Success in sports is often determined by how firmly a person can grip the tools of the sport. In American football, for example, grip strength is the very factor that determines who controls whom. Kim Wood, the Cincinatti Bengals strength coach and a highly respected figure in his field, made several points in a recent conversation:
1) Grip and forearm training is one of the most overlooked aspects of general conditioning programs.
2) Most athletes have great potential to develop strength in these muscles.
3) As the muscles and connective tissue of the hand increase, the size and density of the hand also increases, making it a more effective appendage.
Powerlifters should not underestimate the importance of grip and forearm strength. The need to grip the bar when performing maximal deadlifts is obvious, but more importantly, well-developed grip strength allows the athlete to use more weight in various assistance exercises. I'm often amazed when I see elite lifters using relatively light weights when performing assistance exercises for the upper body because they can't grip heavy dumbbells or machine handles. Using straps is not the answer.
Straps have been trendy for several years because they allow you to more or less "attach" a weight to your hands, reducing the likelihood of it slipping during the movement. While this may seem like a plus, over time using them can lead to the grip muscles becoming disproportionately weak relative to the rest of your strength.
When I reached 350x15 on the elevated SDL I used wrist straps, justifying their use by claiming I wanted to really hit my lower back and hamstrings without limiting myself to the weaker wrist muscles. When I finally made the decision to ditch the straps and vowed to reach my previous weights without them, I soon surpassed my previous performance.
Moreover, the exercise became much more intense, and my overall strength and size gains reached a whole new level. This may be due to my increased concentration, as I now had to focus not just on lifting the bar but on holding it as well.
Any neuroanatomist will tell you that the parts of the brain that control specific muscle groups are typically proportional in size to the muscles they control. The only exception is the part of the brain that controls the arm muscles - it's disproportionately large compared to the arm muscles. This is just a hypothesis, but it's possible that intense manual work increases neural stimulation of all the muscles involved in a given movement. My experience in this regard is unequivocal: time and effort spent directly stimulating the forearm muscles leads to increased ability to handle heavy weights in many exercises.
For some reason, the forearm muscles are shrouded in mystery among so-called "physical education experts." I recently read a book that listed forearm exercises and other specific muscles that were supposedly worked in one way or another. In almost every case the muscles listed didn't correspond to the exercises listed. It's difficult to talk vaguely about the biceps, for example, but since the forearm muscles aren't that well known, many athletes aren't sure how to train them.
As with other muscle groups, you first learn their function and then choose exercises that will target them.
For simplicity's sake let's divide the forearm muscles into the lower group (those on the palm side), and the upper group (those on the back of the forearms). Again, for the sake of simplicity, let's say that the upper muscles flex the arm at the elbow, close the wrist and most of the fingers; while the lower muscles, generally speaking, unclench the wrists and fingers. The brachioradialis is a long muscle that connects the upper part of the humerus (upper arm bone) to the radius (lower arm bones). Since it crosses the elbow joint, this muscle flexes the arm at the elbow. It also assists in supination and pronation (movement of the forearm around its axis) when the arm is partially flexed at the elbow.
Reverse-grip curls target the brachioradialis, as do all supinating and pronating movements, but the majority of the forearm musculature is recruited by wrist and finger movements.
Like many strongmen of the past, Kim, the Bengals coach, trains with thick-handled dumbbells and barbells. The bars at his gym range from 6 to 7.5 centimeters in diameter; the Bengals use them for upper-body assistance movements and deadlifts. I think every powerlifter and football player should own at least one thick-handled bar. The wrist roller exercise, made from a section of pipe with a diameter of 5 to 7.5 centimeters also loads the hands and forearms, but this exercise should be done with the ELBOWS PRESSED TO THE BODY, AND THE UPPER ARMS SHOULD BE PERPENDICULAR TO THE FLOOR, so that the fatigue of the shoulder muscles does not prevent you from performing the exercise until the muscles of the hand and forearms briefly fail.
Check this out:
Wrist curls with a regular as well as a reverse grip target the upper and lower forearms, respectively, and don't require any fancy or exotic equipment.
Leverage exercises using items such as a mop, off-loaded dumbbell, or axe will add variety to your workout and provide additional muscle stimulation.
As a general rule, football players should train forearms twice a week, with both muscle groups worked in the same workout. One or two sets per group is sufficient. I would choose one movement for the upper forearms and one for the lower forearms, followed by another for the inner wrist muscles - either using a good gripper or wringing out a heavy wet towel over a bathtub or sink. Take a towel, soak it in the bathtub or sink, and then it out clockwise with one hand and counter-clockwise with the other, you know . . . wring the fucking thing out. Wet the towel again and repeat the wringing and squeezing. This will improve grip strength and your control over heavy dumbbells.
It's true that the forearms receive indirect stimulation when performing basic movements, but only targeted work will take your forearm/grip strength to new heights.
Enjoy Your Lifting!
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