The large muscle groups are often the main focus points when working the upper body. These include the chest, back, shoulders, and upper arms. While the forearms will never be as popular as the bigger muscle groups, they deserve equal attention.
Strong and functional forearms improve wrist stability, increase grip strength, and enhance upper-body performance. Because of this, they’re heavily involved in movement, exercise, and activities of daily living.
We can split the main forearm muscles into wrist flexors, wrist extensors, and brachioradialis. Each of them requires slightly different movements to provide a suitable exercise stimulus. Therefore, exercise choice is important, whether you’re using a 3-day workout split or something else.
To help you get bigger forearms, we’ve picked the seven best dumbbell forearm workouts. For each one, we’ve detailed the correct form and given expert tips. Here are the best ones to get you started!
7 Forearm Workouts Dumbbells To Try
These are the seven best dumbbell forearm exercises to build stronger forearms. They work each of the three main forearm muscles when combined.
7 Dumbbell Forearm Workouts
These are the best seven dumbbell workouts for forearms. They can be integrated into a 4-day workout split or stand-alone workout.
Dumbbell Hammer Curl
The dumbbell hammer curl uses the traditional curl movement but with hands in a neutral grip position (palms facing in). This shifts the focus to the brachioradialis, brachialis, and biceps long heads. The biceps short heads and wrist extensors perform secondary roles.
Dumbbell hammer curls are easy to perform, can improve grip strength, and enhance forearm definition. Add them near the beginning of your dumbbell forearm workout.
How To Do
- Grasp a suitable pair of dumbbells from the weight rack and stand with your feet hip-width apart. Ensure your chest is up with your head facing forward.
- Hold the dumbbells by your sides using a neutral grip (palms facing in).
- Inhale and engage your core. Exhale and bend your elbows to bring the dumbbells up to shoulder height. Your elbows should stay tucked in while your forearms move.
- Pause briefly as the dumbbells reach shoulder height.
- Inhale and bring them back to the starting position under control.
Tips
- Keep your elbows tucked into your sides during each repetition. This ensures targeted muscle activation.
- Ensure you maintain a hip-width stance. This helps to provide a stable lifting position.
Optimal Sets & Reps
Training Style | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Strength Training | 3–5 | 4–6 |
| Hypertrophy | 3–4 | 8–10 |
| Endurance Training | 3–4 | 12–20 |
| Power Training | 3–5 | 1–3 (Explosive) |
Dumbbell Zottman Curl
The dumbbell Zottman curl also uses the traditional curl movement but with two wrist rotations. You rotate your wrists at the bottom and top positions. This means you curl the dumbbells up using a supinated grip (palms facing up). You bring them down using a pronated grip (palms facing down).
The biceps long heads and short heads are the primary movers. The brachioradialis, brachialis, wrist flexors, and wrist extensors perform secondary roles.
The dumbbell Zottman curl can be used to provide exercise variety, improve forearm function, and develop upper-arm strength.
How To Do
- Grasp a suitable pair of dumbbells from the weight rack. Stand with your feet hip-width apart. The dumbbells should be resting in front of your hips using a supinated grip (palms facing up).
- Keep your chest up and head facing forward.
- Inhale and engage your core. Exhale and curl the dumbbells up to shoulder height by bending your elbows.
- As they reach shoulder height, pause briefly and rotate your wrists so your palms face down.
- Inhale and bring the dumbbells back down under control. Your elbows should stay tucked in at all times.
Tips
- Don’t rotate your wrists until the dumbbells reach shoulder height. This is the correct exercise technique.
- Both dumbbells should come up and rotate together. This helps you to keep a balanced exercise position.
Optimal Sets And Reps
Training Style | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Strength Training | 3–5 | 4–6 |
| Hypertrophy | 3–4 | 8–10 |
| Endurance Training | 3–4 | 12–20 |
| Power Training | 3–5 | 1–3 (Explosive) |
Dumbbell Wrist Twist
The dumbbell twist requires you to keep your forearms parallel to the floor while your wrists rotate. This gives you a small movement pattern that works the wrist flexors and wrist extensors. The brachioradialis performs important secondary roles.
Performing dumbbell wrist twists improves wrist stability and grip strength. These are both seen as important health markers for older adults.
How To Do
- Grasp a suitable pair of dumbbells from the weight rack and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Hold the dumbbells by your sides using a pronated grip (palms facing behind you).
- Inhale and engage your core. Bring the dumbbells up until your forearms are parallel to the floor (elbows at a 90-degree angle). Keep your elbows tucked in.
- Exhale and rotate your wrists until your palms face up. Your elbows and forearms should stay in the same positions.
- Inhale and rotate your wrists back so your palms face down again.
Tips
- Avoid moving your elbows and shoulders. Your wrists and forearms should be the only movers.
- Ensure that your lower arms stay parallel to the floor. If you can’t do this, drop the weight.
Optimal Sets And Reps
Training Style | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Strength Training | 3–5 | 4–6 |
| Hypertrophy | 3–4 | 8–10 |
| Endurance Training | 3–4 | 12–20 |
| Power Training | 3–5 | 1–3 (Explosive) |
Dumbbell Hammer Wrist Curl
The dumbbell hammer wrist twist uses an isolated wrist movement with a neutral grip position. Keeping your elbows resting on your thighs while slightly bent over places the primary focus on your brachioradialis. Your brachialis, wrist flexors, and wrist extensors perform secondary roles.
Performing dumbbell hammer wrist twists improves wrist flexibility and builds grip strength. This helps to improve function and reduce possible injury risk in common weight-bearing activities.
How To Do
- Grasp a suitable pair of dumbbells from the weight rack. Sit on the end of the bench with your feet flat on the ground. Your feet should be shoulder-width apart with your upper legs parallel to the floor.
- Bring your torso forward and rest your elbows on your thighs. Your forearms should be parallel to the ground while holding the dumbbells with a neutral grip (palms facing in).
- Your head should be in a neutral position looking at the floor in front of you. Keep a neutral back with your chest up.
- Inhale and engage your core. Exhale and lift the dumbbells using your wrists. Your forearms should stay in the same position.
- Pause briefly as you come to the top range of motion.
- Inhale and bring the dumbbells down under control.
Tips
- Keep your elbows resting on your upper legs during each repetition. This helps to maintain target muscle focus.
- You can use any raised surface as long as it’s at a suitable height. Your legs should be at 90-degree angles.
Optimal Sets And Reps
Training Style | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Strength Training | 3–5 | 4–6 |
| Hypertrophy | 3–4 | 8–10 |
| Endurance Training | 3–4 | 12–20 |
| Power Training | 3–5 | 1–3 (Explosive) |
Dumbbell Back Wrist Curl
The dumbbell back wrist curl uses small wrist movements but performs them behind the back. Your arms come down straight with the dumbbells next to your glutes.
This shifts the primary exercise focus onto your wrist flexors. The brachialis and brachioradialis perform secondary roles. The dumbbell back wrist curl improves wrist function and builds grip strength.
How To Do
- Grasp a suitable pair of dumbbells from the weight rack. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart with your arms by your sides.
- Bring your arms behind your body while keeping your elbows straight. The dumbbells should be resting behind your glutes with your palms facing behind you.
- Inhale and engage your core. Exhale and flex your wrists to bring the dumbbells up.
- Pause briefly at the top position.
- Inhale and bring the dumbbells back down under control.
Tips
- Keep your head up and your chest facing forward throughout. This prevents potential neck strain.
- Allow your hands to rest against your glutes before you curl the dumbbells behind. This provides added wrist support.
Optimal Sets And Reps
Training Style | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Strength Training | 3–5 | 4–6 |
| Hypertrophy | 3–4 | 8–10 |
| Endurance Training | 3–4 | 12–20 |
| Power Training | 3–5 | 1–3 (Explosive) |
Dumbbell Reverse Curl
The dumbbell reverse curl performs the normal bicep curl motion with your palms pronated (palms facing down) instead of supinated (palms facing up). While keeping your elbows in, curl the dumbbells to shoulder height and down again.
The primary movers are the brachioradialis and wrist extensors. The biceps short heads, biceps long heads, and brachialis perform secondary roles.
This gives you a brachioradialis isolation exercise that also helps to build a stronger grip and improve wrist mobility. Overall wrist function and mobility are important for daily living and quality of life.
How To Do
- Grasp a suitable pair of dumbbells from the weight rack. Assume a shoulder-width stance. The dumbbells should be by your sides with your palms facing in (neutral grip).
- Your chest should be up with your head facing forward.
- Inhale and engage your core. Rotate your forearms so the palms face behind you.
- Exhale and curl the dumbbells up to shoulder height. Keep your elbows tucked in. Your forearms should be the only movers.
- Pause briefly as the dumbbells reach shoulder height.
- Inhale and bring the dumbbells back down under control.
Tips
- Ensure you rotate the dumbbells before bringing them up. This keeps focus on the primary movers.
- Maintain a slight knee bend to reduce potential knee strain.
Optimal Sets And Reps
Training Style | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Strength Training | 3–5 | 4–6 |
| Hypertrophy | 3–4 | 8–10 |
| Endurance Training | 3–4 | 12–20 |
| Power Training | 3–5 | 1–3 (Explosive) |
Dumbbell Finger Curl
Dumbbell finger curls use a very similar movement to the dumbbell back wrist curl. However, instead of using your wrists, the dumbbells rest on the fingers. Adding these to your workout helps to improve wrist function and endurance and build grip strength.
How To Do
- Grasp a suitable pair of dumbbells from the weight rack.
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Your chest should be up with your head facing forward.
- Bring your arms behind your body with your elbows straight. Allow the dumbbells to rest on your glutes. Your palms should be facing behind you.
- Allow the dumbbells to rest on your fingers. The ends of your fingers should be curled around the dumbbell handles.
- Inhale and engage your core. Exhale and curl your fingers towards your palms. This should bring the dumbbells up and in.
- Pause briefly at the top position.
- Inhale and bring the dumbbells back to the starting position while keeping your fingers curled.
Tips
- Your wrists should stay still as your fingers move. This is the correct exercise movement.
- Keep your elbows tucked into your body. Avoid letting them flare out.
Optimal Sets And Reps
Training Style | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Strength Training | 3–5 | 4–6 |
| Hypertrophy | 3–4 | 8–10 |
| Endurance Training | 3–4 | 12–20 |
| Power Training | 3–5 | 1–3 (Explosive) |
Best Forearm Dumbbell Workout Routine
We’ve chosen five dumbbell forearm exercises and programmed them to give you the best forearm dumbbell workout routine. The first three exercises use hypertrophy repetition ranges while the last two focus on muscular endurance.
Exercise | Sets x Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Dumbbell Wrist Twist | 3–4 sets x 8–10 | 60–90 seconds |
| Dumbbell Hammer Curl | 3–4 sets x 8–10 | 60–90 seconds |
| Dumbbell Reverse Curl | 3–4 sets x 8–10 | 60–90 seconds |
| Dumbbell Back Wrist Curl | 3–4 sets x 12–20 | 60–90 seconds |
| Dumbbell Finger Curl | 3–4 sets x 12–20 | 60–90 seconds |
Anatomy Of The Forearm
We can split the main forearm muscles into the wrist flexors, wrist extensors, and brachioradialis. Each varies in location and function. Let’s take a look at each of them in more detail.
Wrist Flexors
Muscles that span the inside of your lower arm, between your elbow and wrist palm side up.
Wrist Extensors
Muscles that make up the back portion of your lower arm, between your elbow and wrist.
Brachioradialis
Muscle located between outside portion of your forearm from the elbow to the wrist.
Wrist Flexors
The wrist flexors are on the inside of the forearm. Their main function is to flex the wrists and fingers. During this, the angle between the palm side of the wrist, fingers, and forearms gets smaller.
Alongside this, some of the wrist flexor muscles produce adduction and abduction. This means bringing the wrist into and away from the body, respectively.
They work with the wrist extensors to stabilize the wrist and finger positions during movement and activity. This provides a firm grip and helps to distribute force from the primary movers.
Examples of when they’re used include weight training, climbing, and throwing objects.
When flexing the wrists at 30 degrees, the wrist flexors show a voluntary activation rate of 96%. During extension at 30 degrees, they showed a higher activation rate of 98%.
Wrist Extensors
The wrist extensors are outside of the forearm. They mainly function to extend the wrists and fingers. When this happens, the angle between the wrists, fingers, and inside of the forearms gets bigger. Some of the wrist extensor muscles also perform wrist adduction and abduction.
With this, they work alongside the wrist flexors to provide wrist and finger stability. They extend them when needed and stop them from over-extending. This happens during movement, activity, and against resistance.
They contribute to overall grip strength and help to distribute force from the primary movers. Without the wrist flexors and extensors, you wouldn’t be able to carry out normal tasks and movement.
Brachioradialis
The brachioradialis is at the back of the forearm alongside the wrist extensor muscles. It plays a larger role during movement and activity when the arm is in a semi-pronated position.
It works alongside the brachialis muscle as a key elbow flexor. Perform these dedicated brachialis workouts to train this muscle group instead. This means you would be holding something using a neutral grip.
Benefits Of Forearm Workouts With Dumbbells
The benefits of forearm dumbbell workouts are wide-ranging when correctly performed. These are the main three to consider when adding them to your workout.
Better Grip Strength
Grip strength is vital during movement, exercise, and activity. When rowing, grip strength is needed to hold the handle. When climbing, grip strength allows you to hold onto the rock or surface.
With this, grip strength has been identified as an important marker of general health. It’s a good way of assessing muscle function and physical capability.
Isolating the main grip strength muscles using forearm dumbbell exercises provides a suitable exercise intensity for increasing strength. This means that the exercise is challenging enough for the wrist flexors, extensors, and brachioradialis to become stronger. Therefore, they can be used to improve grip strength.
Improved Powerlifting Performance
Powerlifting requires you to generate force to overcome resistance. This is done using your muscles and joints. In most cases, the big three lifts — bench press, squat, and deadlift — are used.
Each of these lifts requires you to maintain a good grip on the weight. Your hands are the first contact point between the weight and force generated by your body. Without a good grip, you wouldn’t be able to generate sufficient force to overcome the resistance.
Therefore, improving grip function using the forearm exercises above may improve powerlifting performance. These exercises can be used as strength accessory work alongside the big three lifts.
Reduced Injury Risk
The prevalence of hand and wrist injuries when playing sports is estimated at 25%. The wrists, hands, and fingers are small but important body parts. The muscles and joints constantly move against resistance and adapt to different surfaces you touch and move.
During daily living, hand and wrist mobility is needed to get up and support movement. Examples include pushing open a door or holding a stair rail.
In sport and weightlifting, the hands and wrists hold the weight or release it as required. Examples include when throwing the javelin or holding a barbell.
Improving their strength and function using the exercises above can help them better deal with force and movement. This enhanced function can improve general wrist mobility and pain in exercise and movement.
Why Is Forearm Strength Important?
The forearms are made up of multiple small muscle groups, the main ones which are listed above. Each performs small but important functions. These are normally not as well-known compared to the larger muscle groups such as the chest and back.
Without forearm strength, the forearms and therefore larger muscle groups couldn’t function. We wouldn’t be able to support our weight, pick things up, or move things. This relates to all aspects of daily living, activity, and exercise.
Having good forearm strength is therefore vital for daily life and performance. It can be seen as a small but important component of a much wider health picture.
Use the forearm workouts with dumbbells for well-rounded resistance training. They should be viewed to be just as important as the other exercises. Include them after the compound lifts.
Forearm Dumbbell Exercises – Expert Training Tips
- Improving forearm strength and size can be done by changing the exercise intensity and volume. This can be done the same as the larger muscle groups. However, you won’t be able to lift as much weight.
- This refers to the way you think about the muscle you’re working. Developing this may help with muscle growth. Think about each of the primary muscles used when performing each exercise.
- Carry out the multi-joint exercises first if you’re adding the forearm dumbbell exercises to a session. If performing them as a stand-alone forearm session, use the programming table below as a guide.
- This is important for compound exercises and the forearm dumbbell exercises above. A good warm-up increases body temperature and loosens stiff joints. Use dynamic wrist movements as part of this.
- Ensure you follow the rest periods stated above between sets. Allow at least 48 hours between forearm sessions for adequate recovery.
Conclusion
The forearm muscles play important roles in movement, activity, and exercise performance. Without proper forearm strength and function, we would struggle to carry out many activities of daily living and exercise.
The seven dumbbell forearm exercises detailed above represent the best ones to perform. They can be used as a stand-alone session or added when working larger muscle groups.
Consider the main forearm muscles as vital components that should be trained regularly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Forearms tend to be harder to grow compared to other muscle groups. While training helps, the general size and shape will largely depend on your genetics. Use the exercises above to help.
Perform dumbbell forearm workouts two times a week, leaving at least 48 hours between sessions. This may be changed to one or three times depending on your goals and workout routine.
The correct repetitions will depend on your training goals. Perform 8–10 repetitions for hypertrophy. Perform 4–6 repetitions for strength training.
Dumbbell workouts for forearms can be done as other normal sessions would be. Ideally, this should be at least two times a week. They can also be added to other compound sessions involving the back, chest, and shoulders.
Resources
Endomondo.com refrains from utilizing tertiary references. We uphold stringent sourcing criteria and depend on peer-reviewed studies and academic research conducted by medical associations and institutions. For more detailed insights, you can explore further by reading our editorial process.
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About the Author
Chris Marshall, MSc, PT Personal Trainer
