The 15 Best Forearms Exercises

1. 1. Palms-Down Dumbbell Wrist Curl

   

   591,575 SETS LOGGED98.8 mSCORE

   Palms Down Dumbbell Wrist Curls is an isolation exercise that hits your forearms. By securing your forearm against the pad, you ensure that only your wrist is able to perform the movement. Using a dumbbell allows you to target each side independently, as well as adding a bit more instability to the exercise.

   • Beginner
   • Dumbbells

2. 2. Palms-Down Barbell Wrist Curl

   

   257,604 SETS LOGGED97.6 mSCORE

   Palms Down Barbell Wrist Curl is an isolation exercise that targets the forearm. By positioning your forearm against a bench or other flat surface, you restrict any motion to your wrist. The use of a barbell helps to add some stability to the movement, as well as allowing you to perform the exercise with both sides moving a single weight.

   • Beginner
   • Barbells

3. 3. Farmer's Walk

   

   178,394 SETS LOGGED96.4 mSCORE

   Farmer's Walk is a compound exercise that primarily targets your forearms, shoulders, and core. By holding heavy weights in each hand and walking a set distance, you can develop strong grip strength, functional stability, and overall body conditioning. This exercise mimics real-world activities, making it highly effective for improving functional strength and endurance.

   • Intermediate
   • Farmer's Walk Handles

4. 4. Cable Wrist Curl

   

   97,307 SETS LOGGED95.2 mSCORE

   Targets the forearm flexors, improving grip strength and forearm muscle development. Using a cable machine adds a consistent resistance throughout the movement, providing a more effective workout than free weights.

   • Beginner
   • Rope Cable
   • Flat Bench
   • Hi-Lo Pulley Cable

5. 5. Palms-Up Dumbbell Wrist Curl

   

   696,503 SETS LOGGED94 mSCORE

   An isolation exercise targeting the forearms. This is a great exercise for improving grip strength, or building muscle mass in your forearms.

   • Beginner
   • Dumbbells

6. 6. Kettlebell Single Arm Farmer Walk

   

   135,017 SETS LOGGED91.7 mSCORE

   A functional exercise focusing on grip strength, core stability, and unilateral strength. This exercise engages the entire body, particularly the core and forearm muscles. Unlike the standard variation, by holding the weight in one hand, you drastically increase the need to recruit your core for stability.

   • Beginner
   • Kettlebells
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8. 7. Palms-Up Barbell Wrist Curl

   

   293,520 SETS LOGGED90.5 mSCORE

   An isolation exercise targeting the forearms. This is a great exercise for improving grip strength, or building muscle mass in your forearms.

   • Beginner
   • Barbells

9. 8. Plate Pinch

   

   65,697 SETS LOGGED59.5 mSCORE

   A grip strength exercise involving holding weight plates between the fingers and thumb. This is a great exercise for improving grip strength.

   • Intermediate
   • Barbells

10. 9. Farmer's Carry

    

    142,687 SETS LOGGED52.4 mSCORE

    A functional exercise focusing on grip strength, core stability, and overall strength endurance. This exercise engages the entire body, particularly the forearms, core, and upper back muscles, while also improving posture and stability.

    • Intermediate
    • Farmer's Walk Handles

11. 10. Handle Band Reverse Curl

    

    196,717 SETS LOGGED47.6 mSCORE

    This exercise is a variation on the standard curl. Like the standard curl, this exercise primarily targets your biceps, however there is a much greater need to recruit your forearms due to the reverse grip. The use of a handle band increases the resistance as you progress through the movement.

    • Beginner
    • Handle Bands

1. 11. Single Arm Farmer Walk

   

   126,120 SETS LOGGED44 mSCORE

   This exercise is a unilateral variation of the Farmer’s Walk. Like the standard Farmer’s Walk this exercise focuses on grip strength, core stability, and overall strength endurance. In addition, by holding the weight in a single hand, you drastically increase the demand for recruiting your core for stability.

   • Beginner
   • Dumbbells

2. 12. Plate Flips

   

   23,075 SETS LOGGED40.5 mSCORE

   Plate Flip is an explosive exercise that forces you to toss a relatively light plate into the air, and then catch the opposite side of the lip in the same hand. By tossing the plate into the air, this becomes a more explosive exercise than simply moving the weight up and down. In addition, the catch helps you improve coordination, as well as stability and control as you have to slow the plate down in order to actually catch it.

   • Intermediate
   • Barbells

3. 13. Single Arm Bottoms-up Kettlebell Clean

   

   36,033 SETS LOGGED35.7 mSCORE

   This exercise is a variation on the Clean. Similar to the Clean, this compound explosive movement targets a wide range of muscle groups. By loading the weight on a single side, there is added instability to the movement. Additionally positioning the kettlebell with the bottom up forces you to keep the weight inline with your forearms.

   • Intermediate
   • Kettlebells

4. 14. Wrist Extension Stretch

   

   280,174 SETS LOGGED16.7 mSCORE

   Wrist Extension Stretch is a flexibility exercise that targets the wrist and forearm muscles. This stretch can improve range of motion and help prevent injuries commonly associated with tight wrists. It's a great addition to your warm-up or cool-down routine, particularly beneficial for anyone performing a lot of pushing or gripping exercises.

   • Beginner

5. 15. PVC Forearm Stretch

   

   145,141 SETS LOGGED13.1 mSCORE

   PVC Forearm Stretch is an effective mobility exercise that targets your forearms. Using a PVC pipe, you can achieve a deeper stretch by leveraging the pipe to help extend your wrist. This is excellent for increasing range of motion, and can help alleviate tightness in the forearms, which is particularly beneficial before or after heavy lifting sessions.

   • Beginner
   • PVC Pipe