The 15 Best Forearm Exercises You Can Do, According To Trainers

Wagener recommends this classic arm exercise to improve your forearm muscles, grip strength, and overall stability.

• Hold a kettlebell or dumbbell in each hand.
• Let the weights hang at your sides.
• Walk forward at a steady pace.
• Engage your core to keep your body upright. (No leaning to one side.)
• Engage your forearm muscles and grip.
• Walk for 30 to 60 seconds.
• Repeat 3 to 4 sets.

Lalitha McSorley, PT, a physical therapist and personal trainer at Brentwood Physio, suggests giving wrist curls a try.

• Sit on a bench with your forearms resting on your lap at the edge of your knee.
• Keep your palms facing up.
• Hold a light weight in each hand.
• Slowly lower the weights towards the ground, bending only at your wrists.
• Curl them back up towards your body.
• Repeat for 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps.

To work the muscles on the other side of your forearm, McSorley suggests a reverse wrist curl.

• Sit on a bench with your forearms resting on your lap at your knee.
• Keep your palms facing down.
• Hold a light weight in each hand.
• Slowly lift the weight towards the sky, bending only at the wrists.
• Lower it back down towards the ground.
• Aim for 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps.

For this move, you’ll need a sturdy towel and a pull-up bar. While a regular pull-up could also do the trick, holding onto the squishy surface of the cloth is what challenges your grip strength — and your forearms.

• Hang a thick towel over a pull-up bar.
• Grab onto either end of the towel instead of the bar.
• Engage your arms, core, and back.
• Do a pull-up.
• Aim for 3 sets of as many reps as possible.

A simple bar hang will work your forearms, finger flexors, and wrist flexors, says Marshall Weber, CPT, a personal trainer and owner of Jack City Fitness. It seems simple, but it can take some practice.

• Stand under a pull-up bar.
• Jump up and grab the bar with an overhand grip.
• Lift your feet off the ground.
• Hang with straight arms for as long as you can.
• Do 3 sets.

Michael Hamlin, NSCA, CSCS, a personal trainer and founder of Everflex Fitness, says this movement trains the forearm muscles called the brachioradialis, which stabilize the elbow. They’re also what help you lift.

• Hold a barbell with an overhand grip, hands shoulder-width apart.
• Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms fully extended, hanging at your sides.
• Slowly lift the barbell towards your shoulders, keeping your elbows close to your body.
• Pause for a moment.
• Slowly lower the barbell back down to the starting position.
• Do 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps.

For this exercise you quite literally pinch a weight plate, says Hamlin. By using just your fingers to lift something heavy, you’ll engage your grip and forearm muscles. It’s a good one for preventing wrist-related injuries.

• Pick up a weight plate using your fingers. (No using your other hand for support.)
• Hold the weight at your side with your arm straight, letting it dangle.
• Hold for as long as you can, aiming for 30 seconds.
• Focus on squeezing with your hand.
• Remember to breathe and maintain good posture.
• Set the weight down and repeat.
• Do 3 to 5 sets on both sides.

The deadlift is a great exercise for your glutes as well as your forearms. “When you lift heavy enough with deadlifts you will get a forearm workout no matter what you do,” Hamlin tells Bustle. “True strength will be developed with forearms without you having to think about it.”

• Stand behind a barbell with your feet hip-width apart.
• Bend your knees and lower your hips to grip the barbell with both hands, palms facing down and shoulder-width apart.
• Straighten your legs to lift the barbell off the ground, keeping your back straight and your core engaged.
• Lift the bar until you're standing upright with your shoulders back and your knees locked out.
• Lower the barbell back down to the ground, keeping your back straight and your core engaged.
• Do 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps.

Want to start somewhere simple? Grab a stress ball. “You could do this exercise multiple times a week while you watch TV and it will barely feel like you’re doing anything,” says personal trainer David Mason. “The benefit is a slow strengthening of your forearm, fingers, and wrist.”

• Hold a stress ball or tennis ball.
• Repeatedly squeeze and release the ball.
• Mix up the rhythm and try to hold your grip for longer each time before releasing.
• Repeat multiple times a day.

If you don’t like the idea of regular push-ups, try wall push-ups. “By leaning towards the wall rather than pushing up from the floor, you are reducing the load and taking some of the strain away from weaker muscles or joints,” says Mason. The angle also targets your forearm muscles in a different way.

• Stand an arm’s length away from the wall.
• Put your hands on the wall at shoulder height.
• Slowly bend your elbows to bring your body towards the wall.
• Keep your back straight.
• Gently push back out to straighten your elbows.
• Feel the squeeze in your arms.
• Do 2 to 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps.

Trainer Ryan Ernsbarger, CPT is a fan of this straightforward exercise. All you have to do is stand there and hold onto the dumbbells. The trick is to hold until you’re just about ready to drop the weights, aka right up until “muscle failure.” Before that happens, set the weights down, take a break, and then go again. Over time, you should be able to last a little longer.

• Pick up a heavy dumbbell in each hand.
• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
• Hold the weights by your sides.
• Put the weights down right when you feel like you can only hold them for another 5 seconds.
• Do 4 sets.

In a world of bicep and tricep curls, the Zottman curl is a move you might not think to do, but according to Nicole Davis, a certified personal trainer and nutrition coach at Garage Gym Reviews, it works wonders. “It combines a standard curl and a reverse curl, strengthening both your biceps and forearms,” she tells Bustle.

• Hold a dumbbell in each of your hands with your palms facing up.
• Curl them up to your shoulders, keeping your elbows in.
• At the top of the curl, rotate your wrists so your palms face down.
• Slowly lower the dumbbells.
• Return to where you started and repeat.
• Aim for 8 to 12 reps.

“This exercise targets grip strength by challenging wrist flexion and extension,” says Davis. You’ll need a weight that’s connected to a handle with a chain, so keep an eye out for one at the gym.

• Stand upright and hold a wrist roller with both of your hands, keeping your arms extended in front of you.
• Slowly roll the weight up by twisting the bar.
• The weight will rise up towards the handle as the chain wraps around.
• At the top, lower it back down under control by twisting it in reverse.
• Keep your shoulders steady and avoid using momentum.
• Perform 2 to 3 full rolls up and down.

While there are several variations of crab walk, the one that involves scurrying across the floor on all fours is the one that’s great for your forearms. “It strengthens your shoulders, triceps, core, and glutes [as well],” says Davis.

• Sit on the ground with your hands behind you.
• Put your feet flat on the floor.
• Lift your hips while engaging your core.
• Walk forward and backward using both your hands and feet.
• Try not to let your hips sag.
• Keep your core tight and your shoulders down.
• Perform for about 30 seconds per round.

Since it’s a full-body exercise, holding a plank for 30 seconds will help strengthen your forearms, but if you really want to zero in, Davis recommends adding a quick shoulder tap. By taking one arm off the ground at a time, you’ll make the other forearm work harder.

• Get into a forearm or high plank position.
• Step your legs back, plant your hands under your shoulders, and lift your body into a straight line.
• Hold for about 60 seconds.
• For shoulder taps, lift one hand to tap the opposite shoulder, alternating sides while keeping your hips steady.
• Aim for 10 to 15 taps per side.