What is AAARRGH!!? /Choosing a trainer / Your state of fitness /
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Who is AAARRGH!!? / links/ email / home
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 June's
body part target: without forearm training, you've only got half
an arm to show off!
Right off the bat, bros, two things--one, an apology for no exercise of the month in May (and no rant of the month either). As somebody sang in an old R&B classic, "Funny how time slips away". I truly had the best intentions, and was never neglecting my beloved AAARRGH-a-nauts (and I have the emails to prove it). As for the missing rant of the month, can you believe that I was feeling so magnanimous and in love with life that there was not one thing worth getting worked up about. Here it is June 1st, though, and I've already got |
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head of steam worked up for this month's rant (alas, nothing lasts forever).
Number two, I'm breaking the exercise page into TWO so that it will load
a little quicker. The current month's exercise is here, and you can
click HERE for the oldies but still goodies.
Now down to BUSINESS. Most guys (and ladies) only train the upper arms, believing that a biceps and triceps workout will give enough "juice" to the forearms and wrists that no focused effort is necessary for the lower half of the arms. If you want your forearms to look OK, that's probably true. But if you were satisfied with ANYTHING that's just OK you'd be home with your Weider 5-minute-a-day body shaper, instead of storming Mt. Olympus with us here at AAARRGH. The other reason for not neglecting wrist and forearm training is the very real functional benefits of having that ol' "Kung Fu grip". Since 90% of the upper body exercise you do involves holding on to a barbell or dumbbells, doesn't it make sense to want strength in your hands, wrists and forearms? (And believe me, in the romance department, having strong hands and a mighty grip is bound to make SOMEBODY happy, even it is just yourself). Enough of a sell? HA, I thought so... Let's start out with wrist curls, standard and "French". If you have access to a Scott or "preacher" slanted curling bench, use that. If not, you can sit on a chair or bench. If you use the Scott bench, stretch your arms out flat on the bench, palms up, with your wrists and hands dangling off the end of the bench. Keep your forearms FLAT on the bench. If you're sitting on a chair or bench, rest your forearms FLAT on top of your thighs, palms up, again with your wrists and hands dangling off the ends of your knees. With a fairly light dumbell in each hand, let your hand sink backward and open your hand so that the dumbbell rolls down your palm toward your fingers. That's your starting position. From that low, open, stretched-out position, curl your hand closed around the dumbbell grip, then continue by curling with your wrist so that your tightened fist comes up and flexes the forearm. ONLY the hand and the dumbbell it holds move during this exercise. The arms, back, legs--all MOTIONLESS. After you flex the forearms and give them a good squeeeeeeeze, slowly, deliberately reverse the motion and allow the dumbbell to roll down and open the hand again. Do three sets of 10-12 reps, until your forearms positively THROB with excitement! If you think you have one iota of energy left, you need to add more weight next workout. As they say on the infomercials,
"BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!!" Now turn your arms so your palms face
down toward the floor. This is the so-called "French" position. Curl
your wrists up so that you are flexing the top, "outer" face of the forearms.
Again, three sets of 10-12, if you can stand it. Within a month,
you'll be giving Popeye a serious run for his money. If you want
still more forearm exercise (torture), just email. I got a million
of 'em.
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What is AAARRGH!!? /Choosing a trainer / Your state of fitness /
Training / Exercise of the month/ Eating right /My role models /
Who is AAARRGH!!? / links/ email / home
Mind/body connection/ Rant / The AAARRGH!! gallery
This page last updated on April 6, 1999.