Training with dumbbells is a proven way to develop forearm muscles. The reason is that they are great for movement variability and unilateral training. Apart from that, if you have little time and space, you can quickly train with dumbbells at your home's ease.
Here are some best forearm workouts with dumbbells that will help you increase your forearm size. Start with dumbbells that weigh 5 to 10 pounds. When you get stronger, increase the weight progressively.
1. Dumbbell Reverse Curl
This exercise is a variation of bicep curls with a different gripping style. Usually, a pronated (palms facing toward the floor) gripping style is used in case of reverse curls.
Dumbbell reverse curls are great for building muscles in your forearms as they activate your brachialis. By activating them, you get defined forearms along with better grip strength.
Hold dumbbells in each hand, flex your biceps, and lift the dumbbells towards your face while bending your elbow.
2. Zottman Curl
This dumbbell exercise is a mix of reverse dumbbell curls and twisting dumbbell curls. Due to this, the movement is excellent isolation training and significantly helps in building bicep strength. Even though it is a bicep builder at its core, it can still help in increasing forearm size and grip strength.
Grab two dumbbells by your side while your palms are facing forward. Keep your chest up and your elbows extended fully. Now fixing your elbow at one point, curl your biceps up and bring the weights to your chest. Then twist your forearm and lower it down to the beginning position.
3. Wrist Curl
Wrist Curls are yet another excellent isolation exercise that helps strengthen the wrist and forearms. To be precise, they target the wrist and flexor extensors.
Unlike most of the other arm exercises, this one is particularly great for focusing on one muscle group at a time.
To do this exercise, kneel behind a bench and rest your forearms on the bench. Keep one shoulder distance between your hands while your palms face up. Now lift the dumbbells to your chin while keeping your back flat.
4. Hammer Curl
Hammer curls are one of the best strength training to target forearms and biceps simultaneously. This is also great for improving writs stability and building muscle endurance.
The main difference between a traditional bicep curl and a hammer curl is the way you grip the dumbbells. In a hammer curl, you hold the dumbbells in a neutral grip where your palms face each other.
Hold dumbbells in both hands. Keep your upper arms stationary, and lift your lower arm towards your shoulders. This will activate your biceps brachii. This will not only help you get better-defined muscles but also increase strength.
5. Dumbbell Upright Row
Upright dumbbell rows help in activating the flexors and extensors in your forearms and building your shoulders and upper back. This exercise is especially important to give you muscle symmetry. It also helps build upper body strength, and due to its versatile benefits, they are a must to add to your routine.
Hold dumbbells in each hand so that your palms face the floor. Keep your back straight and chin upfront. Pull both your hand up until the dumbbells reach your chin.
6. Farmer's Walk
This exercise targets the entire body and targets the muscles of your biceps and forearms. Since the exercise is about carrying weight for a distance, it significantly helps improve grip strength.
While standing, place dumbbells on both sides of your feet. Squat down and grab each weight in hand. Stand straight with your core tight and step forward to begin walking. Now walk for your desired time or distance.
Forearm Building Exercises Without Any Equipment
As a bonus, here are some forearm-building exercises that do not require any equipment.
1. Plank Shoulder Taps
Get into a pushup position, and lift your body to transit into a plank position. Keep your core tight, lift your right hand, and tap on your left shoulder. Return your hand to the floor and repeat the opposite.
Do 2 to 3 sets, each being 30 to 60 secs.
2. Fingertip Pushups
Kneel down by a bench or get into a pushup position on the floor. Instead of using your entire palms, just use all your fingers to carry your weight.
And do slow and controlled pushups of 8 to 12 reparations.
3. Crab Walk
Get into a reverse tabletop position on the ground. Keep the fingers of your hand pointing towards your ankles. Align your ankles and knees in a line and start walking forward with the help of your hand and feet.
Continue this for up to 60 seconds at a time.
Tips For Getting Bigger Forearms
1. Increase Your Protein Intake
Numerous studies support the fact that protein intake, along with strength training, helps build muscle mass more quickly.
2. Keep Your Training Consistent
Build a routine to maintain your consistency. People often avoid working on forearms cause they require you to consistently get the best results.
But you do not want to overdo it, too, cause it may lead to serious damage to your radius and ulna bones. So keep a 36 hours gap in your routine to give your muscles enough time to grow and get ruptured.
3. Get The Correct Grip
To build better forearms, always use a pronated grip instead of a supinated one.
A supinated grip (palms facing up) is good for focusing mainly on your biceps and increasing the size of your upper arm. So instead, go for a pronated grip which will target your forearm muscles.
Next to Read: 4 Best Dumbbell Bicep Workouts to Build Arm Muscle
