Forearm training

by **Spit** on Wed May 13, 2009 8:19 pm

I'm keen to get my grip strength up for racing my bike in the Alps in July, and having just got my right hand out of plaster it definitely needs some work (albeit transitioning in, I did some fat bar reverse curls yesterday and the thumb is feeling it today).

What do you lot rate as the best exercises to improve grip & forearm strength? If I can chuck a few sets in at the end of each workout then over the next six weeks I hope it'll bring things along nicely before I bugger off abroad.

by **health4ni** on Wed May 13, 2009 8:23 pm

Hammer Curls. Zottman Curls. Reverse BB curls. Towel chins. Farmers Walks. Plate Pinches. There's lots more.

I'm not a fan of specific forearm work as you never just do forearm only stuff in life (keep it clean! lol). So on a bike you're upper arms and shoulders and back etc etc are being worked.

by **Spit** on Wed May 13, 2009 8:30 pm

health4ni wrote:Hammer Curls. Zottman Curls. Reverse BB curls. Towel chins. Farmers Walks. Plate Pinches. There's lots more.

I'm not a fan of specific forearm work as you never just do forearm only stuff in life (keep it clean! lol). So on a bike you're upper arms and shoulders and back etc etc are being worked.

Cool, I've been thinking along similar lines exercise-wise so great minds and all that. Will get back on the Zottmans actually, that's a good tip.

I agree with you re. isolating the forearms- the thing with riding really steep tracks is that your forearms and hands get hammered so much harder than the rest of you; racing in this country is all about leg power, whereas in the Alps it's more about avoiding arm pump and hand cramp for as long as possible. I think that anything I can do to help stack the odds in my favour will pay dividends- I also have small girls hands to work with, they need all the help they can get! :oops:

by **Dtlv74** on Wed May 13, 2009 8:37 pm

Dead hangs from a chin bar are superb forearm builders - and the strength is functional too... first of all just use bodyweight and aim to hang for as long as possible & longer and longer with each session. Then, when happy how long you can stay hanging with a tight grip, start strapping those plates to the dipping belt and be progressive that way!!

by **health4ni** on Wed May 13, 2009 8:42 pm

^^ that's a good one.

Maybe Beta Alanine might be good pre & during riding?? With good salts and aminos and some carbs.

by **GymBunny** on Wed May 13, 2009 9:03 pm

I'd concur with the deadhangs. Also power and hangcleans hammered my traps and forearms in a very similar way to biking and climbing. If you're not long out of plaster the good old gripping a tennis ball. Then if you do any gripping work with a fat bar. Rope rolls. Powerballs.

by **Spit** on Wed May 13, 2009 10:08 pm

health4ni wrote:^^ that's a good one.

Maybe Beta Alanine might be good pre & during riding?? With good salts and aminos and some carbs.

Yeah, was just discussing BA with my physio earlier today as it happens- I have a tub that I've yet to get stuck into so I'll probably start taking it a month or so beforehand, will be an interesting experiment as it should be the ideal event to take advantage of its effects.

Salts are a good idea, and EAAs are a given as I've been loving them recently (see my post in the Supps forum). Overall I hope that what I've learnt about nutrition and supplementation - including plenty from this forum - will pay dividends come July.

Good tips from you all, keep 'em coming! GB, I hope I'll be bouldering again before too long... in the meantime I'll give deadhangs a crack tomorrow, they sound great in a really miserable sort of way.

by **GymBunny** on Wed May 13, 2009 10:14 pm

Remember, deadhangs are an active/dynamic hold...not just hanging on the end of your arms.

Just had a quick look on a climbing forum.
http://www.rockclimbing.com/cgi-bin/for ... st=1898171

Opening Post: has anyone ever trained/done pullups or deadhangs with tennis balls in your hands while using a pullup bar. i saw a brief explanation about how it increases grip/hand strength due to the unstable nature of the balls in your palms(insert dirty thought here) let me know if anyone has tried this or, better yet, if this is a terrible idea.

Further description: If you cup a tennis ball in each palm and then do pullups with them pressed into your palms and pressing into the top of the pullup bar that is what i am describing. i started off asking if anyone had done it but now that i have started i would recommend. i usually do declining reps of pullups as part of my back workout going from 8 pullups, 30 sec rest, 7 pullups... down to one.
I have trouble doing 7 of the tennis ball pullups and you can feel the strength increase in your grip after a week of these. i would recommend it and it's cheap. sorry to hear that you only have one ball

by **Spit** on Thu May 14, 2009 8:40 am

GymBunny wrote:Remember, deadhangs are an active/dynamic hold...not just hanging on the end of your arms.

Do you mean I need to actively keep some tension in my arms/back, rather than just hanging there like a lemon? Or is there more to it than that?

by **GymBunny** on Thu May 14, 2009 8:50 am

I do.

You can also start with a deadhang and go into a pull up...remember, a pull up is to the chest, hmmm, I wonder why chin ups are called chin ups, surely they should be chest ups, anyway, random wanderings of a caffeine deprived mind aside, deadhangs are great.

by **Rorschach** on Thu May 14, 2009 9:42 am

I don't do pull-ups, I pull the earth down.

by **Rilla** on Thu May 14, 2009 10:33 am

Rorschach wrote:I don't do pull-ups, I pull the earth down.

/rep

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