Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below 
Synpax
Well-known member
Hiya,
This is a little bit counter to convention, but I wanted to bring it up and hear if you guys think it can apply to other body parts.
About a year ago I was pretty disappointed with my forarms, especially my wrists. They were extremely skinny. I made some posts here and elsewhere looking for recommendations on fixing this problem and I implemented them.
Basically, there are three exercises. Wrist curls, reverse wrist curls, and wrist abductions (like holding a handgun and pointing it up and down using just your wrist). I also get some static hold work with DB shrugs and db sidebends.
I did not want to use too heavy a weight because of the strain this puts on my wrists. So I could not really pursue a heavy weight/low rep strategy. Instead I used a moderate weight and a very high set/rep strategy.
Basically, it looks like this. I use two sets of DBs. One set is 31.25 and the other set is 16.25. I kneel facing a flat bench and I rest my forarms on the bench holding them over the other side of the bench. I use the 31.25 for curls and the 16.25 for reverse curls and abductions.
The routine rotates curls/reversecurls/abductions for 3x2x10. In other words, I go:
10 wrist curls
10 reverse curls
10 abductions
I repeat this, then get a sip of water, and then do it all again and then all again. By this point I can barely hold the weight must less curl/revrese curl it.
Well, the results have been excellent - except that the gains have all been closer to my elbow than to my wrist and my wrists are just about as skinny as they ever were. I can see that the muscle is growing around near my elbow and is slowly spreading down the forarm. In fact, when I extend my arm straight, the forarm muscle area is actually wider than my tricep muscle area. MAybe in another year I'll look like popeye.
I do this every other day.
I'm not saying the other part of my arm isn't making gains, but I am using a 5x5 routine with heavy weights (+2x10 ancillary) for everything else. It looks like this:
Day 1 - Chest/Tri/Forarms
5x5 flat bench/incline bench (alternate sessions)
2x10 flat bench DB press
2x10 incline flys
5x5 weighted dips
2x10 lying db extensions
2x10 rope pulldowns (completed motion - pull until the rope is straight and taut)
Forarm Routine
Day 2 - BAck/Biceps/Abs
5x5 DL
3x5 Weighted Pullups (wide grip overhand)
2x10 back lat pulldowns - wide grip
2x10 cable row - wide grip
2x10 DB shrugs
5x5 EZ bar curls (pinkys over thumbs) leaning against wall (no cheating!)
2x10 hammer curls
2x10 one armed reverse preacher curls (leaning against the other side of the preacher bench so my arm drops straight down and comes all the way up). DB is held parallel to the floor.
5x5 Needsize Crunches
1x20 DB sidebends
Day 3 - Legs/Shoulders/Forarms
5x5 Incline Leg Press (had squat form problems, will swap this with squat when I get squat up to a respectable weight with proper form)
2x10 squats
2x10 leg extensions
2x10 leg adductions
2x10 leg abductions
2x20 seated calf raises
5x5 standing db shoulder press
3x10 lat raises (3 variations - starting together in front, at sides, and behind)
1x10 rear lat raises (leaning forward and raising arms behind me on the back extension thing)
2x10 front raises
Forarm routine
day 4 - rest
Day 5 - repeat day one or take another rest, depending on how I feel.
I was wondering what might happen if I switched from this 5x5 to making everything similar to my forarm routine - high rep, lower weight. The 5x5 is showing results, but I am getting complements on my forarms which never, ever happened before.
This is a little bit counter to convention, but I wanted to bring it up and hear if you guys think it can apply to other body parts.
About a year ago I was pretty disappointed with my forarms, especially my wrists. They were extremely skinny. I made some posts here and elsewhere looking for recommendations on fixing this problem and I implemented them.
Basically, there are three exercises. Wrist curls, reverse wrist curls, and wrist abductions (like holding a handgun and pointing it up and down using just your wrist). I also get some static hold work with DB shrugs and db sidebends.
I did not want to use too heavy a weight because of the strain this puts on my wrists. So I could not really pursue a heavy weight/low rep strategy. Instead I used a moderate weight and a very high set/rep strategy.
Basically, it looks like this. I use two sets of DBs. One set is 31.25 and the other set is 16.25. I kneel facing a flat bench and I rest my forarms on the bench holding them over the other side of the bench. I use the 31.25 for curls and the 16.25 for reverse curls and abductions.
The routine rotates curls/reversecurls/abductions for 3x2x10. In other words, I go:
10 wrist curls
10 reverse curls
10 abductions
I repeat this, then get a sip of water, and then do it all again and then all again. By this point I can barely hold the weight must less curl/revrese curl it.
Well, the results have been excellent - except that the gains have all been closer to my elbow than to my wrist and my wrists are just about as skinny as they ever were. I can see that the muscle is growing around near my elbow and is slowly spreading down the forarm. In fact, when I extend my arm straight, the forarm muscle area is actually wider than my tricep muscle area. MAybe in another year I'll look like popeye.
I do this every other day.
I'm not saying the other part of my arm isn't making gains, but I am using a 5x5 routine with heavy weights (+2x10 ancillary) for everything else. It looks like this:
Day 1 - Chest/Tri/Forarms
5x5 flat bench/incline bench (alternate sessions)
2x10 flat bench DB press
2x10 incline flys
5x5 weighted dips
2x10 lying db extensions
2x10 rope pulldowns (completed motion - pull until the rope is straight and taut)
Forarm Routine
Day 2 - BAck/Biceps/Abs
5x5 DL
3x5 Weighted Pullups (wide grip overhand)
2x10 back lat pulldowns - wide grip
2x10 cable row - wide grip
2x10 DB shrugs
5x5 EZ bar curls (pinkys over thumbs) leaning against wall (no cheating!)
2x10 hammer curls
2x10 one armed reverse preacher curls (leaning against the other side of the preacher bench so my arm drops straight down and comes all the way up). DB is held parallel to the floor.
5x5 Needsize Crunches
1x20 DB sidebends
Day 3 - Legs/Shoulders/Forarms
5x5 Incline Leg Press (had squat form problems, will swap this with squat when I get squat up to a respectable weight with proper form)
2x10 squats
2x10 leg extensions
2x10 leg adductions
2x10 leg abductions
2x20 seated calf raises
5x5 standing db shoulder press
3x10 lat raises (3 variations - starting together in front, at sides, and behind)
1x10 rear lat raises (leaning forward and raising arms behind me on the back extension thing)
2x10 front raises
Forarm routine
day 4 - rest
Day 5 - repeat day one or take another rest, depending on how I feel.
I was wondering what might happen if I switched from this 5x5 to making everything similar to my forarm routine - high rep, lower weight. The 5x5 is showing results, but I am getting complements on my forarms which never, ever happened before.
