Do you train your forearms?

[EatMeat]

ripping a telephone book in half would be nice

google search it, there are vids out there. i watched one last night. i learned there is a special technique where you are supposed to crimp a v shaped bend in the book before you rip it. then you can shred it right in half. it is otherwise just about impossible.

i also saw vids where guys are ripping card decks in half. now that's hardcore.


im going to stock up on as many phone books as i can find in the coming weeks.


how are people going to respond when they see me dismember the Valley Yellow Pages?:jaw:

 

[EatMeat]

i have taken up telephone book ripping as my new hobby.
I found a stash of small 1 inch thick Yellow Books. I have torn about 5 of them, each into 4 pieces. It is fun.

Then i went after the Valley Yellow Pages. This is ~900 page phonebook, almost 3 inches thick. I have since torn 2 of them. i struggled a bit with these, but am getting better every time i do it.

I would encourage everyone to go out and buy a gripper of some sort. after conquering my 300 lb gripper, i have since ordered the 350 and 400lb ers. I have gained tons of functional stength from working with these. I have to be careful Not to hurt my girlfriend when squeezing her with my hands. I worry when i shake people's hands that i may hurt them.

 

[surive123]

Nope.

 

[soseg]

cbf finding time for it now
double over hand dead lifts can give the grip-strength of your forearms a real workout...

ive sometimes been concentrating so hard on just holding a dead lift bar that for a whole day if not more i cant fully close my fist cause it feels like the inside of my forearm muscle is so dead... as if i had just done the most intense squeeze exercise (you know those squeeze thigns you get) instead of forearm rolls

 

[pistonpump]

cbf finding time for it now
double over hand dead lifts can give the grip-strength of your forearms a real workout...

ive sometimes been concentrating so hard on just holding a dead lift bar that for a whole day if not more i cant fully close my fist cause it feels like the inside of my forearm muscle is so dead... as if i had just done the most intense squeeze exercise (you know those squeeze thigns you get) instead of forearm rolls

cbf?

i still dont think deads are enough for forearms. you dont get actual movement of the muscle, some might argue contraction is all you need but i think you have to hit forearms on their own. After all it is a bodypart that is seen just about all the time.

 

[soseg]

cbf?

i still dont think deads are enough for forearms. you dont get actual movement of the muscle, some might argue contraction is all you need but i think you have to hit forearms on their own. After all it is a bodypart that is seen just about all the time.

eh i honestly dont care atm

im more concerned about building mass on my torso etc and upper arms / thighs

they'll get whatever size comes from that... but the deads will make my grip strong, which is important... and if it means i can squeeze peoples hands harder when i shake... then so be it

 

[RenegadeRows]

I hit back and biceps two days ago, and my forearms hurt so much I have trouble making a fist.

No need for direct forearm* work IMO

 

[soseg]

everyones different, everyone has different lift routines... some people dont do it, some do, some require it, some dont

some lucky ones get big forearms just from jerkin off... never set foot in a gym

others lift weights their whole lives and still have thin forearms

 

[Chub]

I don't do forearms but when i do deadlifts my forearms get a nice workout. They've got bigger themselves without having to hit them personally

 

[EatMeat]

I hit back and biceps two days ago, and my forearms hurt so much I have trouble making a fist.

No need for direct forearm* work IMO

If you did direct forearm work on other days you would not burn out your forearms as much when you do your pulling movements.

 

[ironlunch]

unless you are competing and aesthetics are extremely important, training forearms is a COMPLETE waste of time. you should be working them plenty on benches, pullups, military presses, curls, etc. EVERY exercise that uses your arms and involves pushing or pulling (presses, rows, etc) hits the forearms.

 

[joelast]

unless you are competing and aesthetics are extremely important, training forearms is a COMPLETE waste of time. you should be working them plenty on benches, pullups, military presses, curls, etc. EVERY exercise that uses your arms and involves pushing or pulling (presses, rows, etc) hits the forearms.

to alot of people on here aesthetics are extremely important, and the reason people work out. If doing an exercise is going to make me look better but not really get me any stronger I will definatley do it, not first in my rountine but it will def. be included

 

[soseg]

too alot of people on here aesthetics are extremely important, and the reason people work out. If doing an exercise is going to make me look better but not really get me any stronger I will definatley do it, not first in my rountine but it will def. be included

Agreed. I would guess something like 9/10 regular gym go-ers do it for the look.

 

[EatMeat]

unless you are competing and aesthetics are extremely important, training forearms is a COMPLETE waste of time. you should be working them plenty on benches, pullups, military presses, curls, etc. EVERY exercise that uses your arms and involves pushing or pulling (presses, rows, etc) hits the forearms.

Your forearms are involved with EVERY upper body exersize that we do, but much more so with pulling exersizes than pushing. Doesnt it make sense that when they are stronger, you will be able to work the rest of your body harder, you can do more curls, more pullups, pulldowns, pull more weight on a deadlift or whatever when you have a stronger grip. Otherwise, you eventually end up with your grip being your weakest link.

and that's fine if you want to use straps....
grip training is important, espescially when youre talking about functional strength that can be used outside of the gym. otherwise when you cant get a grip on odd shaped objects you wont be able to pick them up, even thought you have a strong body. Then you are like a car with a monster engine, but skinny little tires. So you have all of this power but lack the ability to fully apply it, because when you do, your tires just spin, or your hands just slip and you cant get a grip.

 

[flobot]

Yeah, w/ Grip Master and the old handgrips? (Dunno what they're called..) other than that, they get trained when I do hammer curls etc

 

[Thixotrope]

unless you are competing and aesthetics are extremely important, training forearms is a COMPLETE waste of time. you should be working them plenty on benches, pullups, military presses, curls, etc. EVERY exercise that uses your arms and involves pushing or pulling (presses, rows, etc) hits the forearms.

Couldn't agree more. If you deadlift without straps, then you automatically have huge forearms unless your genetics are crap.

 

[BodyWizard]

EVERY exercise that uses your arms hits the forearms.

There - I have fixed that for you

 

[soseg]

hang some small 2.5kg / 5.5lb disks off your wrist when you jerk off

 

[mariners2010]

hang some small 2.5kg / 5.5lb disks off your wrist when you jerk off

lol great.

 

[BodyWizard]

Gotta be careful training the forearms: the wrist is a delicate and complex joint. It can be damaged severely if the forearm muscles compress the wrist to forcefully; this damage can go undetected for years. As bad as this compression (a significant factor in carpal-tunnel issues), even worse tis the wear on cartilage, bursae & synovial tissues. again, the effects of this kind of damage will not be apparent for years - as in 'decades'. Unfortunately, when such damage surfaces, it'd usually too late to control without risky & painful intervention.

You're weightlifters: remember to keep your wrists straight and locked when under load. Keep it simple. Don't risk needless injury - you can be wiser without getting sadder first....