and boosts elbow flexion approximately 5%.

Brachioradialis: I call this muscle and the one below the "Popeye muscles."
The thick muscle belly of the brachioradialis lays in the lower arm, but it's an
upper arm elbow flexor as it only crosses the elbow joint. I include it in
forearm training due to its size potential and assistance in pronation and
supination. Plus, its figgin' cool looking when you add some meat to it!

Pronators teres and quadratus: These pronate the forearm and assist in elbow
flexion.

The "Toothpicks to Timber" Workout

Perform the following routine twice per week if youre a beginner and once
per week if you're advanced. Why? Experience tells me that advanced trainees
will tend to overload the extensors and pronators. This is due partly to much
greater loads handled on other pulling exercises, namely chins, pull-ups, and
reverse curls. What advanced trainees need is simple re-balancing, so they
should perform this routine once per week for four to six weeks. For these
guys, it's best performed on back or arm day after their regular training.

For less experienced trainees, the grip is a major sticking point and must be
prioritized. They should use this routine twice per week for four to six weeks,
prior to their normal back and arm days.

WARNING No personal liability regarding resultant reckless grooming

after performing this routine, such as brushing the teeth or combing the hair, is
assumed by Don Alessi or associates. It may be a good idea to perform any
fine motor skill prior to performing this superset.

A) Incline wrist adduction, unbalanced grip You'll get a few "skunk eyes"
and "brow scratches" at the gym when you perform this one! Dont worry,
youll get your revenge when youre cracking walnuts between two fingers for
your pre-workout snack!

Grasp a straight bar with an uneven grip and set the incline bench to
maximum elevation. Position yourself prone, kneeling in a kickback position.
Flex and fixate the elbows to 90. Now, laterally flex (adduct) the pinkie
toward the wrist. Flex opposite to stretch and complete the range of motion
(ROM).

Sets: 6

Reps: 12, 10, 8, 6, 6, 15

Tempo: 303*

Rest: 30 seconds

B1) Preacher wrist curl, inverted angle grip Grasp an EZ-curl bar with a
narrow grip so that the bend in the bar is facing you. Now simply perform a
wrist curl on the 45 slant of a preacher bench.

Sets: 3

Reps: 12, 10, 15

Tempo: 303

Rest: 30 seconds
B2) Preacher wrist curl, standard grip Grab an EZ-curl bar, palms
supinated in traditional biceps curl position. Next, flex the wrist (positive),
then extend the wrist to return to start position (negative).

Sets: 3

Reps: 12, 10, 15,

Tempo: 303

Rest: 90 seconds

Note: Those B1-B2 numbers just mean to superset those two exercises.
I call these next two the "Popeye Superset".

C1) Reverse curls, paused, 1 1/2 rep This works the brachioradialis muscle
(BR). Grasp an EZ-curl bar with a pronated shoulder-width grip (outer bend
of bar). Next, while keeping them tucked into the sides, flex the elbows to
contract the BR. Elbow range of motion is 180 at extension (unloaded) to 30
at flexion (loaded).

To complete the rep, partially lower the weight under control to 90, pause,
then re-flex the elbow to 30 at flexion and hold three counts. This completes
1 rep. This extra isometric tension at the sticking point will bust through any
strength plateau!

Sets: 6

Reps: 8, 6, 6, 4, 4, 15

Tempo: 333 (3 second pause on half-isometric hold as described above)

Rest: 30 seconds

C2) Spider hammer curl, plus pronation/supination Grasp a dumbbell with

an uneven, hammer grip so that the pinkie and ring finger are over the fat end
and the thumb, pointer and index are over the shaft. Use the 90 "spider"
bench or an incline bench if no spider is available.

Begin by moving the elbows from 180 extension to 30 flexion. Next, instead
of lowering back down to extension, we're gonna "put the screws to you."
Pause and slowly pronate the wrists, then return to semi-supinated before
lowering to complete elbow extension.

Sets: 6

Reps: 8, 6, 6, 4, 4, 15

Tempo: 333 (3 seconds is used to pronate and supinate during contracted

position as described above)

Rest: 90 seconds
Conclusion

Unusual? Yes. Effective? You better believe it! Say goodbye to those
toothpicks!
Mtodo de medir porcentagem de gordura corporal com fita mtrica!

Before skinfold caliper measurements, underwater weighings, and electrical

impedance readings became popular to determine percentage of body fat, old
timers had an interesting way to check their leanness. The test involved
keeping a periodic record of the differences between the relaxed and
contracted upper-arm measurements.

Before a workout and using a plastic tape, here's what they'd do:

1. Relax the arm and measure the circumference midway between the elbow
and tip of the shoulder with the arm hanging away from the body. Record the
number to the nearest 1/16th of an inch.

2. Flex the arm and measure it at right angles to the bone around the largest
part of the contracted biceps with the upper arm parallel to the floor. Record
the contracted arm to the nearest 1/16th of an inch.

3. Determine the difference between the relaxed and contracted

measurements.

If you're trying to get leaner, or just out of curiosity, you should apply the
same guidelines to your arm. Over several weeks, if you're getting leaner, the
differences between your relaxed and contracted upper-arm measurements
will get greater. If you're getting fatter, the differences between the two will
get smaller.

The reason one goes up and the other goes down is the fact that... you can't
flex fat! Only muscle contains contractile tissue.

Most of your noncontractile fat is stored directly under your skin, with thicker
layers around your hips and midsection. When your percentage of fat is
reduced, it's reduced to a greater or lesser degree from all over your body.

Having 1-1/2 inches between the two measurements puts you at the
approximate 10% level of body fat. A greater number is exceptional. The
largest difference I've ever measured was on the arm of Casey Viator, who
won the 1971 AAU Mr. America. Casey's right arm was 17-1/8 inches relaxed
and 19-5/16 inches contracted which amounted to 2-1/4 inches between the
two numbers.

His body fat was 3%. When Viator raised his arms and contracted them, his
biceps and triceps seemed to explode which is no exaggeration.
By keeping accurate records of the differences between your relaxed and
contracted arm measurements, you now have a simple way to monitor your
leanness and fatness.

Size Plus Symmetry

Old-school bodybuilders cared about muscular size, but they also realized the
importance of remaining symmetrical. As a consequence, they often took
circumference measurements of their neck, upper arms, forearms, chest,
waist, hips, thighs, and calves before their workouts.

All the measurements, with the exception of the upper arms and forearms, are
taken with the body relaxed. The upper arms are recorded with arms flexed at
shoulder height and the biceps contracted. The forearms are measured with the
elbow extended and the fist clenched and forearm muscles tensed. Old-school
bodybuilders also calculated an interesting size ratio: body weight in pounds
divided by height in inches (see the first numbers in the chart below).

Okay, so you take an accurate set of body measurements. What do they mean
and how do they compare with old-school bodybuilders?

The expert on such comparisons was a bodybuilder turned historian, David P.

Willoughby. Willoughby authored many articles on bodybuilding, but his
crowning jewel was a 700-page book titled The Super Athletes (1970). A
condensed version of Willoughby's interesting chart is presented below:

Size and Symmetry Calculations

Ratio of
Small Medium Large Maximum
Measurement
Weight / Height
2.00 2.40 2.87 3.67
(Pounds / Inches)
(Measurements in inches)
Neck 14.38 15.81 17.40 19.80
Upper Arm 13.48 14.85 16.35 18.60
Forearm 11.24 12.39 13.62 15.49
Chest 37.40 41.25 45.30 51.60
Waist 28.10 30.93 34.00 38.70
Hips 33.65 37.12 40.75 46.50
Thigh 20.20 22.28 24.48 27.90
 Calf 13.47 14.53 15.94 18.60

Excellent size and symmetry, according to Willoughby, would be achieving

measurements that correspond to one of the vertical listings under the Ratio of
Measurement headings: Small, Medium, Large, and Maximum.

Most champion bodybuilders have measurements that fall between the Large
and Maximum ranges. Remember, champion bodybuilders have unusual
genetic potential for developing large muscles. Regardless of what your
measurements are, you should strive toward symmetry, or having good
balance in your body proportions.

From time to time, re-measure for changes and note your size and symmetry
improvements.

For 1,71m 75kg

Pescoo 39,75

Bceps 37,5

Antebrao 31,25

Pulso 17,75

Peitoral 103,75

Cintura 77,75

Quadril 93,5

Coxa 56

Joelho 36,75

Panturrilha 37,5

Tornozelo 22

Bi-Deltoid 48 (espao formando uma linha imaginria entre os ombros)

Willoughby also advised how to measure.

wrist: below the styloid process of the ulna, ie on the hand side of it with
hand open. i think that means above the bone.
leg girth: all measurements to be taken with the legs straight but relaxed,
including the ankle at the smallest part. knee across center or knee cap
thighs: largest circumference
waist:at the smallest point withhout pulling the waist in
hips: at the largest point with feet together
chest: level of nipples not expanded
upper arm: flexed at largest point
forearm: largest point clenched straight. not with fist turned towards body
neck: smallest point
bi-deltoid : measurement will be the most difficult to make. The easiest method is to stand relaxed with
your back touching a wall. Have someone place a ruler alongside your deltoid and mark a line on the wall
with a pencil. Do the same with the other deltoid. Then measure between the two lines.

Predicting Maximum Muscular Bodyweight: The Equation

Based on an analysis of some 300 class and overall title winning drug-
free bodybuilders and strength athletes from 1947 to 2010 the
following equation, predicting the maximum lean body mass someone
of a given height and bone-structure can achieve without the use of
anabolic drugs, was derived. It describes a "normal" state of nutrition
and fluid retention in the trainee. (There is a link at the end of this
article to an online calculator based on all of the formulae presented
here).
 where,
H = Height in inches
A = Ankle circumference at the smallest point
W = Wrist circumference measured on the hand side of the
styloid process.
(The styloid process is the bony lump on the outside of your
wrist.)
%bf = The body fat percentage at which you want to predict your
maximum lean body mass

The above equation, as it was derived from collected data, applies

most accurately to individuals of approximately average, balancedbone
structures for their heights and average muscle belly lengths. Very thin
ectomorphic men can expect to achieve roughly 95% of the lean body
mass that the equation predicts. Likewise, very endo-mesomorphic
men, men who have disproportionately wide hips, thick shoulder
structures and torsos, high natural testosterone levels, exceptionally
long muscle bellies or uncharacteristically small joints for their frame
size may be able to exceed the prediction by up to roughly 5% in
extreme cases (WNBF World Champion and Mr. Universe Rob Hope
comes to mind).

So, using this equation, for a 5'9" (69 inches) tall bodybuilder at 10%
body fat with 7.0" wrists and 8.7" ankles the equation would yield:

To convert maximum lean body mass to maximum bodyweight at any

given body fat, use this equation:

Body weight = (Lean body mass / (100 - %body fat) ) x 100

Using our example bodybuilder, at a lean and healthy 10% body fat his
total bodyweight would be:

Body weight = (173.7 / (100 - 10) ) x 100 = 193.0 pounds

As the above equation is intended for bodybuilders in a steady,
maintainable state, special adjustments should be made for "bulking"
off-season bodybuilders who, due to heavy food and liquid intake,
often carry additional pounds of "lean body mass" in the form of fluid
retention, labile proteins and contents in the digestive tract. In these
cases, a bodybuilder may carry up to 4% additional body weight due to
these factors - the predicted body weight must be multiplied by a
maximum factor of 1.04 to account for this. Using our example trainee
to illustrate his weight in a maximally "bulked" state, we get:

Maximum Bulked Body weight = 193.0 x 1.04 = 200.7 pounds

It must be kept in mind, however, that within days of reducing food

intake back down to maintenance levels or below, this "transitory" lean
body mass will quickly be lost and the trainee's weight will return more
in line with the "Maximum lean body mass" equation. Most trainees, in
fact, have experienced such temporary "swells" in body weight. For
instance, a Sunday night of eating peanuts and drinking beer, or just a
day of heavy eating, can show up as five or more additional pounds on
the scale come Monday morning - that will not last, however, as the
retention will be "shed" over the following days after resuming a more
normal diet. It is not dissimilar to the weight fluctuations experienced
by anyone following a carbohydrate cycling diet.

The body weight prediction formula was developed as an

amalgamation of data from past and present drug-free bodybuilding
champions and anthropometrics data from the U.S. Army, Navy, and
several anthropometrics studies done by various organizations
throughout the world (for ergonomic designs, etc.). In addition, a
comparison was made with the fat-free mass indexes of champion
bodybuilders, as presented in the work of Dr. E. M. Kouri, et. al. A
mathematical regression was then done to obtain fits based on the
heights, wrist sizes and ankle sizes of elite-level drug-free bodybuilding
competitors. This regression was then converted to an equation
consistent with the well-verified weight-to-height2 relation.

Finding Your Balance

The following three percentage charts are each based off a major lift. You can
use anything from a max to a ten rep set. Just be aware that it'll stay at that rep
range for all the lifts and poundages given. So if you use a five rep max on the
bench press chart, you'll get a five rep weight for all the lifts.
Deadlift Based

Deadlift 100%

Back squat 71.4 %

Bench press and pull-up 55.6 %

Front squat and close-grip bench press 50 %

Hang clean 45 %

Dumbbell bench press (two dumbbell total) and one-arm row (two dumbbell
total) 43 %

Push press, jerk, and dumbbell incline bench press (two dumbbell total)
40 %

Dumbbell overhead press (two dumbbell total) 32.5 %

Hammer curl (two dumbbell total) 31.5 %

Dumbbell curl (two dumbbell total), barbell curl, and dumbbell overhead
triceps extension (one dumbbell) 30 %

Bulgarian squat (weighted) 27.5 %

Lunge (weighted), split squat (weighted), and press-down 25 %

E-Z bar skull crusher 24 %

Dumbbell skull crusher (two dumbbell total), preacher curl, and

concentration curl (two dumbbell total) 22 %

Seated calf raise and pec fly (two dumbbell total) 20 %

Single-leg Romanian deadlift (one dumbbell) and standing calf raise (one
dumbbell) 13 %

Back Squat Based

Back squat 100 %

Bench press and pull-up 77.8 %

 Front squat and close-grip bench press 70 %

Hang clean 63 %

Dumbbell bench press (two dumbbell total) and one-arm row (two dumbbell
total) 60 %

Push press, jerk, and dumbbell incline bench press (two dumbbell total)
56 %

Dumbbell overhead press (two dumbbell total) 45.5 %

Hammer curl (two dumbbell total) 44 %

Dumbbell curl (two dumbbell total), barbell curl, and one-dumbbell

overhead triceps extension (one dumbbell) 42 %

Bulgarian squat (weighted) 38.5 %

Lunge (weighted), split squat (weighted), and press-down 35 %

E-Z bar skull crusher 33.6 %

Dumbbell skull crusher (two dumbbell total), preacher curl, and

concentration curl (two dumbbell total) 30.8 %

Seated calf raise and pec fly (two dumbbell total) 28 %

Single-leg Romanian deadlift (one dumbbell) and standing calf raise (one
dumbbell) 18.2 %

Deadlift 140 %

Bench Press Based

Bench press 100 %

Front squat and close-grip bench press 90 %

Hang clean 81 %

Dumbbell bench press (two dumbbell total) and one-arm row (two dumbbell
total) 77.3 %
 Push press, jerk, and dumbbell incline bench press (two dumbbell total)
72 %

Dumbbell overhead press (two dumbbell total) 58.4 %

Hammer curl (two dumbbell total) 56.6 %

Dumbbell curl (two dumbbell total), barbell curl, and dumbbell overhead
triceps extension (two dumbbell total) 54 %

Bulgarian squat (weighted) 49.4 %

Lunge (weighted), split squat (weighted), and press-down 45 %

E-Z bar skull crusher 43 %

Dumbbell skull crusher (two dumbbell total), preacher curl, and

concentration curl (two dumbbell total) 39.5 %

Seated calf raise and pec fly (two dumbbell total) 36 %

Single-leg Romanian deadlift (one dumbbell) and standing calf raise (one
dumbbell) 23.3 %

Back squat 128 %

Deadlift 179 %

Front Squat and Close-Grip Bench Press Based

Front squat and close-grip bench press 100 %

Hang clean 90 %

Dumbbell bench press (two dumbbell total) and one-arm row (two dumbbell
total) 86 %

Push press, jerk, and dumbbell incline bench press (two dumbbell total)
80 %

Dumbbell overhead press (two dumbbell total) 65 %

Hammer curl (two dumbbell total) 63 %

 Dumbbell curl (two dumbbell total), barbell curl, and dumbbell overhead
triceps extension (one dumbbell) 60 %

Bulgarian squat (weighted) 55 %

Lunge (weighted), split squat (weighted), and press-down 50 %

E-Z bar skull crusher 48 %

Dumbbell skull crusher (two dumbbell total), preacher curl, and

concentration curl (two dumbbell total) 44 %

Seated calf raise and pec fly (two dumbbell total) 40 %

Single-leg Romanian deadlift (one dumbbell) and standing calf raise (one
dumbbell) 26 %

Deadlift 200 %

Back squat 142 %

Bench press and pull-up 111 %

Calling All Curl Junkies

This final percentage chart is humbling for anybody, but especially you curl
junkies. Be prepared to complain, cry, or maybe do both when you see how
much you should be lifting based off the weight you curl. Remember, cheat
curls will bump up your weights on everything else making it inaccurate, so
try to be as true to strict form as possible.

Dumbbell Curl, Barbell Curl, or Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Extension Based

Dumbbell curl, barbell curl, dumbbell overhead triceps extension 100 %

Deadlift 333 %

Back squat 238 %

Bench press and pull-up 185 %

Front squat and close-grip bench press 166 %

Hang clean 150 %

 Dumbbell bench press (two dumbbell total) and one-arm dumbbell row (two
dumbbell total) 143 %

Push press and jerk 133 %

Dumbbell overhead press (two dumbbell total) 108 %

Hammer curls (two dumbbell total) 105 %

Bulgarian squat (weighted) 91 %

Lunge (weighted), split squat (weighted), and press-down 83 %

E-Z bar skull crusher 80 %

Dumbbell skull crusher (two dumbbells total), preacher curl, and

concentration curl (two dumbbell total) 73 %

Seated calf raise and pec fly (two dumbbell total) 66 %

Single-leg Romanian deadlift (one dumbbell) and standing calf raise (one
dumbbell) 43 %