How to Get Bigger Forearms: 10 Forearm Workouts for Maximum Growth

Every muscle group has its own unique challenges and frustrations; your forearm muscles are no exception. Luckily, there are usually targeted workouts that can help overcome obstacles to building and toning your muscles and achieving the gains you’re looking for.

Big and bulging muscles in your forearms not only look good, but maximizing growth in this area can also seriously amp up your lifting strength and assist in making other workouts and movement more effective. If you’ve been focusing on the forearm area recently and are looking for ways to maximize your gains, we’ve compiled ten forearm workouts below that can help. Take a look!

Farmer’s Carry

By doing the farmer’s carry exercise, you can develop strong and toned forearms before you know it. Not only does this workout work to amp up your forearm strength, but your shoulders and core also benefit from it.

Try This:

1. Grip a kettlebell or dumbbell in each hand using an overhand grip. You’ll want to be sure to use the most substantial weight you can carry without injury to do this exercise.
2. While maintaining a firm grip on your weights, straighten your back and pull your shoulders back as far as they’ll go.
3. Maintain posture and begin walking forward for ten minutes or for however long you can go.

Towel Pull-Ups

Pull-ups are well-known to be effective muscle-building exercises due to their ability to work out multiple muscle groups simultaneously. Your biceps, forearms, wrists, lats, core, shoulders, and triceps all can benefit from pull-ups. But if you’re looking for a great way to target your forearms, towel pull-ups can help.

Try This:

1. Using a pull-up bar, wrap two large towels around the bar.
2. Use your hands to grip each towel, and then proceed to pull yourself up while keeping your shoulders down and your chest straight.
3. In the beginning, this may be a difficult move. Some people choose to start out by using a towel to lift themselves on one side and pulling up on the bar with the other hand.

Towel Dumbbell Rows

You’re probably already using dumbbells for various lifting exercises. Still, by utilizing a thicker bar, you can elevate the effectiveness of the workout.

Try This:

1. Wrap a small towel around a thick bar with your desired weight.
2. Brace yourself on one side by placing your knee and hand on a bench or other surface.
3. Using your free hand, grip the bar and pull up while extending your elbow to your rib cage area.
4. Repeat this movement eight times on each side for four sets.

Preacher Curl

In general, curls are a primary exercise for building upper body strength and muscles in your arms. However, by doing the preacher curl variation, you can target your workout to focus on working your forearms.

Try This:

1. Using a curling bench, you’ll want to be sure that the front pad is raised high enough to where it sits just beneath your armpits.
2. Lay your upper arms flat on the front pad and grip a bar with heavy weights with an underhanded grip.
3. Begin curling the bar upward to your chest area while keeping your upper arms flat against the front pad.
4. Lower the bar back down while resisting locking your elbows. Repeat for your predetermined rep amount.

Pinch Carries

Pinch carries are unique in that they rely on your finger’s grip position to cause your arms to have to work harder. Pinch carries are an excellent workout choice for building strength in your forearms.

Try This:

1. Using two heavy-weighted plates for each arm side, place the plates together and grip them using just your fingers over the plate.
2. While maintaining a straight standing position, begin walking forward for about five yards. Repeat for three sets.

Trap Bar Carry

Trap bars allow you to effectively perform the same workout as a farmer’s carry but with much more weight. Your forearms, shoulders, and core are equally strengthened in this exercise.

Try This:

1. Pre-load your trap bar with the most substantial amount of weights you can handle.
2. With an overhanded grip, grip the handles of the bar, straighten your back, and roll your shoulders back as far as they’ll go.
3. While maintaining posture, walk forward for ten minutes or until you can no longer sustain the weight.

Towel Curl

As mentioned before, curls are definitely an exercise you don’t want to miss when you’re at the gym. But if you’re looking for a workout that really focuses on building your forearms, towel curls are the way to go.

Try This:

1. Taking a large towel, wrap it around your weighted barbell.
2. Using an overhand grip and while keeping your hands shoulder-width apart, position your barbell to just in front of your thigh area.
3. Keep your upper arms in the same position, and raise your forearms and the barbell upwards toward your chest. Repeat for your predetermined amount of reps.

Towel Cable Row

Cable pulleys can come in handy with a number of workouts in the gym. But by utilizing the towel cable row exercise, you can use the pulley to the specific benefit of your forearms.

Try This:

1. Use a large towel to hook directly to the pulley system.
2. While keeping your shoulders positioned close together, grip the towel with both hands.
3. Using a row-motion, pull the towel towards your chest area. Repeat for your predetermined amount of reps.

Plate Tosses

Plate tosses are an excellent way to build upper arm strength in general. They are great at focusing muscle-building efforts directly into your forearm area.

Try This:

1. Hold a bumper plate with both hands while keeping a sturdy stance.
2. Drop the plate while holding it at waist-level. Catch the plat before it reaches the floor. Repeat this motion ten times for your predetermined set amount.

Plate Curls

Circling back to the curl category, we have plate curls. Plate curls encourage your forearms to use more strength by implementing the use of your fingers pinching together.

Try This:

1. Taking your plate, grip it on either side with both hands.
2. Keep your hands shoulder-width apart and position your plate to just in front of your thigh area.
3. Keep your upper arms in the same position, and raise your forearms and the plate upwards toward your chest. Repeat for your predetermined amount of reps.