The Truth on Forearms

I love the old Popeye cartoons. He was the man when it came to FOREARMS. Popeye would grab onto his girl Olive Oil and his giant forearms would be popping out of the TV while I sat there watching and wondering how the hell could I get big forearms like him. Spinach..thats it? Go run into the kitchen and cook up some spinach like he eats and it will do wonders.  Yeah right...my ass spinach! I tried it as a little boy and the only thing I got was a seat on the toilet with a stomach ache. Enough of what the government and TV want you to believe. It takes hard work and dedication to get forearms like Popeye, lets admit it. Here are some ideas and exercises that work for me.

1st Grab a bench and sit at the end of it. Reach down and grab a barbell loaded with some weight (I usually start with 25lbs on each side). Take your forearms and run them flush onto the bench between your legs with your hands hanging off the bench holding the barbell losely. Now lower the weight in your hands as it rolls down to a full extension and then bend your hand back up. Kind of like a yoyo but a hell of a lot harder. Do this 15-20 times squeezing the forearms tight as you bring the weight up and down hanging your hands slightly off the bench while doing so. The pump should be so hard that your forearms will feel like they are going to pop. Repeat this for 3 sets and then continue to exercise number 2.

2nd This one is somewhat similar to the last exercise but you are grabbing the barbell over the top of the bar instead of holding it directly in your palms and rotating it upward instead of downward. In a nut shell just the opposite of exercise 1. The object again is tension and squeezing the muscle you are using. Repeat this exercise 3x as above for reps of 15 to 20. If the weight becomes to heavy then lower the poundage but perform the sets.

3rd Here is one of the oldest ways we use to perform forearms and still works to this day in many gyms all over. There will be a handle with a rope on it and weights attached at the end where you can add or take off plates . You will be in a standing position as you take the rope and slowly wind it up using your forearms and the goal is to bring it to a complete stop. The pain will be insane and the pump is dramatic but the best. This exercise is for the hardcore! Not the weak minded pussy cats (we'll use this to be polite) over at Planet FATASS.

Let me know how this goes truth troops. Until next time...

The Truth